According to an ancient sailors’ legend, we are in the middle of the Halcyon days – seven days of calm on either side of the winter solstice. The legend says that the halcyon bird builds a floating nest on the sea on the winter solstice and has the ability to calm the seas so as to be undisturbed when laying its eggs. The halcyon is generally associated with the kingfisher.

The source of the belief in the bird’s power to calm the sea originated in a myth recorded by Ovid. The story goes that Aeolus, the ruler of the winds, had a daughter named Alcyone, who was married to Ceyx, the king of Thessaly. Ceyx was drowned at sea and Alcyone threw herself into the waves in a fit of grief. Instead of drowning, she was transformed into a bird and carried to her husband by the wind.

Even as legends go, I’ve never found the story of a nesting bird on calm seas in the depth of winter to make much sense.  Somehow, however, in this pandemic year, it seems more fitting — a story of death and rebirth, the beginning of the end of darkness, and the certain promise of a better spring.

As challenging as this strange and terrible year has been, on this winter solstice, we at the Old Salt Blog hope that the rest of your holiday season and the entire New Year prove to be peaceful, prosperous, healthy, and safe.