The Sacred Tree |
Winter
Solstice: Ancient Origins of the Season's Icons
by Jade Wah'oo Grigori
by Jade Wah'oo Grigori
Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, the longest night. In the
northern hemisphere this occurs December 20, 21, 22 or even the 23rd,
varying from year to year, dependent upon the elliptical path of the Earth
around our Sun. Throughout the cultures of the northern world the Winter
Solstice is recognized as a powerful time, a time that commands the respect of
acknowledgment and celebration. Christmas is, of course, one such holiday. Yule
and Saturnalia provide historic origins for the motifs integrated in the
celebration of the season in the form of the Yule Log and decking the halls
with boughs of holly, feasting and family gatherings. Mithraic rites of the
birth of the Year-God recognize December 25th as the holy day of
renewal. It is also the birthday of Osiris, Dionysus and Horus. There is
nothing new, or particularly Christian, in the celebration of Christmas and
other similar celebrations at or near the Winter Solstice in the northern
hemisphere. The roots of this seasonal celebration run deep in antiquity,
emanating from the Shamanic rites of the Neolithic era.