Secular Solstice - Wikipedia

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American secular humanist event

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The **Secular Solstice** is a [secular humanist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanist "Secular humanist") event started in [New York City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City "New York City") in 2011 by Raymond Arnold.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_Solstice#cite_note-1)[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_Solstice#cite_note-2)[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_Solstice#cite_note-wapo-3)[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_Solstice#cite_note-huffpo2016-4) It is celebrated annually on the [winter solstice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice "Winter solstice") (or a nearby convenient date) by secular groups such as the [Sunday Assembly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Assembly "Sunday Assembly")[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_Solstice#cite_note-5) and the [rationalist community](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalist_community "Rationalist community"). The largest observance is held in the Bay Area, with the second largest in New York City, though additional solstices are held in a wide range of other locations, such as Maryland, Kansas, Texas, Washington, Illinois, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Russia.[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_Solstice#cite_note-6)[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_Solstice#cite_note-:0-7)

## Background

\[ [edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Secular_Solstice&action=edit&section=1 "Edit section: Background")\]

The origin of the secular solstice began after Arnold invited 20 friends to his house in 2011 for a holiday gathering.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_Solstice#cite_note-8) There, they "ate some food, sang some songs, and lit some candles" and "told stories about why the universe was the way it was and about what kind of people we wanted to be".[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_Solstice#cite_note-kickstarter1-9) At the end of the gathering they extinguished the last candle in the room and sat for a moment in darkness. The first official Secular Solstice event was held in 20

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