Lucy Lastic
Young Limb
Another cynical ex hippy now working for the establishment
Posts: 33
|
Post by Lucy Lastic on May 16, 2007 22:00:17 GMT
The earlier comment about Pope Gregory regarding religious festivals was interesting as this is exactly what happened with Christmas.
Christmas was to take place at Yule the time of the Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year, a time when the weather is at it's coldest the solstice marks a turning point.
The darkness has reached its zenith and soon the days will lengthen again. In this, the darkest time of the year, what better way to celebrate the return of light and warmth than to feast and make merry.
Like the other festivals of the year, Yule was a great social occasion, relieving, if only for a brief time, the hardship and monotony of subsistence living.
Celebrating the rebirth the Sun, growing in power, staying above the horizon longer and warming the planet more each day. Yule is a time of celebration, when we begin to see an end to Winter and it's hardships, and can now look forward to the soon to come Spring and the return of life! Yule was the traditional name for the celebrations around the Solstice; the festival lasted for twelve days. Fires or candles were kindled to burn through the twelve days that marked the festivities. Another fire tradition was that of the Yule log, lit from the remains of last years log at sunset on the Solstice. The Yule log was often of Oak or Ash, and the burned remains of it were thought to guard a home against fire and lightning. The ashes were also sprinkled on the surrounding fields to ensure good luck for the coming years harvest. The largest remaining part of the log was kept safe to kindle next years fire.
|
|