Trees, Wreaths and Greenery

So we've covered a few types of greenery - holly and mistletoe - already. Both of these are evergreens and produce fruit in winter. In the Yule traditions, we're looking at regions that for the most part had, at this time of year, about six hours of daylight at best. Evergreens were a powerful symbol of the nature of life - cyclical and everlasting - and that with the return of light and warmth after Solstice, so would come growth.

There are a few traditions we have to look at - the Romans, the Europeans and more modern versions.

The Romans decorated evergreen trees - living ones, not cut trees - with silver and gold to honour Bacchus (hello, fertility!) in their Saturnalia celebrations. Saturnus, by the way, was the god of agriculture - fits right in with Solstice and the return of light and growth. Solstice celebrations in Northern Europe included evergreen boughs. Boughs were decorated with fruit and hung as a simple symbol of the season. Druids decorated living trees with objects to symbolize or bring fertility and prosperity. In some parts of Europe (I'm not sure at what point), trees might have been brought into the home as a warm place for the faery/woodland folk to hang while waiting on the return of light and warmth. For the less magickal, the trees may have served as a simple reminder that growth would come again. Green boughs were usually kept until Imbolc (early February), when they were burned to usher in spring.

Fast-forward to the Christmas tree. This gets a little confusing. One of the first recordings of a 'Christmas' tree, in Latvia, has a group of 'blackheads' (men in black hats) bringing out the tree, dancing and singing, and then burning it - a link to Imbolc?

Some folks hold that Martin Luther 'started' the Christmas tree - not likely. There are recordings of these trees in modern-day Estonia and the area pre-dating ML. Early recordings include dancing and singing around the tree - not likely a Christian tradition, given the solemnity with which the early churches approached Christmas, but it does smack of the heathen and pagan traditions. It was more popular with the Protestant communities - maybe a response to the Catholic nativity scene, or perhaps as a function of being a mainly guild-focused activity (guilds were very strong in German towns like Bremen, where some of the earliest recordings of Christmas trees come from). Eventually the trees became quite mainstream among most Christian traditions - but not for want of trying to stop it.

There have been objections to the Christmas tree, too -- as early as the third century or so, it was rejected by the early Christian church as a pagan trapping (Tertullian, I think). There is likely a biblical reference to it, too (probably referring to a Middle Eastern tradition, based on the region, but maybe a reference to the dying Roman traditions). From the King James bible, Jeremiah 10:2-4:

Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it moveth not.

Puritans also condemned the tree as a symbol of Christmas. Oliver Cromwell is known to have preached against carols, decorated trees and joyful expression (it was held as a solemn occassion), and early Puritan governors in today's United States tried to eradicate such "pagan mockery" as 'Christmas' trees. (It's actually a little ironic that people credit Martin Luther with the Christmas tree.)

In spite of all this pagan mockery, Christmas trees became quite mainstream by the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. I do know that the earliest Christmas tree in Canada was around 1780, a tradition brought by a German military official and his wife to Sorel, Quebec. I believe the tradition came to Britain through the same means - German ancestry, probably by way of the Royals. I think there were Hessian troops during the American Revolutionary War - they might have brought the Christmas tree over. As late as 1851, a preacher who included a tree in his church was in danger of losing his post, for the outcry it cause. And I've heard that in 1900, only one in five American families had a Christmas tree.

One thing I'm not sure on, is the tradition of placing a star or angel on top of the tree. When did that start? I imagine it might have been a Christian response to the tree, but I'm not sure when it began... Could this be some kind of link to the rumour that trees were initially hung upside-down, but turned right-side-up by the Christians to point to heaven?

Oh, and a word on wreaths! Wreaths have long been symbolic of honour and victory in the Greek and Roman contexts. Evergreens represent everlasting life, as do circles (a.k.a., a wheel - possibly what the word "yule" means!). Northern European traditions have had evergreen wreaths with four candles to represent the four elements (earth, air, fire, water), and to bring on or welcome the return of light after Solstice. Wiccans and others decorate their homes from outside in, to invite the light and goodness inside the home - perhaps starting with a wreath on the door - which may be from the Druidic traditions. And perhaps the church co-opted this from the Germanic tribes... It reminds me of the Advent wreath and candles in Catholic churches at this time of year!

So, Christmas trees and greenery belong to all of us! Globalism has nothin' on The Season.

The Yule Log

No, not the delicious cakey treat.

Well, not *only* the cakey treat.

