| Thought I'd type this little piece in here, Sandy. It appeared in my
Yule edition of the EarthSpirit Community Newsletter. Hope it'll give
you some ideas, a little chuckle here and there.
[reprinted without permission]
_When The Whole World Is Pagan_
Celebrating Yule in Circle and Out
A few years ago in December, a friend of mine sent me a card that read,
"It came upon a midnight clear -- look out! Here it comes again!" The
sentiment accurately described our attitude about the time of year.
The modern secular holiday season surrounding the winter solstice --
that is, if you'll pardon the expression, Christmas -- tends to make
many Pagans feel even more like an oppressed minority than they usually
do. We are conditioned to think of this winter holiday as being a
centerpiece of Christianity, as well as of the "traditional"
patricarchal nuclear family. In fact, nothing could be farther from
the truth. Especially as celebrated in the United States, "Christmas"
is about as Pagan a holiday as we have, and all the curch services,
creches, and maudlin references to "the real meaning of Christmas" form
an almost irrelevant veneer. The power of the winter solstice is so
great that our reaction to it is almost involuntary. At no time do
light and dark, cold and warmth, sun and night stand in sharper relief.
The winter solstice itself may or may not actually be the longest night
of the year (just as the day and night are seldom really of equal
length at the Equinox). What is more significant is the height of the
sun above the horizon, which reaches its lowest point at this date;
late afternoon sun at high noon. The long low angle of the sunlight
thins and dims it, making the sun appear pale and weak, and greatly
reducing the amount of heat it gives. Although the coldest weather of
winter is still six weeks away, it is at solstice that the world
appears on the verge of darkness. Dawn is late and sunset alarmingly
early; many modern city-dwellers find themselves driving to and from
work in twilight, and then can't understand why they feel depressed!
The ancients may not have discovered "Seasonal Affective Disorder" but
they knew what to do about the midwinter doldrums. In culture after
culture we find the winter solstice marked with festivities,
celebrations, feasting, lights and fires, and other gaiety. Usually
this holiday was considered the time of the rebirth of the sun itself
or a god-figure associated with the sun. The most famous of these
festivals was the Roman Saturnalia, whose name has become a generic
term for a time of outrageous and licentious merrymaking. In
astrology, the winter solstice marks the beginning of the sign of
Capricorn, ruled by Saturn. As well as being the stern, dark, chilly
god of winter and discipline, Saturn was considered to have ruled the
earth during the long-past Golden Age, when everyone was peaceful and
happy. During the Roman Saturnalia, which lasted for the week leading
up to the solstice, homes were decorated with evergreens and people
gave each other gifts. Servants and slaves were feasted by their
masters -- possibly in reflection of a past tradition of egalitarianism
which Roman patriarchy abolished. Rules were laid aside, and wild
public celebrations occurred. A mock king was elected, and apparently,
was sometimes sacrificed in imitation of the ancient god who had given
his life for the land.
In Egypt, the solstice was the time when Isis mourned for the slain
Osiris and gave birth to Horus, the reborn sun-child. Houses would be
decorated with oil lamps that were left burning outside all night, and
at midnight the temple priests brought an image of a baby out to show
to the people, announcing that "the Virgin has brought forth!" and "the
light is waxing!"
In Athens, the winter solstice was marked by the Lenaea, a feast
honoring the death and rebirth of Dionysus. At one time, a human
substitute for the god was sacrificed, but later on this "Festival of
Wild Women" chose a goat to represent the dying and reviving god.
The Saxons celebrated solstice with bonfires, feasts and much ale. The
Anglo-Saxon name for the holiday, Yule, comes from the Old Norse Iul
(or Jul), meaning "wheel". The Wheel of the Year, the wheel of life,
ever turning from birth to death, light to darkness, sowing to harvest,
is a traditional symbol for the winter solstice season. The Celtic
Druids named the solstice holidy Alban Arthan, and it was at this time
that the sacred miseltoe was cut from the oak trees.
An examination of these and other midwinter celebrations from ancient
times turns up some rather suspiscious parallels with "Christian" myth
and custom. It's no coincidence. The birth of Jesus was assigned to
the date of Saturnalia in the year 273 C.E. on the grounds that
everyone was celebrating something of the sort then anyway. (If you
can't ban it, take it over.) Along with the holiday came the
accompanying mythos, including Virgin birth (ascribed to Osiris and
Mithras) and thousands of years of traditions. The extent to which
Christianity borrowed from Paganism is never clearer than at Christmas.
Some modern fundamentalist sects, like the 17th Century Puritans,
discourage Christmas trees, feasting and decorations for just this
reason. There is no avoiding; the Puritans and the fundies are right.
Christmas is a Pagan celebration, right down the line. Even when many
churches hold theier most solemn religious services, they are festooned
with poinsttias; a classic sun symbol of ever one existed.
