During this time of year, modern Pagans are inundated with thoughts of the of Christian’s Christmas. We are reminded of Jesus’ supposed birth, Santa Claus and the demand to buy gifts for everyone you have ever known since first grade. For Pagans, it can be a perplexing time. Honoring Christmas to make family and Christian friends happy and attempting to do the same for Yule can be taxing at best. We get overwhelmed with all the seasonal armaments hitting us at once. How can one be true to Yule’s origin with that entire Christian ambiance that seems to drown out anything that isn’t retail in origin?
The history of Yule
So let’s look into the past and be re-introduced to origins of our Pagan ancestor’s version on this time of year and its comparison to our Christian cousin. Yule is the celebration of the Winter Solstice and is the longest night of the year. It is said to be born out of the festival of Saturn, Saturnalia, in the Roman territory. Solstice falls on the 22nd of December (in most regions) and is called this for the Latin word ‘sol’ for sun and ‘sistit’ for stands. Yule was derived from the Norse solstice celebration which was referred as ‘jol’. Roman Pagans exchanged gifts and lots of merriment ensued. This was long before the Three Wise Men showed up bearing gifts. In fact, it was circa 50 CE.
Was Santa Claus a Pagan?
The word’s root meaning is that of a wheel, a symbol of the sun. It marked the holiday of thirteen nights during which the goddess Freya is honored by sacrificing sacrifice of one of her favorite animals, the boar. Food was left out for Odin who crossed the country bestowing favors on those who honored him. He was referred to Jolnir, Lord of the Yule. Enter the first Santa Claus.
Trees and Mistletoe
The traditional Yule log is a combination of sympathetic magic and ritual. The log was dressed to symbolize their God, put on the hearth and lit with the brand of the previous year’s log. This also implies the return of the sun and good luck for the household. The same can be said for evergreen plants and trees being dressed during this time. It was Germanic pagans who would dress the tree as a god and bury it in honor of the goddess (his lover) followed by stories of resurrection and ritual. The pinecone was exhibited as a sign of fertility for the impregnated goddess. Later on, Pagans decided to dress the trees with candles. The first holiday tree perhaps.
Mistletoe was sacred to both Celtics and Norse. The Druids harvested this plant for fertility rites and the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is a faint remembrance of the Druid ceremony. The Norse considered the plant to be sacred to Thor. It was used to protect houses from evil spirits and symbolized life in death during the longest night of the year.
The return of Horus?
Of course, you might want to research the resurrection story of Osiris/Horus and the ancient Egyptian story of the Nativity scene involving Horus being surrounded by animals; the animals of today’s zodiac.
The true meaning of the holiday is not Jesus’ birth or even manic shopping before December 25th. The true meaning is something we may never truly know but scholars do agree that it is a celebration of the days getting warmer and the sun (or Sun god) is in the sky longer. However one honors the end of winter it is definitely a time to celebrate.