You also have the tradition of the Yule Log. Egyptians and Sumerians had a log-burning ritual at Solstice. The Romans brought Mithras (a Persian sun-god) into Saturnalia around 65 BC - that involved burning a large log for over a week. The Druids had a (usually) oak log is a phallic symbol (again, with the fertility!). Some decorated it with holly, mistletoe and evergreen before burning. Remnants are kept to bring luck, and to light the Yule log of the following year. Parts of England used the ashen faggot - ash branches tied up into a log-like form. (The ash tree is also said to be magickal, like the oak.)

I've also heard that the Yule Log and Christmas Tree might cross paths - a large tree might have been chosen, decorated and then burned.

Burning the log is a way to usher in the light, or to celebrate the return of the light with the passing of the Solstice. Depending on the wood used, it also has some features of worship to it. Some of the logs or faggots were massive and took days to burn. As houses became smaller and giant fireplaces disappeared in France, it's possible that they took to baking their Yule log (the buche de Noel) and eating it instead. Slavic Yule Log traditions are very precise - songs to be sung, phrases, who cuts the log and so on. The Yule Log tradition varies, but its history is widespread throughout Europe.

Mistletoe

Kiss, kiss!

Mistletoe is another sacred plant. Its healing powers were so potent it was called "Allheal". It's actually a rather parasitic thing, because it grows on other trees and depends on its host tree for nourishment... Which could be what led to the thought that it has magical powers. Imagine the dead of winter, all tress except the evergreens are bare, and here's the mistletoe flourishing on something that looks dead! How could something without roots in the earth do so well in winter?!?

Mistletoe on an oak is an especially auspicious find in the Druidic tradition. There are passages from Pliny about how Druids would do nothing ceremonial without oak, and that mistletoe found on oak was the penultimate sacred object. The priests would cut the mistletoe from the oak with a golden sickle in the week following the first new moon after Solstice; they'd then cut the plant into tiny sprigs and divide it among the people. The people would hang the sprigs from their doorways as protection from bad things. Mistletoe came to be a symbol for protection and luck.

I believe those of the Wiccan tradition decorate their house from outside in, and use mistletoe to protect and invite the light into their homes.

I'm not quite so familiar with the Norse tradition of mistletoe, but I think the mother of Balder so loved her son that she travelled the earth, getting promises from everything that sprung from the four elements (earth, air, water and fire) to never harm her son. She forgot (?) about mistletoe. A "baddie" found this loophole and made an arrow of mistletoe, gave it to Balder's blind brother and guided his hand/the arrow to Balder's heart. Balder, of course, fell dead. His mother's tears became the mistletoe's white berries. If the tale has a happy ending (I'm not sure if it ends with Balder's death, or if this next part was an addition to make the fable more palatable), it's that Balder's mother reverses the curse of the plant, making it a symbol of love and a promise of a kiss for whomever passes under it.

The Norse tale might be linked to the powerful reputation of the mistletoe. In the wrong hands, it can be fatally poisonous, especially the berries.

In Scandinavian lore, if two battling factions came upon mistletoe in the forest, they were to call a truce until the next day.

Since it stayed green in winter, even while growing on seemingly dead trees, it was also linked with fertility. Which is interesting, because some ancient traditions hold that the Goddess gives birth to the Oak King at this time of year... Bringing light and growth again. Maybe that's where all the smooching stems from, hmm?

So. Think on this - Solstice in northern Europe, or ancient Britain, at least a thousand years ago - when you hang your plastic mistletoe, or snuggle up under it, this year!

Holly

So many common symbols of the season have their roots deep in our collective history. Rather than launch a diatribe on how the Christians stole Solstice, or urgings to put the "Sol" back in Solstice and the fire back in the Yule Log, or exhortations to put "Christ" back in "Christmas" I am writing here to highlight the traditions we share in the common spirit of the season - we are all celebrating some very sacred, spiritual aspects of life, regardless of our affiliation; and also as an hommage to the ancient ancestors who, in their connection to Mother Earth and the cycle of life and the seasons, gave us these symbols and traditions. This little series is by no means academic; I'm reaching deep into the recesses of my lately-rather-shabby memory in a spirit of, well - fun. This is not intended to disrespect any belief system. I enjoy history and looking at the origins of traditions - that's all. (Also, I'm a self-professed nerd, trapped in the house with some sort of plague-like illness [just a cold? Pssht!] with two other sick people, one of them a Little, and my husband who, to hear him tell it, is likely terminally ill. I need some amusement and mind-sharpening.)

First up: holly. It's a sacred plant in many traditions.

