syrinx

For several years I have been compiling mix CDs to send to friends and relatives during the winter solstice holiday season, and have been gradually moving away from tunes related to the celebration of Christmas and Hanukah to tunes with no particular religious association. Last year I went overboard and made four CDs, one which was primarily instrumental and non-religious, one which had piano and guitar instrumentals with no discrimination against the words that might go along with the music, one that was full of "pop culture" songs such as the cast of Bonanza or R2-D2, C3PO, and other characters from Star Wars, singing Christmas songs. The 4th CD was "I Don't Believe In Christmas" and featured a number of punk and other tunes that reject the modern observance of the holiday (for example, "Father Christmas" by the Kinks). The CD ended with non-religious but good tidings to all songs like "The Parting Glass", "May You Never", and "Auld Lang Syne".

Since I knew that many of the tradiitions of the current winter holiday celebrations pre-dated the Christian religion, I thought I would do a little internet research on the pagan roots of this celebration that generally occurs around the winter solstice.

Where to start but with a Christian oriented site on the origins of christmas?

The date of December 25th probably originated with the ancient "birthday" of the son-god, Mithra, a pagan deity whose religious influence became widespread in the Roman Empire during the first few centuries A.D. Mithra was related to the Semitic sun-god, Shamash, and his worship spread throughout Asia to Europe where he was called Deus Sol Invictus Mithras.

Rome converted this pagan legacy to a celebration of the god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god during the winter solstice period. The winter holiday became known as Saturnalia and began the week prior to December 25th. The festival was characterized by gift-giving, feasting, singing and downright debauchery, as the priests of Saturn carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession throughout the Roman temples.
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[it was not until] 336 AD that Emperor Constantine officially converted this pagan tradition into the "Christian" holiday of Christmas.

From these origins, it was interesting to visit the Americans United for the separation of church and state web site and Robert Bolton's Christmas Story that provides a more recent history of the traditions that until recently were deplored by many denominations or sects. It is only comparatively recently that schools and businesses have closed for December 25 as a national holiday in the United States.

Over at about.com, Patti Wiginton provides a guide to pagan and wiccan traditions, including the history of Yule.

Four thousand years ago, the Ancient Egyptians took the time to celebrate the daily rebirth of Horus - the god of the Sun. As their culture flourished and spread throughout Mesopotamia, other civilizations decided to get in on the sun-welcoming action. They found that things went really well... until the weather got cooler, and crops began to die. Each year, this cycle of birth, death and rebirth took place, and they began to realize that every year after a period of cold and darkness, the Sun did indeed return.
Winter festivals were also common in Greece and Rome, as well as in the British Isles. When a new religion called Christianity popped up, the new hierarchy had trouble converting the Pagans, and as such, folks didn't want to give up their old holidays. Christian churches were built on old Pagan worship sites, and Pagan symbols were incorporated into the symbolism of Christianity. Within a few centuries, the Christians had everyone worshipping a new holiday celebrated on December 25.
In some traditions of Wicca and Paganism, the Yule celebration comes from the Celtic legend of the battle between the young Oak King and the Holly King. The Oak King, representing the light of the new year, tries each year to usurp the old Holly King, who is the symbol of darkness. Re-enactment of the battle is popular in some Wiccan rituals.

Perhaps the most important link at this site is the recipe for wassail. Don't forget the brandy to make your Yuletde bright.

A conciliatory approach to the pagan/christian celebration is made by Melanie Schwear at Associated Content who asks whether the pagan roots of christmas really matter.

Any attempt at snatching the Christmas tradition away from the hands of the Christian religious is futile. Denying the practices of modern pagans is just as disrespectful. Instead of arguing about who started it, or who owns the symbolic items of the holiday, perhaps people should concentrate on the most important aspects of the holiday: joy, generosity, new beginnings, and love.

Even atheists or rationalists, as some prefer to be called, can celebrate this time of year with gift giving sans the religious packaging. Over at the Richard Dawkins store, they are offering a special Holidy 4-Pack of DVDs at a savings off the regular price. And you can pre-order The Four Horsemen slated for release January 2nd:

On the 30th of September 2007, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens sat down for a first-of-its-kind, unmoderated 2-hour discussion

If you can't wait, you can watch the video online for free. In the second hour, there is a discussion of how some of them practice and enjoy the full range of holiday traditions without attaching any religious meaning to them. I guess that gives me permission to choose my holiday mixes in the future without worrying whether I attach a disclaimer that the views expressed in the lyrics are not necessarily the views of the playlist maker.

Happy holidays and new year to all, regardless of religious belief, faith, non-religious rationality, or species, come to think of it.

tags: wiccan pagan christmas yule solstice mithra saturnalia wassail celtic oak king holly shamash sol invictus