# A Simple Sing-along Solstice

People have been celebrating [Secular Solstice](https://secularsolstice.com/) for over a decade now, in our small community. Many different programs and versions have been collected at [Secular Solstice Resources](https://secularsolstice.github.io/) (and elsewhere). The amount of material can be overwhelming. Many Solstice programs are based around original material being written or updated, speeches that are specific to the speaker, and other things that make it challenging to reuse.

The goal for this program is to be **an easy-to-follow, easy-to-reuse Solstice program for a group celebrating Solstice for the first time**, or the first of a few times, possibly a small group, possibly without many resources.

Simply **print one copy of** [**the program**](https://tigrennatenn.neocities.org/simple_solstice/program.html) **per participant** (or fewer and have people share), and follow the directions.

If you aren't familiar with the songs, you will need one or a few people to go through them first and help lead. You could host a listen-through party first to get your group familiar with the songs used. NOTE: I haven't made a specific playlist for this yet, due to time constraints, but reference materials for all the songs can be found at [Secular Solstice Resources' Songs page](https://secularsolstice.github.io/lists/gen/All_Songs.html). (Please express interest in the comments if you'd like this and I will try to make time!)

### [>>Just give me the printout already!<<](https://tigrennatenn.neocities.org/simple_solstice/program.html)

Additional editorial notes about this Solstice:

*   I have focused on using the most commonly-reused songs and speeches from Solstices past. See [appendix](https://tigrennatenn.neocities.org/simple_solstice/#appendix).
*   I have focused on using material that is *less* specific to a particular time and place than others, though near-everything in Solstice relies at minimum on factual claims that may need to be updated from time to time. It is a value of our community to update in the face of evidence, so if this gets too wrong or out of date and I don't fix it, please don't use material you regard as wrong!
*   Where possible within other constraints, I have tried to use songs that are easier to sing along to and/or produce.
*   I wrote an original Introduction to Solstice speech that should hopefully be generic enough to cover most cases-- as always with Solstice, please do edit (or ask me to make changes) if you see inaccuracies, and feel free to customize if you would like.

Appendix: Most common Solstice songs and speeches
-------------------------------------------------

I wrote a script to extract these from the programs on Secular Solstice Resources. Here are the results, as of January 2025:

Most used songs:

| Song | Uses |
| --- | --- |
| Brighter\\_Than\\_Today | 38  |
| Uplift | 33  |
| Bitter\\_Wind\\_Blown | 22  |
| Hymn\\_to\\_the\\_Breaking\\_Strain | 21  |
| Time\\_Wrote\\_the_Rocks | 19  |
| Here\\_Comes\\_the_Sun | 17  |
| Five\\_Thousand\\_Years | 17  |
| When\\_I\\_Die | 16  |
| Always\\_Look\\_on\\_the\\_Bright_Side | 16  |
| X\\_Days\\_of\\_X\\_Risk | 15  |
| Bitter\\_Wind\\_March | 14  |
| Chasing_Patterns | 14  |
| Do\\_You\\_Realize | 13  |
| Bold_Orion | 12  |
| Still_Alive | 12  |
| Endless_Light | 11  |
| Here\\_and\\_Now | 10  |
| The\\_Sun\\_Is\\_A\\_Mass\\_Of\\_Incandescent_Gas | 10  |
| Blowin\\_in\\_the_Wind | 8   |
| Somebody_Will | 8   |
| Lean\\_on\\_Me | 8   |
| Voicing\\_of\\_Fear | 8   |

Most used speeches:

| Speech | Uses |
| --- | --- |
| Minute\\_of\\_Silence | 17  |
| Beyond\\_the\\_Reach | 13  |
| Road\\_to\\_Wisdom | 10  |
| 500\\_Million\\_But\\_Not\\_A\\_Single\\_One_More | 10  |
| Pale\\_Blue\\_Dot | 10  |
| Gift\\_We\\_Give_Tommorow | 8   |
| Call\\_and\\_Response\\_Defiance\\_Abridged | 8   |
| We\\_Are\\_Here | 7   |
| This\\_Is\\_a_Dawn | 6   |
| Litany\\_of\\_Tarski | 6   |
| No\\_Royal\\_Road | 5   |
| Origin\\_of\\_Stories\\_Morning\\_Edition | 4   |
| You\\_Cant\\_Save\\_Them\\_All | 3   |
| Communal_Meal | 3   |
| Toasts\\_Boasts\\_and_Oaths | 3   |
| Story\\_of\\_Winter | 3   |
| The\\_Goddess\\_of\\_Everything\\_Else_Abridged | 3   |
| Origin\\_of\\_Stories\\_Twilight\\_Edition | 3   |
| Call\\_and\\_Response_Defiance | 3   |
| Only_Human | 3   |