For humans of the past this was not the happiest of times.Hunger and death were common. The sun itself seemed to be dying. With it's light and warmth all there lives would end.
The rituals of the ancestors were designed to prevent that.
I heard it said that there is no such thing as ancient knowledge.There is no way that a person with central heating, a basic understanding of astronomy can experience the winter solsticeas the ancients did. No more then we can experience our technology through there eyes: a world saturated with magic!
Perhaps sleeping out doors weeks on end could provide a basic sensationof how life may have been. Laying close to red embers of the fire you need to keep alive through the night. But even then I know that I live on a big spinning rock orbiting a star that is really close. And the hard cold stars are actually like the bright sun only very far away.
There is no such thing as "ancient knowledge". Unless of course a few thousands of years of age. And yes, I'm giving it a shot.
In the mean time, below is a piece I wrote a while back that was recently published in a poetry mag titled The Indium. It is the perspective of one twenty first century man.
A contemplative Solstice to you all. Pedro Angel Serrano

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Crocuses blooming
Green Daffodil leaves growing
Two cold calloused hands
[Pedro Angel Serrano 09 February 02008]

When I saw the crocus bulbs I planted yet again piercing the leaves of the past Autumn thought to myself yet again,"But it's not yet spring."
I used to see the Vernal Equinox as the start of spring but in the Japanese tradition the Vernal Equinox is not the start of spring but springs peak. Look at it this way. The Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year. From that day onward the days begin to grow longer. Winter begins to wane and spring asserts itself more and more.
This is in keeping with the Taoist view expressed in the Yin Yang symbol. The circular image with one dark form and one light has a spot of the opposite color in each. If you don't know what it looks like, just do a Google image search.
The dark area is referred to as Yang (Man, Light, Out Going, Sun, Mountain Top) and the light is Yin (Female, Dark, Inward Going, Moon, River Valley.)
It is said that the Yin Yang symbol developed from ancient Taoist mystics. It's said to have been inspired by observed a hill from dawn till dusk. In the morning one side of the hill was illuminated while the other was in shade. As the day progressed that which was in shadow was in the sunshine while the other side was dark.
People in the West tend to separate both Yin and Yang. Yet neither Yin nor Yang can exists with out the other except as an abstraction. The lit candle on yang.

From this perspective on the day of the Vernal Equinox Spring is yang: dominant, while summer is Yin.
After that day the summer grows more Yang as spring becomes more Yin.

Nothing exists with out its correlative "opposite."
We exist in a reality composed of a unity of difference.

Polar principles

Ingredients in what's real

Hot coffee, Cold milk

[Pedro Angel Serrano 10 February 02008]