12.22.2007
A Blessed Solstice
Today
Sun Halo at Winter Solstice
This time of year is held sacred by many modern Pagan and Heathen traditions, and has a rich history in ancient pagan religion.
The solstice time was marked as special by pre-historic peoples in both Ireland and England. While there is scant evidence of specific celebrations, it is generally thought that the pagan Celts did mark the solstice time.
Germanic pagans and modern Heathens celebrate Yule at this time. During this holiday the god Freyr was honored. Several traditions we associate with Christmas (eating a ham, hanging holly, mistletoe) come from Yule.
The ancient pagan Romans celebrated Saturnalia which typically ran from December 17th through the 23rd. The festival honored the god Saturn and featured lavish parties and role-reversals. From Saturnalia we can see the traditions of exchanging gifts and decorating evergreen trees indoors that would be adopted as Christmas traditions. Following Saturnalia were the birth celebrations in honor of Sol Invictus (the unconquered sun) and Mithras both held on December 25th.
Many modern Pagans, including Wiccans, Witches, several Druidic traditions, and their many off-shoots hold this time as one of the eight Sabbats/holy days. Usually called Winter Solstice or Yule. It is a time when many of these traditions celebrate the re-birth of the god by the mother goddess.
Here are some recent press quotes on our winter observances.
"Shops catering to pagan customers have been busy selling items which are familiar to any Christian, including candles, incense, and scents like frankincense and myrhh. The similarities between Christmas and solstice are widely attributed to the fact that both festivals are really a celebration of life." - CBC News
"Solstice celebrations began with pre-Roman Empire pagans and were centered around agriculture, food, nature and the cyclical seasons of the universe, Burton said. Romans exchanged candles and figurines in celebration. In 274 A.D., Christians in the Roman Empire adopted some of the solstice's pagan traditions (also known then as The Unconquered Sun) in an effort to convert pagans to their religion. Anglo Saxon Christians in the Middle Ages did the same." - Jennifer Crossley, The Times Daily
"Traditionally the log that celebrated Yule - a name that may have been derived from an old word for wheel, as the wheel of the year turned - was big enough to light 12 days of feasting. A fragment would be saved to light next year's log, symbolizing continuity and rebirth. We still light our homes and neighborhoods in an effort to bring cheer against the gathering gloom of deepest winter." - Michael Babcock, Great Falls Tribune
"Celebrating during the darkest days of the year near the winter solstice goes back to ancient times, Blackmer said, when people met for large feasts and placed evergreens in their homes. It is these original traditions that interest Mike Morse of Gaithersburg, who attended the ceremony Tuesday. Many people don't realize that Christmas has roots in such ancient practices, Morse said. The coming of the light to world, whether literally or metaphorically in the Christian sense, 'is all a take off from the [winter] solstice,' he said. 'This kind of experience seeks to take back the wonder and awe of the coming of light.'" - Katherine Mullen, The Business Gazette
"What has become of our holy Saturnalia, fellow pagans? I go into my local Wal-Mart, greeted by all the familiar holly and ivy of yore, and am welcomed not with the rousing "Io, Saturnalia!" of simpler times, but with some made-up newfangled, supposedly "non-offensive" substitute: this "Christ-Mass" thing." - Garrett Eisler, The Huffington Post
No matter what your religion or tradition, may this year's winter celebrations and observances bring you peace and joy!
* The Winter Solstice happens on December 22nd at 06:08 UTC. Which means that it happened at approximately 12:08 AM CST for me. You can calculate the time for your own neck of the woods, here.
Labels: Paganism, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice, Yule
12.18.2007
(Pagan) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.
Remember the Episcopagan scandals? Well, the main player in that drama, former Episcopalian priest turned Druid Walter William Melnyk, is releasing a new novel co-written with with Druid priestess Emma Restall Orr entitled "The Apple and The Thorn".
