Yule, Christmas, or Politics?

Yule, Christmas, or Politics?

Now that Christmas is fast approaching and the year has once more come full circle, the days will continue to grow shorter and the nights longer until Winter Solstice on December 21. Most of us are busy adorning the house with brightly colored decorations, shopping and wrapping gifts, making sugar cookies, and all the other activities that goes along with creating a festive atmosphere.

I hear so many Christians complaining that the season is no longer centered on the celebration of the birth of Jesus. They complain that the holiday is commercialized and the “true” meaning has been forgotten. (The true meaning, in their interpretation, being rejoicing in remembrance of the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ) I hear endless arguments over the political correctness of the holiday, the “right” and “wrong” ways of celebrating Christmas and people complaining that the holiday is being celebrated for “wrong” reasons. They say it is a “man-made” holiday, and shouldn’t be celebrated at all! (Are there any holidays that aren’t man-made?) There is continuous controversy over the true origins of this traditional holiday. There are many variations of traditions and applications of this holiday, but very few realize that many of our traditions and customs stem from the same tree, and though we are constantly arguing over which tradition or belief is “right” and “wrong”, the basis for the celebration and the symbolism in the holiday customs are very much the same!

While Christians celebrate this season in remembrance of the birth of Christ, The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world, even centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus. Many cultures have celebrated and rejoiced during the Winter Solstice, the end of December. The Winter Solstice has long been a season to rejoice, to symbolize eternal life, regeneration and rebirth.

Though there is nothing inherently wrong with celebrating the coming of the Messiah to earth (if we really even knew when that was) there is more to this season of festivities than the birth of Jesus. This mid-winter holiday we now celebrate as Christmas has roots that go back centuries before the birth of Jesus, and not much has changed about the way we celebrate it.

Early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. People rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated the winter solstice in recognition of the return of the sun. Fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. (Thus the familiar song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”) Their celebrations were held in order to ensure fertility and abundance during the coming year, and these included much feasting, burning of lamps, lighting of great fires (the Yule fires) and exchanges of gifts.

The Romans, too, held their great winter solstice celebrations--Saturnalia—or the festival of Saturn from December 17th to 25th and it was the latter date which they honored as the rebirth of the Unconquered Sun. The use of evergreens to decorate the streets and houses was also very much in evidence at this great winter festival.

So many of these elements are very much alive in our customs today. The use of evergreens, holly and mistletoe as decorations at this time of year have been used in the winter festivities from very ancient times. Like most evergreens, the holly and mistletoe have long been held to symbolize eternal life, regeneration and rebirth. Holly, with its bright red berries and dark spiky foliage, has been revered from ancient times as a symbol of life everlasting. It was associated with strength and masculinity and was considered useful in the treatment of various ailments.

Mistletoe associated with Christmas is very much a carry-over from ancient practices. It is often included in modern Christmas decorations simply for the fun of kissing beneath it, but this links back to the mistletoe’s association with fertility.

What about the old favorite Christmas tree? Evergreens have been a symbol of rebirth from ancient times. In ancient times the fir tree was a symbol of everlasting life. It was decorated during the winter solstice celebration to honor the returning sun. Bringing greenery into one's home at the time of the winter solstice symbolized life in the midst of death in many cultures. The Romans decked their homes with evergreens and other greenery during the winter solstice and living trees were also brought into homes during the old German feast of Yule. The Yule tree was planted in a tub and brought into the home.

And what about Santa Claus? The belief that Santa enters the house through the chimney developed from an old Norse legend. The Norse believed that the goddess Hertha appeared in the fireplace and brought gifts and good luck to the home. Though the mythical figure has changed, the meaning behind it has remained the same. It is a symbol of having faith, of believing in something that you can not see.

In view of what has been said, one could speculate that even if Christianity had never emerged and Christmas was never established as a holiday for celebrating Jesus’ birthday, it is more than likely that we would still be getting ready for the late-December festivities, putting up decorations, including holly and mistletoe, in order to celebrate the rebirth of the Sun, to rejoice in the beauty of life everlasting.

While the mid-winter holiday season is a wonderful time to celebrate Jesus’ birth, it shouldn’t be just about celebrating Jesus’ birthday, even more so it shouldn’t be about complaining about the way others are celebrating it or criticizing others for the way they choose to celebrate it or arguing about whether Jesus' birth was or wasn't the real first Christmas. It is so much MORE than that, and if we just open our minds and hearts to seeing the bigger picture, and stop arguing over whether Christmas is being celebrate the right or wrong way, and start realizing that the symbols and the meaning for the season are universal, and the overall meaning is the same for us all, the gifts that we will receive will be even greater than we can imagine.