Winter Lights: Fred Wiseman
It sure is dark out there. And during this season of long nights and short, short days, VFC staff have connected with Vermonters from a variety of backgrounds to explore how people share light—both literally and metaphorically—during the darkest time of the year.
“I think the fire is is both a real entity, it gives light, it gives heat...but it also represents an engine or a machine of some sort, a spiritual device...to neutralize the garbage that’s built up in our lives over the year. ”
Dr. Fred Wiseman is the coordinator of the Vermont Indigenous Heritage Center in Burlington, which organizes events and programs that present and interpret the Vermont indigenous experience to the public. Fred shared the social and cultural significance of tracking the sun and moon after the winter solstice in the ancestral Abenaki agricultural and ceremonial calendar and the creative ways that the Abenaki New Year is being celebrated virtually.
You can learn more about how the Abenaki New Year and Forgiveness Day is commemorated by visiting the Vermont Indigenous Heritage Center and by following them @Alnobaiwi on Facebook and Instagram.
This seasonal segment is part of the Vermont Folklife Center’s Listening in Place project, a program that fosters connections between Vermonters throughout the pandemic and beyond. Click below to learn more about Listening in Place and tell us how you are sharing light this season: