Given our history of bringing up ancient traditions and interesting holidays we turn our attention this week to the strange underpinnings that make up a holiday that you probably thought you knew: Christmas.
It’s all about the birth of Jesus, right? It’s right there in the name! But what about decorating pine trees? Or mistletoe? Why do we give presents to each other on Jesus’s birthday? Why are apples and oranges spiked with clove given in stockings, or holly kept near the door?
In fact, why is Christmas celebrated in December at all? What little evidence there is points to spring lambing season rather than the middle of winter (based on the stories of the shepherds, the date of the possible sighting of a supernova which can be traced to that period, and the most likely period for a census to take place). So why would December 25th be chosen as a date for Christmas?
Well, long before Christians celebrated Christmas there were other celebrations that happened in December, associated with the Winter solstice and the rebirth of the sun after the longest night of the year. Several different cultures celebrated a version of this festival, but the one that seems to have stayed with us the most culturally is Yule: a pagan festival that is loosely connected with the Wild Hunt.
Yule was a celebration that took place at the end of December and in which people gave gifts to each other to celebrate the fact that the worst of winter was over and the days would only grow longer from that point forward. Evergreen trees and boughs represented immortality and the divine because they did not lose their leaves throughout the winter and thus did not “die.” Apples and oranges represented the sun, and were given as such.
The modern hanging of mistletoe and holly stems from the pagan traditions of Yule, as both plants were considered sacred. Mistletoe, used to slay the sun god Baldur, was hung up to represent his rebirth (mistletoe is also believed to have been considered sacred to other traditions including druidic ones). Holly was hung to invite good fortune into house. Of course, some of these traditions might have stemmed from the fact that in the middle of winter there are only so many plants that still have their leaves and can be used as decoration.
Another interesting tradition is the Yule log. At first glance the Yule log seems to be a tradition that has died out. A huge log which was ceremonially decorated and kept burning throughout the entire night, it was meant as much to protect the inhabitants of the house throughout the long and dangerous night as it was meant to bring light and warmth to the celebration. Protection was especially important when one considers that the longest nights of the year, when the Yule fires are lit and the winter winds blow, was sacred to the Wild Hunt in some myths.
Essentially the Wild Hunt was a spectral horde of haunted men and hounds that race through the sky and the earth amid a terrible racket of hooves, dogs, and winds. The leader of the hunt, and its quarry, changes depending on the culture, but one such leader was the Norse god Odin who hunted the lost spirits of the dead accompanied by lightning and thunder. In the Middle Ages King Arthur or Charlemagne was said to lead the hunt, in Wales the hunt was led by Gwynn ap Nudd and his pack of white hounds with blood-red ears.
But whoever led the hunt it was whispered that it was not a good idea to stray too far from the protections of the Yule fires. Because if you did, if you got stuck outside in the cold amid the tumult of the Hunt, it was possible that the Huntsman may mistake you for his rightful quarry. And if that happened death was the least of your worries.
In the modern age we may no longer burn logs to keep us safe throughout the night, but we do still put something up during the Christmas season which marks our houses in the middle of the night and surrounds them with a protective light. We talk, of course, of Christmas lights, which don’t really make sense in any other context.
Then again, maybe it’s human nature to want to show off with bright lights and all we’re really looking for is an excuse.