A Native American's perspective... this is interesting ;)
Happy Yuletide all!
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 02:04:11 EST
>Subject: Christmas Celtic Connections & the Solstice Celebration...Robert
>Ghost Wolf
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Windows sub 125
>
>
>Christmas Celtic Connections
>and the Solstice Celebration
>
>Winter Solstice
> December 21st
>
>According to Celtic Lore
>The Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year. After this date, the
>days will begin to grow longer again bring more and more light each day. On
>the day of Winter Solstice, the sun is at its most southeastern point over
>the Tropic of Capricorn in the northern hemisphere and has no apparent
>northward or southward motion. Winter Solstice is a time to celebrate the
>return of the light. With the approach of longer days, it renews hope that
>spring and rebirth will return soon.
>In Celtic understanding, Yule is the time when the Oak King reigns over the
>Holly King. The Holly King represents the darkness that has at or around
>the onset of Samhain. (Pronounced Sow -in) and All Souls Eve.
> From the original Celtic Myth at Winter Solstice, the Oak King brings the
>opportunity to be reborn and begin new life. The Yule Season raises one's
>spirit and brings tidings of comfort and joy as the carol goes...It is a
>period of reflection During Samhain, one has recognized the lessons given
>in past experience and now Yule brings the opportunity to be reborn with new
>light.
>The customs created at this time are what are now identified with Christmas,
>which was born during the Phenomenon of the Celtic-Christian merging in
>Britain early-on AD, during the realm of the legendary King Arthur. It is
>told to us in lore that the Custom was established that a Yule tree would be
>decorated and the house adorned with holly, ivy and candles to represent the
>approaching light. Father Winter, complete with a white beard and red cloak
>trimmed with fur, would visit each home bringing gifts, for the children,
>this was done as a sharing of, and a calling for continued abundance in the
>form of a give- away. The Yule log, which was made of oak from the previous
>years harvest, is burned into the fire to symbolize the light of the Newborn
>Sun dispelling the darkness. The burning of the Yule log symbolized the
>triumph of light over darkness. This event was celebrated with a night of
>prayer and singing of the bards to celebrate the ascension of the Sun the
>following morning and the heavenly promise of rebirth which was a holiest of
>events. The following day, Solstice day, after the Sun had reached its apex,
>it was customary to sit at a feast of sweet breads and meats, to celebrate
>the Suns ascension into the heavens.
>The on start of the Winter Season the first full moon is called by some the
>Wolf Moon, and relates to some very ancient Celtic ceremonies. Firstly, let
>us set the records straight and proper…..
>Samhain is pronounced "sow-in" ( The "ow" rhymes with "cow"). Not SAM HAIN
>Samhain is Irish Gaelic for the month of November. Samhuin is Scottish Gaelic
>for All Hallows, NOV-1. "Sam" and "hain" meant "end of" and "summer" to the
>Celts. They observed only two seasons of the year: summer and winter. So,
>Samhain was celebrated at one of the transitions between these seasons.
>Many contemporary Christian authors and critics of, Druidism and/or Wiccan
>have stated that Samhain was named after the famous Celtic "God of the Dead."
> Know, now that No such God ever existed. The belief that Samhain is a
>Celtic God of the Dead is near universal among conservative Christian
>ministries, authors and web sites. They rarely cite any references, because
>none exist, and when the issue is pressed, they just turn the other cheek so
>to speak. May the Lord bless and keep safe the ignorant. Facts being that of
>the some 350 Celtic deities that may still live and breathe, 'Old Sam Hain'
>ain't one of 'em.
>Samhain (October 31), most often recognized as the Celtic New Year, to those
>of us that follow the old way, is also called Ancestor Night. It represented
>the final harvest, when the crops were safely stored for the coming winter.
>As the veil between the worlds of life and death is thin on this night, we
>take this time to remember our beloved dead. Halloween, All Hallows Eve, was
>the time of the year that Baal, the Celtic god of Spring and Summer, ended
>his reign and rested.
>
>More About Solstice
>Remember that it is winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, but in the
>Southern Hemisphere it is Summer Solstice. So in the Spirit of divine
>balance let us understand the meanings…Summer Solstice: June 21st The exact
>date varies from year to year and may occur between the 20th and 23rd of June
>as being the first day of summer. The lowest elevation occurs about DEC-21
>and is the winter solstice-the first day of winter, when the nighttime hours
>reach their maximum.
