This post is part of a series of ambient music playlists I’ve developed for the 8 seasons of the solar year, which you can read more about here:
This first playlist in the series, “Epiphany,” is meant to capture not only the season of deep winter, but the beginning of the new year, and the liturgical season of Epiphany. It is a playlist for January.
January is a time when we reflect on the forward march of chronos time. It is a cold and dark season, when most plants and the animals remain dormant. Even those of us who stay active throughout this season tend to instinctively lean into the comforts of hygge this time of year: blankets, fireplaces, cozy sweaters, hot tea.
And yet, we also get a few glimpses of new energy and hope during this time. Many people set intentions at the start of the new year, dreaming of brighter futures. The winter solstice has already passed, and the light is already coming back into the world a little more each day. This return of the sunlight is reflected in the Christian liturgical season of Epiphany, which challenges us to look for the light of Christ showing up in the world more and more, even in the midst of these dark, cold days.
If you saw my post on The Twelve Days of Christmas, you know that the season of Christmas actually lasts from December 25th to January 5th, ending with the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. But there are always a handful of days between January 6th and the following Sunday, which marks the start of the new church season with the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus. This creates something of a “Christmas denouement” in the days between, which invites us into a brief time of liminal transition between the celebratory season of Christ’s birth, and a season of “ordinary time” that focuses on Jesus’ earthly ministry — his work in the ordinary world, and his relationships with ordinary people.
In ye olden times, the Monday after the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus (this year falling on January 12th) was called “Plough Monday.” This was considered the first day of the agricultural season, and therefore the day when everyone was supposed to go “back to work.” In other words, we begin our work in the world just as Jesus begins his work in the world.
This period of “ordinary time” invites us to reflect on the ways in which God shows up in the ordinariness of our everyday lives, which is reflected in the readings we hear in church on Sundays during this season: stories of regular people encountering the light of Christ in new and surprising ways.
Meanwhile, the Daily Office readings during this week focus on the creation stories in Genesis 1 & 2, which reflect the themes of beginning anew and starting fresh, as new light breaks forth once again to illuminate our lives more and more.
The songs on this playlist try to capture all of these themes:
the steady march of chronos time
the quiet rest of hibernation
the hope of beginning anew
the return to our ordinary work
the promise of a growing light that will slowly but faithfully overcome the darkness
Next Playlist
Annum: Imbolc
The second playlist in the series, “Imbolc,” is meant to capture the liminal transition season between winter and spring. This is a season of “quickening” — a time when those first kicks of new life can be felt. Where I live in central North Carolina, it is a playlist for the period of February 1 - March 21