Everybody knows the Christian ways in celebrating Christmas. What about the traditions dating back from pagan times?
On the 22nd of December, Yule had been celebrated, marking the winter solstice. This represents the depth of winter and for some this is the time of death and also of birth, for at this point the Sun begins to make the return journey and the days begin to lengthen.
All Christmas customs celebrate the return of light in some way and the advent (the coming) of the Magical Child. Many religions mark the birth of a divine child, at some point. That is why it is often said that Christmas is a ‘time for children’ and children are showered with gifts.
Evergreen trees are sacred for they retain their greenery all year around, as opposed to deciduous trees, whose leaves die. Almost everyone has a Christmas tree, decorated with brilliant baubles and ornaments that catch the light and seem to conjure the return of the sun. Some decorate their houses with holly and mistletoe. It is said that mistletoe is sacred to the Sun but also to the Moon, because the berries are moon-white. It is a beautiful way of Christmas to kiss beneath the mistletoe for fertility and happiness.
Most times all Christian celebrations retain a little from a heathen past, because in the old times the transition toward Christianity had been swifter on condition the well known patterns of pagan ways were preserved.
Happy Christmas!
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