December 21 is the shortest day of the year with the longest night following. The winter solstice coincides with the start of the great Celtic winter festival - Yule. The holiday was traditionally celebrated for 13 nights.
In ancient times, people used to believe that this is the time when spirits and gods descend to the ground to communicate with ordinary mortals.

Researchers say that the word 'Yule' originates from the Scandinavian 'iul' and 'hjol', or the Celtic 'hweol' which means 'wheel' - a hint to the natural cycle of changing seasons. Others link the holiday with one of the names of Jolmir, a Scandinavian god.
There is also a theory saying that the word comes from the name of Roman Emperor Julius Caesar.

Ancient Anglo-Saxons started celebrating Yule on December 19 or 20.
The holiday was preserved during the Christian era, although Christians started to celebrate it on January 6-9, during the middle of the northern winter. Thus, Yule practically coincided with Christmas, which is probably the reason why the tradition to celebrate this holiday was nearly lost in time.

In ancient times, 13 nights counted from the longest night in the year, were called "nights of spirits." The nights used to be dedicated to female deities, who were "responsible" for obstetric aid and fate. Medieval Germans believed that it was the time, when life-giving divinity was born - the Sun. Peasants would light fires on snow-covered fields, drink apple wine and bless trees and future harvests.

It was believed that one was not supposed to stay alone at night of winter solstice over the fear of encountering trolls and elves - the spirits of the dead and creatures from the nether world.

Children would go from one house to another carrying baskets made of branches of evergreen trees and wheat stems sprinkled with flour.
There were apples and carnations in the baskets.
Apples symbolized the sun, branches - immortality, wheat stems - harvest, whereas flour was a symbol of light and life.

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Although most people see Christmas as a Christian holiday, most of the symbols and icons we associate with Christmas celebrations are actually derived from the shamanistic traditions of the tribal peoples of pre-Christian Northern Europe.

The sacred mushroom of these people was the red and white amanita muscaria mushroom, also known as "fly agaric." These mushrooms are now commonly seen in books of fairy tales, and are usually associated with magic and fairies. This is because they contain potent hallucinogenic compounds, and were used by ancient peoples for insight and transcendental experiences.

Most of the major elements of the modern Christmas celebration, such as Santa Claus, Christmas trees, magical reindeer and the giving of gifts, are originally based upon the traditions surrounding the harvest and consumption of these most sacred mushrooms.

The world tree

These ancient peoples, including the Lapps of modern-day Finland, and the Koyak tribes of the central Russian steppes, believed in the idea of a World Tree. The World Tree was seen as a kind of cosmic axis, onto which the planes of the universe are fixed. The roots of the World Tree stretch down into the underworld, its trunk is the "middle earth" of everyday existence, and its branches reach upwards into the heavenly realm.

The amanita muscaria mushrooms grow only under certain types of trees, mostly firs and evergreens. The mushroom caps are the fruit of the larger mycelium beneath the soil which exists in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of the tree. To ancient people, these mushrooms were literally "the fruit of the tree."

The North Star was also considered sacred, since all other stars in the sky revolved around its fixed point. They associated this "Pole Star" with the World Tree and the central axis of the universe. The top of the World Tree touched the North Star, and the spirit of the shaman would climb the metaphorical tree, thereby passing into the realm of the gods. This is the true meaning of the star on top of the modern Christmas tree, and also the reason that the super-shaman Santa makes his home at the North Pole.

Ancient peoples were amazed at how these magical mushrooms sprang from the earth without any visible seed. They considered this "virgin birth" to have been the result of the morning dew, which was seen as the semen of the deity. The silver tinsel we drape onto our modern Christmas tree represents this divine fluid.

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Posted: 10:40:15 PM  
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