Winter Solstice & Christmas

Virtually all cultures have their own way of acknow- ledging Winter Solstice. The apparently supernat- ural manifest in solstices to govern the seasons has been felt as far back as we know, built differ- ently into different cultures — fertility rites, fire festivals, offerings to the gods [WEEKLY]. Many of the wintertime customs in Western Europe derive from the ancient Romans, who celebrated the winter solstice with the Saturnalia (Saturn was their god of the harvest), a feast of gift-giving and a general public holiday from Dec. 17 to 24. The transition from Roman paganism to Christianity, with its similar rites, took several centuries. With the Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christi- anity in the fourth century, customs were quickly appropriated and refashioned. First of all, early Christians had to switch the weekly holiday from Saturday (they were Jews by origin) to Sunday - the Emperor could not allow two non-working days in a week. Also, although the New Testament gives no indication of Christ’s actual birthday (early writers preferring a spring date), in year 354 Pope Liberius declared it to have befallen on Dec. 25.

The advantages of Christmas Day being celebrated on Dec. 25 were obvious. The Christian commen- tator Syrus wrote: "It was a custom of the pagans to celebrate on the same Dec. 25 the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity .... Accordingly, when the church author- ities perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnized on that day." The Nativity gradually absorbed most of the winter solstice rites, and the co-opting of the old solar

imagery was part of the same process. Thus the solar discs that had once been depicted behind the heads of Asian rulers became the halos of the Christian luminaries.

 2010-12-26 

previous