I
am the old Pagan deep in December I am fed up with being told
that Christ is the reason fro Christmas. I am fed up with the call
for saviours. The only saviour perhaps we need is the saviour who
saves us from saviours. We need a Winter festival to celebrate
mid-winter. All Societies from the beginning of time have celebrated
the dance of the Sun . Mithras was said to have been been born on
December 25 of a Virgin. The child of Light in the old Celtic
Mythology was born at the Winter Festival. How odd it is that so few
modern Christians ever point out that Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus
were refugees fleeing political repression. Of course today they
would be unable to get back to Bethlehem today as the Israeli
Government has built a gigantic wall preventing entrance to the
Stable.
I am the salmon that leaps upstream
I am the deer that roams the forest
I am the eagle that soars in the sky
I am the flame in the fire that flickers
I am the raindrop, the rock and the tree
I am the sunbeam that warms a cold morning
I am the tear in a sad woman's eye
I am the breeze that builds to a tempest
I am the wave on the surface of the sea
I am the thought that changes to a word
Tell me:
Who might know the soul better than I?"
Brythonic
Celt 539 AD
Winter
Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands
of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and
the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the
Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.
Today,
many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as
"Christmas." Yet a look into its origins of Christmas
reveals its Pagan roots. Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as
the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century
as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly
thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to
represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast
day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in
Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an
Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.
Most
of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with
"Christmas" actually are linked to Winter Solstice
celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures. While Christian mythology is
interwoven with contemporary observances of this holiday time, its
Pagan nature is still strong and apparent. Pagans today can readily
re-Paganize Christmastime and the secular New Year by giving a Pagan
spiritual focus to existing holiday customs and by creating new
traditions that draw on ancient ways. Here are some ways to do
thisCelebrate Yule with a series of rituals, feasts, and other
activities. In most ancient cultures, the celebration lasted more
than a day.
The
ancient Roman Saturnalia festival sometimes went on for a week. Have
Winter Solstice Eve and Day be the central focus for your household,
and conceptualize other holiday festivities, including New Year's
office parties and Christmas visits with Christian relatives, as part
of your Solstice celebration. By adopting this perspective, Pagan
parents can help their children develop an understanding of the
multicultural and interfaith aspects of this holiday time and view
"Christmas" as just another form of Solstice. Have gift
exchanges and feasts over the course of several days and nights as
was done of old. Party hearty on New Year's Eve not just to welcome
in the new calendar year, but also to welcome the new solar
year.Adorn the home with sacred herbs and colors.
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