>The terminology "Solstice" is derived from two words: "sol" meaning sun, and
>"sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice
>approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each
>successive day. On the day of the solstice, the sun rises an imperceptible
>amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still. And
>seemingly so does time for a brief moment.
>Solstice, or Midsummer, as the Brits like to say, is the time when the sun
>reaches its peak of its power, the earth is green and holds the promise of a
>bountiful harvest. The Mother Goddess is viewed as heavily pregnant, and the
>god is at the apex of his manhood and is honored in his guise as the supreme
>sun."
>
>Summer Solstice is known by the following names as well, All-couples day,
>Feast of Epona, Feast of St. John the Baptist, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering
>Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, and Vestalia in the
>Roman tradition.
>Amongst the Celts their Druids, who were the priestly/professional/ the
>scholarly and the diplomats of the Celtic societies, celebrated Alban Heruin
>("Light of the Shore"). It was midway between the spring Equinox (Alban
>Eiler; "Light of the Earth") and the fall Equinox (Alban Elfed; "Light of the
>Water"). It was a time for divination and healing rituals. Traditionally
>divining rods and wands are cut at this time
>
>
>And of course in the Spiritual ritual symbolism of the midsummer festival
>celebrates the apex of Light, the victory of Light over darkness in a
>never-ending dance, which was symbolized in the crowning of the (symbolic)
>Oak King god of the waxing year. With his crowning, the Oak King falls to his
>darker aspect, the Holly King god of the waning year. The ceremony brings out
>the full duality and dualistic nature of the human drama, as it experiences
>earth Life, being out of balance with itself.. As well, it presents the
>Light and dark nature of Earth energies, and is a bit reminiscent of the
>qualities of Kali, the destroyer. Who in her dance of destruction enables the
>new to emerge into being...Again I find it interesting to say the least the
>Male energy is portrayed in the symbolism of a human male, being crowned in
>the earthly ceremony while the spiritual aspects of the divine, are realized
>in the feminine aspects of the various goddesses.
> Commonly the ancient Germanic, Slav and Celtic tribes of Europe, would
>celebrate this Midsummer ceremony with bonfires and dancing, trance dancing
>if you will. "It was the night of fire festivals and of love magic, of love
>oracles and divination. It had to do with lovers and predictions, when pairs
>of lovers would jump through the luck-bringing flames..." does this sound a
>little Native American, I wonder? It was believed that the crops would grow
>as high as the couples were able to jump. Through the fire's power, "maidens
>would find out about their future husband, and spirits and demons were
>banished." Another function of bonfires was to generate sympathetic magic:
>giving a boost to the sun's energy so that it would remain potent throughout
>the rest of the growing season and guarantee a plentiful harvest.What about
>Christmas? How does this all relate to Christmas anyway? Celts and Jesus…
>Preposterous!
>Really. Ok, Let us take two facts, just two. One is the Legend of the
>Holy Grail, which began with its being brought to Brittany by one Joseph of
>Arimathea. Afterwards the young faith that would later be called
>Christianity was taken under the protection of the Druids, and a great
>merging occurs with the Celtic People, which eventually leads us to King
>Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and a center was established at
>Glastonbury. And today we have the surviving Celtic Church, which holds some
>of the oldest records of the Church in the world. And would not the
>celebration of the birthing of the Christus, and the resurrection be the
>ultimate victory of light over darkness, and as the Sun ascends into the
>heavens, would this not be akin to the ascension of the Master. And was not
>the Christus as a person, the living example of the balance of male and
>female…which would be in Celtic keeping? So this Christmas as the folks
>come round your doors and the giveaway is shared amongst you, have yourself a
>Merry Meet, indeed!And if you have questions about what you've heard here on
>Solstice let your heart tell you the truth of the tale, think about that
>funny little man, surrounded by all those elementals, and Flying Reindeer,
>well now… that is a bit of magic is it not…
>
>With warm greetings for the Winter Solstice 2000,
>In the Light,
>Robert Ghost Wolf
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Wolf Lodge Cultural Foundation
>http://www.wolflodge.org
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