~ Winter Solstice, Yule Love It! ~
By Lori Suzanne Holetz
It is just before sunrise on a cold December day some three thousand years before the coming of Christ. For those crouched at the heart of the mound it must seem as though light has been banished forever. Then, suddenly, a tiny sliver of sunlight strikes the stone slab at the back of the chamber. Slowly it widens, climbs upward, illuminating a number of mysterious carvings ~ circles and spirals, zigzag patterns. For the people crouched in the center of the great Mound of Brug na Boine (also known as New Grange) every symbol has meaning. But by far the greatest significance is the return of the sun itself. The light that enters the dark womb of the earth brings with it the promise of warmth and life to come.
The Green Man, old as time itself, brings gifts at Winter Solstice, when the sun begins again to strengthen in the sky. An embodiment of the life force of green and growing things, he is celebrated in carvings in medieval churches all over Europe as a symbol of emergence from the death of Winter into the new life of Spring. ~ excerpt from “The Sacred Traditions of Christmas” by John Matthews.
What exactly is the meaning of the Holiday season? It has come to mean many different things to many different individuals all based upon different themes and cultural traditions. But what does it all deeply mean? Beyond all religious, spiritual, cultural, or family ideals for the holidays, beneath it all, is the continuous wheel of the year, the spinning of the Earth around the Sun. December 21 marks the shortest day and the longest night of the wheel, the Winter solstice, symbolically acknowledged and celebrated with the lighting of candles representing “the returning of the light”. We wait with bated breath, as it means that life and the regreening of the Earth will now begin again.
The glory of the Sun is at the heart of it all. We, all life on Earth, cannot live without the Sun. So in ancient times, long before our profound scientific discoveries of the fundamental workings of our solar system, this time of year had profound implications for all the tribes of all the lands.
Familiar symbols we all share ~
The Wreath represents the eternal wheel of time and the seasons. Holly (representing the crown of thorns Jesus wore) represents the male plant, and Ivy represents the female. Together they become the Holly King and the Ivy Queen.
The Shaman in the tree climbs down through the hole in the skin teepee with bells jingling; he brings “gifts” of prophecy from the stars for the coming new year. The cosmic tree points the way to heaven for us each Christmas. Santa Claus undertakes the magical flight of the Shaman, descending down the Tree Sky Pole to deliver the gifts, and back up again. The chimney carries him from one realm to the other.
Mistletoe, known to the ancient Druids as the Golden Bough, was highly prized for healing properties, and prescribed in greatly and expertly diluted states for many serious illnesses. Thus it became highly prized. As it dries and the leaves and berries turn yellow, it then becomes the golden bough.
The Fir tree predates the celebration of Christmas by several hundred years. The decorated tree represents much more than the symbols of light and gifts. Evergreen branches from various symbolic trees are used indoors and out, reminding us of the life that never withers or dies in the depths of winter’s sleep.
And then there is the Star. It was years before the birth of Christ that the Magi did follow the star. They saw the star, brightest of all in the velvet vault of the night sky and they were disturbed, terrified and the whole land of Persia was afraid. It was the custom of the Magi of the Ancient Kings to consult the zodiac about all affairs of their lives. Over time, the star became the guiding light to the savior.
So our modern day celebration of the holy holly holidays is a collection of many old and ancient traditions, ideals and symbols of hope, joy, and light. The season’s celebrations, no matter what tradition, culture, or part of the world they come from, give us the hope of the light of the world to guide us into the new year, the hope of the return of the light of the Sun… The Father, the Sun… that Holy Spirit that all life on Earth can not live without.
Happiest of holy days to you and yours. May your own traditions become a source of the brightest of blessings of joy and the sweetest of dreams beneath the starry sky. Blessed be, the return of the light! Happy Christ Light to all, and to all…. A most blessed winter’s night. ☼