"The Apple and The Thorn is a love story set on the mythical Isle of Avalon at the time of the Roman invasion of Britain. The novel draws on the persistent myths of the Lady of the Lake; legends of Jesus' visit to Glastonbury with Joseph of Arimathea; the Holy Grail and the Chalice Well. Although set in ancient times, it is a heart-rending tale of power and belief, a contemporary reminder of the emotional and physical conflicts that surface when the missionary zeal of one faith threatens to destroy the beauty and spirituality of indigenous culture and suppress freedom of belief and worship."
If the Lady of the Lake and Joseph of Arimathea debating over the true nature of Jesus (and the resulting Christian religion) is your kind of thing, no doubt you'll be well-pleased with what Melnyk and Orr have produced. The book is out now in the UK, and is scheduled for a May release in the US.
The Lansing State Journal reports that Baby-Boom religious seekers will most likely remain seekers once they hit retirement.
"He said that, as boomers age, as they become grandparents, they seem to be 'moving into that phase that humanistic psychologists have talked about of thinking about what they give back, not just what they get,' he said, 'what they give back to family, community and country.' The question for religious institutions is whether they can provide the settings for that search for meaning. 'Organized religion has been reaching out to try to create venues for this kind of thing,' Roof said. 'But I think the baby-boom generation still feels free to find truth wherever they can.'"
So don't worry, it doesn't appear that Starhawk will be converting to Orthodox Judaism (or Isaac Bonewits to Catholicism) any time soon. I, for one, welcome our less-self-centered Boomer overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted blogging personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others
Speaking of Starhawk, she weighs in on the subject of diversity, pluralism, and the "Christmas Wars" at the Washington Post "On Faith" blog.
"I don't think we're being too 'politically correct' to hold to the guiding principles that our Constitution is founded upon. As someone who was raised Jewish and who is a practicing Pagan, I support Christmas. I think it's a beautiful holiday, a wonderful celebration of birth and hope in the midst of the dark of winter. I support Christ being the 'star of the show' in every Christian Church and Christian home. I sympathize deeply with my Christian and secular friends who are struggling to keep the holiday from devolving into CommercialMass or Giftmas and to focus on its deeper meaning. I do not support Christ being the star of the show in public celebrations - not unless he's willing to share the stage with Lugh the Sun God and Saule the Sun Goddess, Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, Judah Macabee and a host of others. Even then, either someone gets left out or every celebration becomes an interminable endurance test. And how do atheists get equal time?"
While Americans battle over how much Baby Jesus gets to happen in public, Iceland has no problems connecting the Yule-tide dots between Christian and pagan practice.
"Head Folklorist at the University of Iceland Terry Gunnell will give a presentation in English today and again on December 22 at the National Museum of Iceland, located in Reykjavik, about the traditional Icelandic Yule. The presentation is entitled 'The Icelandic Yule. An illustrated presentation in English reviewing the beliefs and traditions of Icelandic Christmas past and present, from pagan gods to practical joking Christmas Lads.'"
Between this and the joint Pagan-Christian celebrations in Lithuania, you gotta wonder if Europe isn't on to something here. But if tolerance and peaceful co-celebration isn't an option, you can always file a restraining order on the cause(s) of this whole mess.
"Paranormal Restraining Orders Keep them away! Since the dawn of time, mankind has sought the means of keeping away supernatural and paranormal entities. Now, for only $5 each, receive a printed document that bars them from approaching or contacting you."
They really need to broaden their options, there are all sorts of celestial powers I want to keep a safe distance from me.
The Smart Set's Emily Maloney visits a Body, Mind, and Spirit Expo so you don't have to.
"The whole expo felt like a bad shopping trip where shoppers and sellers were all piecing together a mix and match vision of reality. I also found listening to people who were capable of distorting their cognition in such whimsical ways nearly impossible to understand. I mean, if I could get in touch with the Devic Kingdom, wherever that is, I could definitely use a fat, chipper gnome to remind me of my grocery list, or help me find overdue library books, or drive when I got too drunk (if that's not asking too much to ask of a gnome), but I just don't know how to go playfully crazy in the direction of woodland fairies and jolly gnomes."
