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Secular Solstice Round Up 2024

by dspeyer
21st Nov 2024
1 min read
15

76

Secular SolsticeCommunity
Personal Blog

76

Secular Solstice Round Up 2024
14Screwtape
6dspeyer
2nick lacombe
12drethelin
11Rivka
9datawitch
8Bae's Theorem
7dspeyer
3Screwtape
6SilasBarta
5freyley
4jenn
4Søren Elverlin
2Screwtape
1nick lacombe
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[-]Screwtape9mo140

Boston

December 28th, 6:30pm.
Connexion, 149 Broadway, Somerville
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1217047559386391

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[-]dspeyer9mo61

Has a LessWrong Event too

(TIL LessWrong Events are a thing)

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[-]nick lacombe9mo20

(TIL LessWrong Events are a thing)

:O they have been here for years, i would have expected you to know ahah

Reply
[-]drethelin9mo120

Berkeley 

December 20th
The Freight and Salvage
Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-winter-solstice-2024-tickets-958115718907?aff=oddtdtcreator
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1009580217051675/

Reply
[-]Rivka9mo110

Baltimore, MD, USA 

January 4. Time is TBD. The location is in Rockville. You can message me for the details. 

Reply
[-]datawitch9mo*90

Seattle

Dec 21st, 6pm

Nexus Hotel, 2140 N Northgate Way, Seattle, WA 98133

Tickets available at: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/seattlesecularsolstice/1489245

DM me for questions.

Reply
[-]Bae's Theorem9mo80

Kansas City, MO

When: December 21st, 5p

Where: Kansas City Oasis (1717 W 41st St, Kansas City, MO, 64111)

Signup: LW Facebook Partiful

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[-]dspeyer9mo71

New York City

Solstice: December 14 [fb]
Megameetup: December 13-16 [fb]
Both: Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel
Signup: https://rationalistmegameetup.com/

Reply
[-]Screwtape9mo31

I think NYC is the only solstice with a megameetup tradition. Does anyone know of a second?

Reply
[-]SilasBarta9mo60

Austin, Texas

December 20th. Doors open 6pm, ceremony 8pm.

LW Event link

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[-]freyley9mo50

Portland, Oregon 

December 22nd, 6pm, ceremony starts at 7

BridgeSpace

133 SE Madison St, Portland, OR 97214

Meetup link: https://www.meetup.com/portland-effective-altruism-and-rationality/events/304910660/

Reply
[-]jenn9mo40

Waterloo, Ontario
December 14th, 6:00pm.
Event link: https://www.lesswrong.com/events/LBZGbJRnsuqGP7Mnh/waterloo-solstice-2024

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[-]Søren Elverlin9mo40

Copenhagen

Saturday 21st December

Rundholtsvej 10, 2300 København S

https://www.lesswrong.com/events/rxEtw8dkiLC5dzyH7/astralcodexten-lesswrong-x-risk-meetup-solstice

Reply
[-]Screwtape9mo20

London, UK

December 19th, 7pm.
Event link: https://partiful.com/e/0ML9Ec1F8SCWh6TszHgt

(I'm not running it, but was asked by one of the organizers to put this here!)

Reply
[-]nick lacombe9mo10

Montreal, QC, Canada

Time: 2024-12-21T18:30-05:00 (18:30 eastern time, 6:30PM)
Location: 4243 Rue Clark, Montréal, QC H2W 1X2, Canada

lw event link: https://www.lesswrong.com/events/usPNbbEp3FvJoyCgT/montreal-solstice-celebration-2024-dec-21-6-30pm

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15Comments

This is a thread for listing Solstice and Megameetup events (dates, locations, links, etc.)

Those of you who have not been may be wondering what a Solstice is in this context.

Secular Solstice is a holiday designed by and for rationalists. It started as an attempt to match the sort of gatherings traditionally religious people tend to have in wintertime, but without compromising on truth.

Is it possible to create that same sense of emotional weight without making stuff up to do it? And without the aid of a long tradition? (Though this is the 14th year we're doing it, so there's some tradition).

Empirically, yes.

Because the world is full of things that genuinely inspire awe. Things entirely worth honoring and celebrating.

And the world is also full of things that genuinely inspire fear. We can and should face them squarely, and together.

This is not a silly holiday. It is not Festivus. It is not Santa Claus and Reindeer. We gather on the longest night of the year to stare together straight into the deepest darkness and *make* *it* *back* *down*.

What does it mean in practice? Lots of singing. Some speeches. Sometimes other things.  The whole thing runs a couple of hours.

And what is a Megameetup?  It's a meetup that's larger than a normal meetup (though not literally a million times larger).  Often it lasts an entire weekend and draws from multiple cities.  It may include presentations, organized discussions, games, and other activities rationalists tend to do when in large groups.

What do Solstices and Megameetups have to do with each other?  It's common for people to travel significant distances to a Solstice, so attaching a Metameetup makes best use of that travel overhead.