The astronomical metaphor to keep in mind during these dark and chilling times, is that starting the day after the winter solstice, which this year is each day gets a bit longer. It's only by two or three minutes -- too incremental to notice -- and yet brightness is accumulating every day as the season progresses.
'Tis also a season of merriment and gift giving. And the season itself contains two gifts: First is a retreat, in order to fundamentally restore oneself. Second is a renewal -- a new year that draws a line in the sands of time that we step over to put the past behind and the future optimistically ahead.
The dying of the light
There's no sugar frosting it: Winter is the season of death. The seasonal memento mori (Latin for "Remember you must die").