I completely empathize with the mental block (which I playfully call "sanity") that doesn't allow me the full range of spiritual experiences some of my more "out there" co-religionists seem to regularly engage in. Then again, if it got me a gnome-housekeeper, perhaps I should try harder.
In a final (fae) note, Bookslut lets us know that there is a new English translation out of the classic Irish epic "The Tain".
"It's all quite fantastic, but in Carson's version never preposterous. In part, that's because he's such a skilled translator. Carson has done deft poetic justice to book-length works by Dante and the 18th century Irish poet Brian Merriman. This "Tain" also benefits from the fact that, among the formidable group of poets to emerge from Ulster over the last few decades, Carson has remained closest to the roots of that troubled province's traditions. He is the author of two fine books on traditional music, and this translation is dedicated to a traditional Gaelic storyteller. Because he is a fine poet and -- in that Yeatsian sense -- "a rooted man," Carson's translation teases from "The Tain" several of the things that make it so remarkable: First and foremost among them is the fact that -- unlike, say, the Iliad -- the characters in "The Tain" don't stand as archetypes. They're real people -- conflicted, complex, alternately admirable and reprehensible, capable of courtesy and deceit, generosity and cunning. Cu Chulainn is a superhero and a vain adolescent, a warrior sometimes thrust into mourning by his own skill. He, like other characters in this "Tain," is also very funny."
You can find the new translation, here.
That is all I have for now, have a good day!
Labels: Baby Boomers, Christmas, Druidry, Episcopagan, Iceland, Ireland, New Age, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Starhawk, War on Christmas, Yule
12.10.2007
A Few Quick Notes
A slow news day in the Pagan world, but there were a few interesting tidbits I would like to share with you. First off, UU-Blogger Philocrites says everything I could possibly want to say concerning Mitt Romney's "Faith in America" speech.
"By trying to define "faith" as conservative traditionalism and "pluralism" as a name for monotheistic traditionalism, Romney misrepresented the true diversity of American religion, explicitly dismissed Americans who don't identify with a religious tradition, and painted the traditions he did mention in a way that celebrates their most traditionalist wings and ignores almost all of their visions for the commonweal. What a disappointment."
Also of interest is Slacktivist's analysis of the speech, in which he questions the logic of throwing (non-Mormon) religious outsiders under the bus in order to curry favor with the Christian Right.
"The speech includes some decent stretches, but it was not, primarily, a courageous plea for religious tolerance and mutual respect. It was, instead, primarily an obsequious bit of sucking up by an outsider hoping to curry favor with the in crowd by parroting their condemnation of other outsiders ... Romney's gambit here comes straight from the school yard. As a Mormon, he is an outsider, getting picked on by the bullies of the religious right. Instead of standing up to the bullies, he sucks up to them, trying to prove his loyalty and win their approval by acting like them and picking on the other outcasts and outsiders. 'You guys want to pretend that 'secular' and 'profane' are synonyms? I can do that. Look, I'll even beat up this atheist kid for you. See? I'm just like you guys!'"
Turning from politics to holiday celebrations (a topic that is only slightly less contentious), the expected "winter festivals other than Christmas" stories are starting to pop up. The American Chronicle runs a commentary piece by Saqqara Aleister concerning pre-Christian winter holidays and how they have influenced our present-day festivities.
"So as the Winter Solstice once again is upon planet Earth, look to where your celebration may have come from. Look to others in this time of "Christmas" and see, we are all celebrating the same season. Everyone may not celebrate in the same way but we are all celebrating birth, death and rebirth in our own unique way. A way that our ancient forefathers saw coming thousands of years ago as they huddled in caves watching over their food stores waiting for the snow to melt and the warmth of spring to return. May your observance be merry and happy."
Meanwhile, The Daily Titan (a college paper for the California State University in Fullerton) interviews a Wiccan about Yule celebrations.