Holly has been symbolic of fertility and everlasting life. There are a few basic traditions that I can think of: that of the Romans and Saturnalia, and the pagan traditions (and by that I'm thinking of the basic Norse and Celtic myths), and the more recent Christian ones.


The Romans paid respect to the god Saturn at this time of year. They feasted and made very merry for about a week, ending around 23 December (which is interesting to note, because the Solstice can fall, I think, anywhere between 20 and 23 December, depending on the year). Holly was the sacred plant associated with Saturn, and was a common gift to the god and to one another.


Then you have the Holly King and Oak King. The Kings may be specific to the Norse traditions, though I can't be sure. The Oak King symbolizes the new year and rules from mid-winter (winter Solstice) to midsummer (summer Solstice). The Holly King rules from midsummer to mid-winter and is symbolic of winter. At Yule-time and midsummer, the Kings struggle for the favour of the Goddess. At Yule, the Oak King kills the Holly King (I believe by cutting of his head) or sends him away, at the least, and with this victory brings or is symbolic of light and growth.


There are so many symbols for and links back to each of the Kings. The Kings struggling twice a year might seem a little airy-fairy, I'm sure, but there's also an Irish fable of the robin redbreast (Oak King) finding the wren (Holly King) in either a holly bush or an ivy bush, and killing the wren -- or the new year succeeding the old.


The Holly King was symbolic of winter. What happens at midsummer, after all? Days shorten, darkness begins to rule in a literal sense, the weather turns colder day by day, crops are harvested after that point and vegetation and many animals go to rest.


The Kings are either twins who struggle, or perhaps the same person, reborn cyclically in a new form to rule the seasons. I believe the sabbats of the year are associated with the king's lifecycle. Some traditions hold that his marriage at midsummer to the Goddess is consummated so fully that it results in his death (imagine that wedding night! Yikes). At Samhain (Halloween), he awaits rebirth via the Goddess - and part of the Yule tradition is the birth of the Child of Promise (who, I believe, then becomes the Oak King - or is *like* the Oak King in that he brings new year and light).

It may seem odd, but the Holly King is believed to be an antecedent to Santa Claus. That's a topic for another post, though!

In most Christian traditions, holly was believed to be very powerful, with magickal powers. It was hung on entryways to homes, to ward off evil spirits and witches... Who usually roam in the darkness, or are considered "dark", hmm? It's also taken as symbolic of Christ's crown of thorns, and the berries, of the blood shed in redemption. The carol "The Holly and the Ivy" is heavy with Christian symbolism - the white flower for the Virgin Mary, the red berry for the blood Christ shed, the thorn and so on.

So it's all very confusing. It would be difficult for one tradition to claim it as their own. There are many traditions that hold holly as sacred and/or powerfully symbolic, from the Romans, the Norse, Druids and Christians, and likely many others. It's a beautiful, sacred plant. It's a little sad that as a natural species, it's now becoming rare in many areas. Maybe symbolic of our losing touch with our origins, too?

Seasonal Musings: I

The Grinch

Tony Blair

Tony Blair

The Grinch

A Different Sort of Remembrance Day

Two years. A year seems like a long time, until you count your grief in years.

We were just married and so, so hopeful for you; so excited. You were so wanted. It was over far too quickly and cruelly. I think of you often, especially now: we've come full circle. Vacillating from absolute, complete darkness to hope, dealing with the worst of human nature and finding the best.

You were loved, very, very much, and still are. You helped your father and I learn what and who really matters, and you gave the two of us so much more understanding and love for one another. We would never have come to that if it hadn't been for you. I'm so sorry your little life was so brief, but it did make an impact on us, all for the better, even though losing you has been the worst thing that ever happened to me. I just can't imagine that your presence was without a point or value; I believe it was very valuable, but it took me a long time to understand and accept how. And be grateful for the worst, and one of the best, things that ever happened to us.

We still miss who you might have been, maybe even more so now that we've had a wonderful eight months with Leah. Your sister is beautiful and makes us glow. I wouldn't have traded you for anything, but I'm grateful to you for starting us on our path to Leah. Losing you is still the worst thing that's ever happened to us. I still remember, so clearly, waking up that morning and feeling peaceful and glowing at the thought of what your Daddy and I had made, a calm joy at what the coming months and years would bring. And then later that day, the horror of what was happening. I still feel that horror. It was meant to be this way, but I'm still so sorry I couldn't do right by you. I only hope that the way we live our lives now is a testament to how you touched us.

We love you.

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