Happy Winter Solstice

Because winter is the darkest time of the year, the winter solstice has long been a time of great celebration, heralding the return of light to the world. Ancient cultures throughout the world and history have held celebrations of this time, most of them of days or even weeks duration.

Yule In Scandinavia, the party lasted from Dec. 21 into January. In many places, a sacrifice was made at the end of the festival on Mid-Winter Night, (Jan. 12). The sacrifice was originally probably human, (accounts say that Swedish Kings sacrificed male slaves every 9th year, for example), but became a boar, (think "Boar's Head Carol"). Germanic peoples celebrated the holiday from Dec.-Jan. on a date chosen by their lunar calendar. Records also reflect that the holiday was celebrated in Iceland.

The root of the word is the same as the root of the word "jolly" and other traditions based in Yule include decorating fir trees, hanging mistletoe and holly and giving gifts. (We owe a lot to Yule.) And, believe it or not, the tradition of Christmas ham comes from the tradition of feasting on the ritual boar.The Yule (Jul) particular god was Jólner, which is one of Odin's many names.

At Yule, (also associated with the God Jul), it also was believed in some cultures that the spirits of the dead, as well as demons, returned to earth at this time and that people could have intercourse with them.

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, (Birthday of the Unconquered Sun) The Mithras religion celebrated the birth of their God, Mithras on December 25. It is, in fact, the reason that December 25 became the date chosen to celebrate Christmas. His story was similar in many, many ways to that of Jesus. Popular with Roman soldiers, he was of Iranian/Zoroastrian origin.
It was believed that Mithras was created by the chief deity, Ahura-Mazda, and born of a virgin woman, to save the world. Mithras was also believed to have been resurrected after death and to have ascended to the heavens in human form. He also was worshipped on Sundays. He was associated with the Sun, which begins its journey to the peak of its power each winter. Mithrasists believed that the rituals observed on this date were as old as humankind.

Brumalia this holiday celebrated the maturing of wine and the God Dionysus in Greece. Dionysus is God of Wine, Grape Harvest and Winemaking, Madness and Religious Ecstasy. The word Bruma is Latin for the Winter Solstice.

Saturnalia, December 17-23 was a huge Roman Festival. It was originally celebrated for a day but people had so much fun it became a weeklong event. In Roman mythology, Saturn was an agricultural deity who was said to have reigned over the world in the Golden Age, when humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labour in a state of innocence. The revelries of Saturnalia were supposed to reflect the conditions of the lost mythical age.

During Saturnalia, Saturn was honored with sacrifices, the placing of a couch n front of his temple and the untying of ropes that bound his statue the rest of the year. A master of ceremonies was elected for the festivities. There were also many private rituals that were observed. Schools were closed, presents were given, there was a holiday market and gambling was a favorite activity. Instead of togas, people wore more colorful, informal clothes and feasting and drinking occupied everyone's time.

During Saturnalia, slaves were allowed to gamble and were not to be punished. They had a banquet either with, in front of or served by their masters and they were expected to treat them disrespectfully. This role reversal was, however, mostly symbolic.

The interjection, "Ho", comes from the Latin "io", which was frequently invoked at this time in the greeting "io, Saturnalia", equivalents to "Merry Christmas" now.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History of Homosexual: Ancient Greece

Image
How we from being happily accept in society to being hate and have to fight for equality? Let start begin in the ancient world work our way to the source of the problem. The Ancient Greece "The noble lover of beauty engages in love wherever he sees excellence and splendid natural endowment without regard for any difference in physiological detail." - Plutarch The ancient Greeks are widely known for their gay exploits. Many people are aware of Greek homosexual love poetry, the same-sex relations of Greek gods and heroes, and the gay relationship between Alexander the Great and Hephaestion. It is important in the beginning to define our vocabulary. The term ’homosexuality’ as it is used and understood today is not mainly applicable to Greek of ancient times for three reasons: First of all, most Greeks were bisexual. Second, homosexuality and 'gay' as sexual identities are recent developments. They were emerged only in the 2Oth Century (our idea of what i
Please read more »

Seven Wonders of the World: Colossus of Rhodes

Image
Travelers to the New York City harbor see a marvelous sight. Standing on a small island in the harbor is an immense statue of a robed woman, holding a book and lifting a torch to the sky. It is sometimes referred to as the "Modern Colossus," but more often called the Statue of Liberty. This awe-inspiring statue was a gift from France to America and is easily recognized by people around the world. What many visitors to this shrine to freedom don't know is that the statue, the "Modern Colossus," is the echo of another statue, the original colossus, which stood over two thousand years ago at the entrance to another busy harbor on the Island of Rhodes. In the late 4th century BC, Rhodes, allied with Ptolemy I of Egypt, prevented a massive invasion staged by their common enemy, Antigonus I Monophthalmus and his son Demetrius. In 304 BC a relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived, and Antigonus's army abandoned the siege, leaving most of their siege equi
Please read more »

Daily life of Roman life: Slavery

Image
Slavery had a long history in the ancient world and was practiced in Ancient Egypt and Greece, as well as Rome. Most slaves during the Roman Empire were foreigners and, unlike in modern times, Roman slavery was not based on race. Slaves were considered property under Roman law and had no legal personhood. Unlike Roman citizens, they could be subjected to corporal punishment, sexual exploitation (prostitutes were often slaves), torture, and summary execution. The testimony of a slave could not be accepted in a court of law unless the slave was tortured—a practice based on the belief that slaves in a position to be privy to their masters' affairs would be too virtuously loyal to reveal damaging evidence unless coerced (yeah right). Over time, however, slaves gained increased legal protection, including the right to file complaints against their masters. How did people become Roman Slaves? People became slaves among the Romans by the following ways: Prisoners of war Sailors
Please read more »