The wheel of the year has almost fully turned, and once again we approach the Solstice. Last year I wrote on the ancient traditions of Solstice through history, and all over the world. Now that my year has slowed down, and I have some time to think and write, I will return to this wonderful and rich treasury of lore. This time I want to focus on some of the themes and decorations still common at the winter holidays, show how they have come down through the ages from times and places when Nature was still recognized as a force and an influence upon our lives. Solstice of course celebrates the turning of the year, the return of the sun; the promise of light, warmth, life, overcoming darkness, cold and death. 
Because I just unpacked and hung on our front door a lovely handmade wreath sent by a friend in Maine, I want to start with just that, the making and decorating of our homes with wreaths of evergreens. The wreath itself is in the shape of the oldest of symbols, the circle. A symbol to be found in every culture on the globe, from ancient times to the present. A symbol representing so many things, all of them related: the cycles of life, eternity, the goddess herself, death and rebirth, the moon, the sun. So, we make a circle to symbolize the rebirth of the year, the return of the sun, the unbroken cycle of life. We make it with evergreen boughs, branches from the trees that hold the promise of renewal in the depths of Winter. For our early ancestors the existence of plants that did not wither and die, drop their leaves and appear dead, with the onset of the long dark days of winter, served as a metaphor for the undying deities of the natural world. In nature religions every one of our familiar green branches has a meaning, a symbolism: pine, fir, cedar, juniper, all symbolize continuity of life, protection and prosperity. Holly symbolizes many things, among them the old solar year, protection and good luck.
So – don’t put up those plastic wreaths this year. Take your children, go out into the real world, cut boughs and branches of the evergreens that grow in your area (you can’t hurt them, the more you prune the more they grow), form them into the shapeof the wheel of the year. Place them on your doors, your walls, your altars, to celebrate the continuation of life, to ask for protection and prosperity. The colors red, green and white are the Druidic holiday colors – so, put holly berries and ribbons on that wreath, ask the Great Mother to help us through another turning of the wheel.
I would be remiss not to mention how the wreath has also transformed into a Christian symbol over the ages, through the lovely ceremony of the Advent wreath. Advent is the liturgical season of preparation for the birth of Christ, and here the wreath is a symbol of God, the eternal, and of eternal life in God. Four candles are placed on the wreath, three rose colored, one purple. The wreath usually has a place of honor at the middle of the family table, and one candle is lit each Sunday evening during Advent. More on this tradition can be found here. We did this all through my Catholic childhood. I have to say that making and lighting the Advent wreath is one of my fondest holiday memories.
6 comments:
Thank you for this. Maybe if I could get away from the Judeo/Christian symbols and meanings of these holidays and focus on the symbolism of life and nature, I could find some renewal and peace in this season. This was absolutely WONDERFUL!
I used to see the link between my Catholic traditions and earlier pagan traditions as a sign of dishonesty and manipulation -- it seemed to me the Church had co-opted pagan practices in order better to sell Christianity.
Your comments here remind me of something I learned a few years ago -- upon some considerable reflection --- that the continuity and links are not symbolic of some cynical hucksterism but rather a tribute to the spiritual roots of human beings.
Those roots go deep, and preceded the religions of today. It is good to be reminded that the appreciation of nature is part of that deeply rooted spirituality that sustains us today, whatever our denomination.
Wishing you a warm and spiritually satisfying holiday season,
Neil
I once told a Sunday School class that Dec 25th was the "agreed upon" date to celebrate Christ's Birth since it was lost to history what day he was actually born. Oh my goodness. This caused a major uproar. Come to think of it, I haven't been asked to teach Sunday School since them either. Paulette
I loved this entry........... I am so glad that I know you! judi
Alas, my wreath from our mutual Maine friend arrived after our departure for Mexico. Our neighbors decided to hang the wreath on our door regardless. So in our absence the evergreen boughs still proclaim the season for us. I mark the point of the solstice sunset with a little scratch on my balcony´s railing and then for three months watch as the sun moved slowly northward. Another joy of solstice: the first post-solstice full moon is the brightest of the year. On that night I gleefully become a lunatic.
I remember your series on the solstice last year, and this primer on the history of wreaths--which isn't a tradition in my country of origin--was a fascinating read for me. If they bother to find out, I'm sure many religious ideologues will be shocked to learn that many of our Christmas traditions are in fact rooted in pagan rituals!
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