"Tracing its roots back to Scandinavian aboriginals, Yule celebrates the winter solstice. "[It] centers around December 20 to the 23 in the northern hemisphere," said Paul Levesque, comparative religion professor. This year, it will take place on Dec. 20 and pagans will celebrate the return of the warm sun ahead of the long winter days. "[It's about] showing the unity of creation, light in the darkness," Levesque said. Yule also reinforces the notion of rebirth during the wintertime and it commemorates the New Year in western and northern traditions of Wicca."
No doubt an expose on the mysterious "Western" and "Northern" traditions of Wicca will be forthcoming. In addition to these stories, you can find plenty of "pagan roots of Christmas" articles written with different degrees of talent by a variety of columnists hard-up for fresh ideas. They should all take a cue from Tony Sachs at the Huffington Post, who writes an amusing story of how his grade-school tried to solve the religious diversity problem by settling on a common denominator: paganism.
"I can sort of understand, however, why none of us thought twice about what was called "Candlelighting Day" but was really "Freaky Quasi-Druidic Festival." We were just kids, for cryin' out loud. Give us a half day of school with an assembly instead of classes and we'd do anything. Celebrate the holidays with a mass wedding presided over by Sun Myung Moon? No problem, as long as it gets me out of algebra. Bite the heads off some Christmas doves with Ozzy Osbourne? Like, sure, whatever. Is it noon yet?"
Ah, the innocence of childhood.
Finally, for the book lovers out there (and you know who you are), Bookslut has a profile of the literary smorgasbord that is the Exhibit Hall of the American Academy of Religion's yearly meeting.
"Any academic conference's pedestrian aorta leads right into the Exhibit Hall, a place clogged with publishers' book booths. Last month, I immersed myself in the clamorous annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) -- Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) in San Diego, and thus was able to graze in the mother of all Exhibit Halls. As one of 9,000-plus attendees, I joined other book lovers in walking up one aisle and down the next, refusing to miss a back corner or hidden grotto and thus a possible gem."
I don't know about you, but I'm totally planning on being at the next AAR meeting in Chicago. Pagan scholars, academic papers, and more books than you can shake a stick at. What more could you want?
Labels: American Academy of Religion, books, Festival, Mitt Romney, Pagan Studies, Paganism, politics, Religion, Unitarian-Universalism, Winter Solstice, Yule
11.18.2007
Isn't it a little early for this?
It isn't even Thanksgiving yet and already the first rumblings of the ongoing "War on Christmas" are emerging. It seems that like the retailers, conservative Christians have to start earlier and earlier in order to make their quotas (of attention-grabbing media). The American Family Association has singled out two major retail chains for not being sufficiently full of Christ in their marketing. The first, home improvement retailer Lowe's, took heat for selling "family trees" in their catalog instead of "Christmas trees".
"In its Holiday 2007 catalog, containing 56 pages of Christmas gifts, Lowe's advertises hundreds of gift items, including scores of "Family trees." In fact, the word "Christmas" only appears two times in the entire holiday catalog. The ads mentioning "Christmas" cover only 12 square inches of the 5236 square inches available."
The AFA must not have gotten the latest message from Pat "I love Rudy" Robertson, who made a tree-related pronouncement on this week's "The 700 Club".
"This week, Pat Robertson said on "The 700 Club" that Christmas trees are not worth making a fuss over because they "come from Teutonic Paganism" and "are not an integral part of Christianity." You know things are getting bad when even Robertson starts making sense."
But Lowe's, believing it better to be safe than sorry, immediately recanted its "family trees" and said that "Christmas" would be everywhere in their stores. Where, oh where, will I buy my Pagan-friendly "family" tree now?
The AFA also set its sights on PetSmart, for selling seasonal pet items that weren't sufficiently devoted to all things "Christmas".
"Of all the items that pop up when you search for Christmas, not a single one mentions Christmas or is identified as being a Christmas gift."
PetSmart is also listed in the "naughty" list of Christmas-defying retailers by The Liberty Counsel, who has released its yearly "naughty and nice" list of stores (PDF). The pet-retailer joins The Gap, Ace Hardware, Bloomingdale's and K-Mart in the list of establishments getting "coal" from conservative Christians. This and other early warning shots, seem to prefigure an especially heated seasonal "war" this year. No doubt the "big guns" will soon come out with their yearly allotment of outrage, but don't count out those sneaky Hollywood liberals!
