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| Holly Wreath |
Season’s Greetings everyone!
It is indeed that time of year again. The wheel of time has
turned round once more and we find ourselves at the Winter Solstice. It is a
time of celebration, of gathering and merry making. It is a time of giving and
gratitude. For many of us, it is Christmas time.
I always feel a great connection to the past at this time of
year and not only the Christian past. The traditions of this time reach much
farther back than the beginnings of Christianity. Over the millennia this very
time of year has been held sacred and special by many ancient cultures,
celebrated in many different ways.
We have more in common with the past than we often
realize.
As I sit by the tree in my living room, the soft glow of a
thousand coloured lights gracing the paper upon which I write, I feel a common
thread of tradition with those that have gone before, and those that will come
long after I am dust. There is a comfort in that.
Traditions are important for all people, all cultures. And
so, I wanted to look at a few of the varied traditions of this festive season
from which most of us derive some form of jollity.
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| Marduk |
In ancient Babylon the Festival of Marduk, the god whom the
Babylonians believed created the world, was celebrated at this time of year.
The festival involved a twelve day feast during which time gifts were given and
people visited the homes of friends and family. Sound familiar?
In the Roman Empire, the big festival at this time of year,
indeed one of the biggest of the entire year, was the Festival of Saturnalia
which began officially on December 17. Saturn, of course, was the Roman god of
agriculture, of liberation, and of time. Fitting that the Winter Solstice
festival, the time when the days would begin to get longer and the winter
stores of food were used, was dedicated to him. Time moves on.
Saturnalia was a major party for Romans. There was always
lots of food, drink and gift-giving. Gifts were often small and inexpensive and
included things such as lucky fruits or cakes. Saturnalia was a definite
carnival atmosphere, especially for slaves for, as Saturn was also a god of
liberation, for one day, slave and master exchanged roles with the masters
serving the servants. Everyone could let loose. Indoors, many candles were kept
burning during this darkest time of year and green boughs were hung within and
without people’s homes.
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| Saturnalia in Ancient Rome |
Many believe the Greek festival of Kronia, a harvest
festival dedicated to Kronos in July and August was the major influence on
Saturnalia. At the Kronia, there were feasts and banquets and games. There was
also freedom from work and social equality for a day which represented a
‘Golden Age’ in which there was total harmony, no slavery or hierarchy. Slaves
were released from duties during part of the Kronia just as they were during
Saturnalia.
And of course, as with any ancient festival, offerings and
sacrifices were made to the gods. The religious roots of these celebrations
cannot be overstated. Ancient peoples believed the gods played a role in every
aspect of daily life and each was honoured. That is one reason there were so
very many festivals in the Greek and Roman calendars.
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| Mithras and the Tauroctony |
A couple of blog posts ago, I wrote about Mithras, Lord of
Light and Truth, and now we return to him. The Persian god Mithras defeated the
darkness for Ahura Mazda and in mythology, his birthday was December 25th.
As a god of Light, equated with Sol Invictus, the ‘unconquered sun’, it is no
wonder that the Winter Solstice, the time when the sun is reborn after the
darkest days, was dedicated to Mithras. Saturn also played a large role in
Mithraism as this was the name given to the highest grade of initiate in the
religion – Saturn was the ‘Pater’.
Other pre-Christian gods of light, merriment, and abundance were
said to have been born during December as well, including Dionysus and the
Hebrew/Phoenician god, Baal.
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| Mistletoe |
The Winter Solstice was a very sacred time of year and this
seems to be the most common thread through time and religions. The worship of
the rising Sun, the time when the eternal Sun begins to get higher in the sky,
making the days longer, warming our lives.
At Christmas, I like to hang cedar in our home, as well as
boughs of holly. It is beautiful, atmospheric, warm and sweet smelling. It is
also a tradition that was practiced by the ancient Celts and Druids for whom
nature was so important.
The Celts believed holly and mistletoe were sacred and that
they housed good, protective spirits. At this darkest time of year, this was
important. Boughs of cedar and oak and other sacred trees were hung, often in
the shape of wreathes which represented the round eternal, self-renewing sun.
Even today, people gather at monuments such as Stonehenge to witness the Winter
Solstice sunset, branches in hand.
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| Winter Solstice at Stonehenge |
Moving into the Middle Ages, we come next to the Norse and Saxon
traditions of northern Europe which also filtered into Britain and with which
many of us are familiar today.
Yule was originally a pagan festival associated with the god
Odin and the Wild Hunt. Before Christianity spread among the Saxons, the
festival involved things such as a Yule Goat, a Yule Boar, Yule singing and of
course, the Yule Log which was brought home with great ceremony and intended to
burn long and bright during this dark part of the year.
The tradition of Wassailing is, I find, one of the most
interesting remnants of the pagan past. It was particular to the south west of
England, especially Somerset. For hundreds of years, the people of this apple-producing
region would walk out with their named King and Queen of Wassail, each with a
cup of the mulled cider or ale of the same name, to sing songs to the apple
trees and wood spirits of the orchards.
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| Yule Log |
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Where I used to live, just outside of Glastonbury, Somerset,
we lived among some orchards. I used to walk among the trees in the early
winter mornings when the sun would rise and the branches and bushes would
sparkle as the light weaved its way among the frost-encrusted world. It is an
image I hold dear and I can remember wondering what it would have been like to
have taken part in the singing of the Wassail songs where they were meant to be
sung.
Many of these songs remain a part of today’s Christmas carols.
Here is part of one of my favourites which dates roughly to the late medieval
period:
Here we come
a-wassailing
Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a wand'ring,
So fair to be seen.
Love and joy come to you,
And to your wassail too,
And God bless you and send you a happy new year,
And God send you a happy new year.
These are but a few of the long-standing traditions that we
revisit year after year in some form or another, whether it is reverence for
our various gods, gratitude for the birth of the Sun, or of the Son, feasting,
merriment, decorating our homes and filling them with song.
This is a time of year to be enjoyed, to be grateful and
charitable toward each other and our world.
So, as I raise my cup and my voice along with my family and
friends this holiday season, I will also raise them along with all those who
have gone before. From the ancient to the medieval and modern worlds, from the
sacred forests of the Celts to the simple table at which we sit today, I
remember the past and present and that, for ages, this has been a time of year
when Light overcomes Dark and gods have been born. And so, the wheel of the
year turns.
To you and yours, whatever your faith or beliefs, I wish you
a brilliant Winter Solstice and a Happy Christmas and New Year!
Cheers!
“I
have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round – apart from the
veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can
be apart from that – as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant
time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women
seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people
below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not
another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