Of course, modern Pagans don't have to celebrate the solstice by
default -- we mark the date with circles and rituals of our own,
specifically honoring our own mythology and our own private feelings
about winter as a concrete reality and as a symbol in our inner work.
We can use the secular frivolity as a backfrop, helping to remind us of
the long history and many different wells that our traditions draw
from.
In Wiccan traditions, winter solstice or Yule is often considered the
beginning of the new year. At this time, the Goddess gives birth to
the young God, her son/consort, during a time of darkness,
introspection and rest -- iin much the same way that female bears give
birth to their tiny young during hibernation. Although Yule is the
"return of the light" and a time of festivities, merriment and
gift-giving, the seasonal follity takes place as a counterpoint to the
somberness of Nature all around us. It's cold and dark, and we know
that it will get colder still. Solstice becomes a time to turn our
awareness inward, to nurture the seeds still hidden so deeply within.
At the same time we rejoice that those seeds pulse with life. Very
little changes when something new is born, and often there is a long
and rocky path ahead before the new child, the new idea, the new energy
reaches fruition. But with birth, as with the turning of the sun in
the sky, comes a revived hope. If we have struggled with a difficult
process, the time of rebirth often brings more and harder work, but
also something new, something different, something stronger.
There are a number of Yule traditions which Pagans can include in their
solstice rituals. Evergreens, symbolizing life in the midst of death
(because they stay green during winter) are used to decorate our homes
and our ritual space. Rosemary and bay may be used as well as holly,
misteltoe, juniper, cedar and other evergreens. A cauldron containing
fire, representing the reborn sun and the cauldron of Cerridwen, symbol
of eternal rebirth, is an important part of the Yule circle. The
cauldron may contain only a candle or may be filled with alcohol and
set alight -- carefully! Skyclad traditions sometimes conclude their
solstice rite by leaping over the flaming cauldron.
If possible, the circle and its festivities can last until dawn, when
everyone greets the rising sun as a conclusion to the solstice
observance.
Pagans with fireplaces (indoor or outdoor) may celebrate the ancient
tradition of the Yule log, usually an oak log (ideally a root) although
sometimes of other wood. Even during Christian times in northern
Europe, the Yule log was considered a symbol of fertility. The charred
log, or its ashes, was saved carefully and was considered to protect
the household from all ills, but most especially from lightning.
Sometimes the charred Yule log was bound into the last sheaf of the
next summer's harvest; or it was sometimes saved to light the following
year's log. Modern Pagans can carve a carefully selected log with a
figure of the Horned God or a sun-wheel, and scatter its ashes on their
gardens. But whether a special Yule log is burned or not, a fire, if
at all possible, is a vital part of the solstice celebration. The Yule
fire is a counterpoint to the bonfires of Midsummer, made smaller and
more domestic only because weather in the North moved the bonfire to a
hearth.
Not all Pagans feel comfortable with the custom of cutting down a tree
for decoration and throwing it away, but live trees may certainly be
decorated and then planted in the spring. Electric lights are festive
(and much safer than candles) and honor the sun with their brightness.
In place of plastic tinsel, however, beautiful natural decorations may
accompany the lights. Strings or garlands can be made of popcorn,
cranberries, dried rosebuds or cinnamon sticks, for example. Other
tree ornaments may be made from small crystals, pine cones, feathers,
citrus fruit, and folded paper.
Following the solstice ritual, a feast is in order -- traditional
winter foods include apples, pork, cider, wassail, spicy herb teas, and
cakes made with fruit and spices. But any foods rich in texture and
complex in flavor are appropriate, as well as foods which embody solar
energy: lemon tarts, round loaves of bread, Mexican tostadas, hot curry
-- whatever brings warmth and light and laughter to mind.
Then there are gifts! Both Pagans and Christians often decry the
"commercialization" of this season. But the annual merchants'
blitzkrieg is merely a response to the custom of giving and sharing
gifts. In Pagan terms, it could hardly be more appropriate to
celebrate the darkest time of the year, and the beginning of a season
of hardship, cold and scaricity, with a burst of generosity and
abundance. Those who choose to buy expensive luxuries can't blame the
stores that sell them. (If everyone gave practical presents, Filene's
would look like a general store at Christmas.) On the other hand, many
of us share what we have with those who are truly in need. "Christian
charity" is merely a holdover from ancient Pagan times. Of course,
Pagans can give magickal gifts, either handmade or purchased from Pagan
craftspeople and businesses.
So, Pagans all, enjoy the holidays -- one of the few times of the year
when nearly everyone rurns around observing our traditions -- whether
they realize it or not. We cna smile privately at the knowledge that
we have more in common with non-Pagans than they know; at this time of
year we are all waiting for the return of the light.
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