As for the millions of non-Christians in this country, the ones that some Christians believe shouldn't be acknowledged by stores during "their" holiday, we will go on quietly celebrating our Winter festivals, and awaiting the day when we all acknowledge the real reason for the season.
Labels: Christianity, Christmas, Paganism, War on Christmas, Yule
12.24.2006
Last Minute Holiday Wishes
I know that everyone is gearing up for the birthday of Mithras (a birthday shared by a certain carpenter's son) tomorrow, but that hasn't stopped newspapers from getting a final word in before our celebrations for the return of the unconquered Sun. Todd Babiak of The Edmonton Journal interviews some psychics before the new year and uses that opportunity to meditate on the nature of the winter holidays.
"The darkest time of year might also be the dreariest and most frightening. Not for the ever-optimistic humans. Evidence shows that gathering to celebrate the rebirth of the sun, with song and drink and story, is an ancient compulsion. Festivals of light this time of year were common in Northern India, Tibet, Pakistan, Iran and China. What the holidays have always shared, for all these cultures and ours today, is a tension between anxiety and happiness. If all seems dark and hopeless, and nothing grows, let there be light."
Bob Pondillo of the Murfreesboro Post wishes for an end to bickering about the "true" meaning of Christmas and instead wishes that all would see the commonalities between the different winter observances.
"The bigger picture is that the festivities and celebrations of this wonderful season cannot be contained in any singular religious tradition. In fact, they can't be contained at all because they speak to certain spiritual yearnings of connectedness and identification that all of us experience in our hearts. And I think the four major themes of the holiday season - what our Protestant and Catholic friends call Advent - clearly transcend the Christian faith, and go to the realm of the Universal. The four themes are: Joy, Hope, Peace, and Love."
Ian Bell of the Sunday Herald defends the (mythic) reality of Santa Claus, and wonders if us losing the "true meaning" of Christmas has lead us to find it on our own once more (with a little help from Santa of course).
"It is interesting, though, that the charge of mythical status [for Santa Claus] was regarded as conclusive. Few things are as real as a good myth. Carl Jung spent a very long time boring people to death on the subject. Humanity has lived and died for its mythology for millennia. Some people still swear by, and kill for, old myths for which the corroborating evidence is thin-to-invisible. In those stakes, the bearded one is better than harmless. He promises and, as often as not, he delivers. He counsels against antisocial behaviour. His cult meanwhile lacks the baggage typical of his competitors ... I feel the ghost of Mr Dickens and sundry other cornballs. They say that the only meaning of Christmas is the meaning you make for yourself. It is personal, not dictated, whether by chain stores or chain churches. It has lost all definition, all ordained significance: I conceded that much a long time ago. Yet such, perversely, is the value of the thing. Choose any faith or none, any holy rite or daft little family tradition. The man in the beard smiles on all. He makes you a gift of it. Non-returnable, but real."
I'd like to echo the sentiments expressed here, and I hope all my readers have a good time with family and friends no matter the holiday. Lets concentrate on the commonalities and not the differences for a couple days, at the very least it will make relations with the relatives a little easier.
Labels: Christmas, Paganism, Winter Solstice, Yule
12.21.2006
A Blessed Solstice
Today is the Winter Solstice, the longest night and shortest day of the year.
Sun Halo at Winter Solstice
This time of year is held sacred by many modern Pagan and Heathen traditions, and has a rich history in ancient pagan religion.
The solstice time was marked as special by pre-historic peoples in both Ireland and England. While there is scant evidence of specific celebrations, it is generally thought that the pagan Celts did mark the solstice time.
Germanic pagans and modern Heathens celebrate Yule at this time. During this holiday the god Freyr was honored. Several traditions we associate with Christmas (eating a ham, hanging holly, mistletoe) come from Yule.
