Christmas: Yule, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice; What's the deal?

The Following is the first installment of my Christmastime/ Winter Holiday essay. I am focusing on Christmas with an emphasis on the Neo-Pagan observance of The Winter Solsitice and the Old European customs of Yule and of the Ancient Roman Feast of Saturnalia and what they have in common with the Feast Day of the Nativity and Christmas time.



Well we’re in mid-November, and though we have a somewhat major holiday coming up in a little under two weeks (Thanksgiving) it is generally downplayed for an even bigger Winter Holiday, Christmas. There are other Holiday’s around this time of year, Hanukah, and Kwanzaa come to mind. But it seem none so important to American Culture as Christmas. When we think of Christmas we think of presents and evergreen trees. Decorations, and lights, candy, and great food, Santa and his reindeer. We think of good times, jolly times, and playful times with our family. We think of singing carols and attending our children’s Christmas programs at school. There is also religious significance, Christians go to church and celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus who will one day become the savior for Christians and mankind.

However, where do we get these ideas, and customs? Surely they are not original to Christianity? Anyone who has done any studying knows that Jesus was not born on December 25th. The Catholic Church moved the feast day of the nativity to that day to coincide with the Roman Feast and celebrations of Saturnalia, and the Northern European festivals of Yule. They moved it to that day to help convert those nasty Heathens to the new religion of Christianity all those centuries ago.

The customs of Christmas are borrowed from these earlier holidays. And, the original holidays are celebrated today by those people who identify themselves as Neo-Pagan, people who attempt to revive the old gods, and the old customs and traditions and religions of the pre-Christian era. Not all Neo-Pagans attempt to reconstruct these old religions; some use the old religions as a model but upon which to build modern modes of worshipping the old gods. Wicca is one such modern religion, that while based upon myth and stories from these old Pre-Christian religions, are also based on modern lore from Witchcraft, Gerald Gardner, went public with this religion in the late 1950’s when the last of Britain’s anti-Witchcraft laws were repealed. There is much debate on if Gardner invented the whole Wiccan religion or simply brought it to light. Such debate rages like a five-alarm inferno in the Wiccan and Neo-Pagan Community to this very day. Of course this essay is not about the merits or history of Wicca, it is about Yule and other Early Pagan Festivals that took place around the Winter Solstice that coincides with the modern Christmas. So let’s get on with the show.



The Modern Yule usually takes place on the Winter Solstice (DEC. 20-22nd) It is not a fixed holiday, as it comes about based on the season and planetary and astrological alignment. Yule in Modern Wicca/Neo-Pagan lore is seen as the longest night of the year. The cold depths of Winter is setting in. This is a time to reflect. However, there is the promise that imbolc will be here in February, and that spring time will soon be here. Though this is the longest night of the year, from this point on the days will start to get longer. It will be subtle to those unaware, but the day gets longer from this point until around June 21st or the Summer Solstice when the sun is at its very peak. Traditionally this is a time when Yule logs are to be burned to help give energy and strength to the Sun. This is also said to be the time when the newborn god, the bright child of promise is said to be born from the eternal mother goddess. Some Neo-Pagans take part in a ritual known as “Birthing the Sun/Son” it is a ritualistic way of aiding the Goddess into delivering the god child, and in aiding the natural world in delivering the mighty Sun out of it’s winter slumber and giving it strength to help bring about the warmer months of the year.



“Sun Gods: Apollo, Mithras, and Jesus”

“Without the sun there would be no life. Without the sun there would be no plants, and without plants, there would be no oxygen. Without oxygen, there would be no animals or human beings!

Like many pre-Christian customs and beliefs, the old feast commemorating the yearly return of the sun was rededicated to the birth of Christ. In the year 274CE, the Roman emperor Aurelianus established the cult of “The God Of The Invincible Sun” which was celebrated on December 25th, even though the actual day of the winter solstice is the twenty-first or twenty-second day of the month. Why? Perhaps this was the first day on which the people could actually discern the elevated position of the sun, and see that it truly was coming back from the depths of darkness. The feast associated with the event was called the “rebirth of the sun.” At the same time the Romans rededicated the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Christ, they also took over the cult of the Persian sun god Mithras, whose birthday was also celebrated on December 25th. “The [Mithraic] mystery started with his initiation into a heavenly soul voyage.” ( Giebel 1990, 200).

Many of the gods of the past were associated with the sun: Ra and Osiris, the Egyptian sun and vegetation gods; Helios and Apollo, Greek gods of the sun and light; and the Germanic Wotan, who searches for the sun in the time of darkness with his wild army, to name just a few. The power of each of these important gods was attributed to the reigning emperor or king of the day. The sun was the giver of life for plants and thus also for human beings. Therefore, the first day of the week –Sunday- was named after the day once dedicated to Helios, the sun god.

In the context of this cosmological and mythological background, the idea that Jesus was a descendent of the former sun gods was only logical, and it is easy to see why his followers associated the rebirth of the sun with his birth. But there remains a significant difference. According to Christian belief, the sun itself is not divine, but is “a mere creation that God has given special duties. … The Pagan belief remained centered on the divine beauty of His work, and worshipped it, in their adoration of God, instead of only comprehending the Creator” ( Forstner 1986, 96).

This is why the Church was so keen to point out that the Pagan admiration of the sun really amounted to adoration of the “glowing light from the heights.” (Luke 1:78, quoted in Forstner 1986, 97).

From: - “Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and rituals at the Origins of Yuletide; Christian Ratsch and Claudia Muller-Ebeling 2006 inner traditions publishing (originally published in German by AT Verlag 2003), Pg. 149-150

Look for the next installment of this eassy where I focus on The Customs, myths, and stories of the Northern European Yule and of the Ancient Roman Festival of Saturnalia (As I compile the information)

And look for an installment about the Feast of the Nativity and the Christian celebrations of this Winter holiday.