Into Darkness

The sun breaks through the clouds just as it is setting on Dec. 21, the shortest day of the year. From Olbrich Park on Madison’s east side, the sky above the isthmus glows orange and pink while the sun sinks below Lake Monona, and the crowd gathering to celebrate the winter solstice turns its attention to a pile of year-old Christmas trees about to be ignited.

Ted McManus, a long-time east-side resident, asks the crowd to repeat after him. “We have fallen into darkness,” says McManus. “We have fallen into darkness,” the crowd repeats. “For years it has been dark here,” McManus continues. “For years it has been dark here,” responds the crowd. “But now the dark has spread to swallow our whole land,” McManus says with the crowd echoing. “This is the longest, darkest night,” says McManus. “This night may last for years.”

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