Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year, and it is on this night when Witches honor the darkness and the Great Horned God who rules the dark half of the year.
The modern day holiday Christmas, such as decorating the tree, hanging mistletoe and holly and burning the Yule log, are all beautiful pagan customs that date back pre-Christian times when the Witches' Sabbat Yule (which takes place on the Winter Solstice just days before Christmas) originally commemorated the rebirth of the Sun God.
The modern day holiday Christmas, such as decorating the tree, hanging mistletoe and holly and burning the Yule log, are all beautiful pagan customs that date back pre-Christian times when the Witches' Sabbat Yule (which takes place on the Winter Solstice just days before Christmas) originally commemorated the rebirth of the Sun God.
The burning of the Yule log stems from the ancient custom of the Yule bonfire which was burned to give life and power to the sun, which was thought of as being reborn at the Winter Solstice. In later times, the outdoor bonfire custom was replaced by the indoor burning of logs and red candles etched with carvings of suns and other magickal symbols. As the oak tree was considered to be the Cosmic Tree of the ancient Druids, the Yule log is traditionally oak. Other Wiccan traditions use a pine Yule log to symbolize the dying god Attis, Dionysus or Woden. At the end of the year, the log is ritually burned to mark the death of winter and the re-birth of the sun. In days of old, the ashes of the Yule log were mixed with cow fodder to aid in symbolic reproduction and was sprinkled over the fields to insure new life and a fertile spring.
Another favorite Christmas tradition rich in Pagan symbolism is the hanging of the mistletoe in the doorways. Mistletoe was considered very magickal by the ancient Druids who called it the "Golden Bough." They believed that it possessed great healing powers and gave men access to the underworld. The living plant, which is actually a parasite, whose sacred tree is the oak. The life giving essence which the mistletoe suggest provides a symbolic divine substance and a sense of immortality to those who hang it at Yuletide.
The Christmas tree custom evolved from the pine groves associated with Great Mother Goddess. The lights and ornaments hung on the tree as decorations are actually symbols of the sun, moon, and stars as they appear in the Cosmic Tree of Life. They also represent departed souls who are remembered at the end of the year. Sacred presents (Christmas gifts) were also hung on the tree as offerings to various deities such as Attis and Dionysus.
Even jolly old Kris Kringle (Santa Claus) was at one time the Pagan god of Yule. He was known as "Christ on the Wheel," an ancient Norse title for the Sun God who was reborn at the Winter Solstice.
Placing cakes in the boughs of the oldest apple trees in the orchard and pouring on cider as a liberation was an old Pagan Yuletide custom practiced in England and known as "Wassailing the Orchard Tress." After offering a toast to the health of the apple trees and giving thanks to them for producing fruit, the farmers would then enjoin the trees to continue producing abundantly.
Taken from Wicca and Candle Magick by Gerina Dunwich page 118 119 - A Citadel Press Book Published by Carol Publishing Group.
Even jolly old Kris Kringle (Santa Claus) was at one time the Pagan god of Yule. He was known as "Christ on the Wheel," an ancient Norse title for the Sun God who was reborn at the Winter Solstice.
Placing cakes in the boughs of the oldest apple trees in the orchard and pouring on cider as a liberation was an old Pagan Yuletide custom practiced in England and known as "Wassailing the Orchard Tress." After offering a toast to the health of the apple trees and giving thanks to them for producing fruit, the farmers would then enjoin the trees to continue producing abundantly.
Taken from Wicca and Candle Magick by Gerina Dunwich page 118 119 - A Citadel Press Book Published by Carol Publishing Group.
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