As the Christmas Holiday approaches, it brings out the comments from my Witness family members to attempt to belittle our practice of enjoying the holiday. When we first left the Jehovah's Witnesses and decided to celebrate Christmas, we still considered ourselves to be Christians. So the argument of choice from our relatives was, "how can you call yourself Christians and celebrate such a Pagan holiday." Then as the years went by and we came to find we were more in tune to Pagan thinking and believes, the family became aware of this. So this year they decided to try something new in their efforts to strike fear into us. This is the argument they expressed, "how can you choose to celebrate something that is seen as such a Christian holiday, when you consider yourself Pagan" (Pagan or Neo-Pagan, term used to describe a more earth and nature-based religion or philosophy . Not really a title, more of a generalization). So I am confused, when I was a Witness I was told Christmas was all Pagan and now it seems some times they can accept it as Christian. Oh well, we do not really celebrate Christmas anyway. We celebrate Yule*, which was yesterday and was very enjoyable. We will be celebrating Christmas with our Christian relatives on Wednesday. So I guess we get the best of both world, Christian and Pagan, and both seem to be a reason to avoid something, if you are a Witness. By the way, the way we answered both attempts was to say, "because we find it enjoyable, and we have fun."
*Yule: the Winter Solstice, Yuletide (Teutonic), Alban Arthan (Caledonii) Around Dec. 21This Sabbat represents the rebirth of light. Here, on the longest night of the year, the Goddess gives birth to the Sun God and hope for new light is reborn.
Yule is a time of awakening to new goals and leaving old regrets behind. Yule coincides closely with the Christian Christmas celebration. Christmas was once a movable feast celebrated many different times during the year. The choice of December 25 was made by the Pope Julius I in the fourth century AD because this coincided with the pagan rituals of Winter Solstice, or Return of the Sun. The intent was to replace the pagan celebration with the Christian one.
The Christian tradition of a Christmas tree has its origins in the Pagan Yule celebration. Pagan families would bring a live tree into the home so the wood spirits would have a place to keep warm during the cold winter months. Bells were hung in the limbs so you could tell when a spirit was present. Food and treats were hung on the branches for the spirits to eat and a five-pointed star, the pentagram, symbol of the five elements, was placed atop the tree. The colors of the season, red and green, also are of Pagan origin, as is the custom of exchanging gifts.
A solar festival, The reindeer stag is also a reminder of the Horned God. You will find that many traditional Christmas decorations have some type of Pagan ancestry or significance that can be added to your Yule holiday. Yule is celebrated by fire and the use of a Yule log. Many enjoy the practice of lighting the Yule Log. If you choose to burn one, select a proper log of oak or pine (never Elder). Carve or chalk upon it a figure of the Sun (a rayed disc) or the Horned God (a horned circle). Set it alight in the fireplace at dusk, on Yule. This is a graphic representation of the rebirth of the God within the sacred fire of the Mother Goddess. As the log burns, visualize the Sun shining within it and think of the coming warmer days. Traditionally, a portion of the Yule Log is saved to be used in lighting next year's log. This piece is kept throughout the year to protect the home.
Edited by - whyhideit on 22 December 2002 16:38:18