The ancient pagan Romans celebrated Saturnalia which typically ran from December 17th through the 23rd. The festival honored the god Saturn and featured lavish parties and role-reversals. From Saturnalia we can see the traditions of exchanging gifts and decorating evergreen trees indoors that would be adopted as Christmas traditions. Following Saturnalia were the birth celebrations in honor of Sol Invictus (the unconquered sun) and Mithras both held on December 25th.
Many modern Pagans, including Wiccans, Witches, several Druidic traditions, and their many off-shoots hold this time as one of the eight Sabbats/holy days. Usually called Winter Solstice or Yule. It is a time when many of these traditions celebrate the re-birth of the god by the mother goddess.
Here are some recent press quotes on our winter observances.
"We don't celebrate Christmas ... it's nothing to do with me (she laughs). People often make the mistake that a non-Christian celebration means a non-spiritual celebration, but all the nature festivals have a deep spiritual basis. We like to mark the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, which occurs today. That's when you'd bring a yule log and evergreen tree into the house, to encourage spring to come." - Esther, co-ordinator of the Pagan Federation in Northern Ireland, Belfast Telegraph
"Solstices and equinoxes are probably the most universally recognized holidays in the world. It's a time of new beginnings. It's also a time of endings, for reflecting." - Daniel Foor, San Mateo County Times
"People around the Salt Lake Valley plan to welcome back the light this evening as they celebrate winter solstice. Celebrations of the shortest day of the year date back more than 5,000 years to Ireland's Newgrange, a stone structure thought to be used to recognize the solstice." - Sheena McFarland, The Salt Lake Tribune
"The "season" such as it is, was celebrated for millennia before Jesus was even a glimmer in theology's eye. The reason for the season is, in fact, today. The winter solstice. The shortest day of the year and the longest night. The time during the year when folks prayed long and hard for the return of the light so that things would once again begin to come out of the darkness. (No small allegory there.) Rituals and monuments abound to mark and honor this day. Stonehenge is only one small example. It shows unerringly when the winter and summer solstice have arrived so that the proper rituals can be observed. Such structures and observances appear cross-culturally all over the world, from China to the Hopi and back again." - Jamie Shane, Naples Daily News
"For some Spokane residents, it is more than just an astronomical occurrence – it is a time of religious celebration. "For me it's really important to observe Yule because it's looking back at what this time is really about and sort of escaping the craziness," said Kevan Gardner, a self-identifying Wiccan and member of the Spokane Unitarian Universalist Church, which is holding its annual Yule celebration Thursday night. Gardner said that Yule is a time of hope, best expressed by a line from one of the songs sung during the season: 'Even in the deepest dark, the light does shine.' "We go through the dark, we go through the hard times, but there's always hope ahead," he said." - Laura Onstot, The Spokesman Review
"The real reason for the season returns on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 7:22 p.m. The Winter Solstice, which marks the shortest day in the northern hemisphere and the first day of winter, will pass for most with little fanfare. Over the next few weeks, there will be some welcome hints of lengthening days. Thus the same primordial hopefulness which rose in the breasts of pagan Earth-worshippers may begin to warm the hearts of their modern-day counterparts. It's the rebirth of the sun, not the birth of a son, that we should celebrate. Unlike the followers of xtian mythology, those awaiting signs of these physical realities can witness and experience them without the repeated disappointments of unrewarded faith." - Bruce Wilkey, The Chattanoogan
"Dec. 21, is the Winter Solstice. As the Sun enters the earth sign of Capricorn our Earth begins turning its northern face toward the Sun. This is one of my favorite times of the year when the days begin getting longer and the Sun's warmth is promised to return. This must have been the experience of our earliest ancestors, that in the midst of the coldest, darkest days they suddenly notice the Sun had begun ascending again. Yeah baby, now that's cause for celebration!" - Wendy Crist, Mt Shasta News
No matter what your religion or tradition, may this year's winter celebrations and observances bring you peace and joy!
Labels: Paganism, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice, Yule
