Gabriel Rochelle, Path of the Spirit Published 2:29 a.m. MT Dec. 15, 2019

Fr. Gabe Rochelle(Photo: Courtesy photo)

Its here again: the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and, thus, the longest night as well. For obvious reasons, particularly in northern countries, the winter solstice attracted rituals the way a crunchy crust attracts your dog. It is a natural connection. You need some respite from the darkest night of the year, so you light fires. Hence yule logs and bonfires; whats not to like about fire and light and warmth? While youre at it, have a mug of hot chocolate or an ancient drink like mead to warm the cockles of your heart. Gather with others to eat, drink and be warm. Maybe the feasting associated with winter solstice is the natural companion to keeping your ovens on to warm the house.

Not everyone in olden times celebrated the solstices and equinoxes. We know that the Celts celebrate the four corners of the year as fire festivals: these occur on Feb. 1, May 1, Oct. 31, and Aug.1. Their Celtic names are Imbolc, Beltaine, Lammas and Samhain. As with some of the festivals in Christianity and Judaism, the deep origins of such major festivals doubtless revolved originally around agricultural events.

Those who research such matters think that solstice and equinox celebrations originated with the ancestors of the Germans. They may go back in pre-history to Neolithic times, but they are not indigenous to Celtic cultures. Within their orbit, however, falls what we call Christmas and Easter as well, but thats another matter.

Contemporary Christmas is less about Christianity than it is about celebrating winters demise and the onset of the light, hence its a great time to come together in family and community and a wonderful time for gift giving. Most of the stuff wrapped around Christmas comes from our pagan past. Evergreens, ivy, holly, mistletoe? All those symbolic plants and trees originated in pagan ideas about immortality, healing, fertility, and protection of your home. Those ideas came naturally: mistletoe, for example, lives on trees that have ended their growth cycle and gone into winter dress. Because it seems to live between heaven and earth and without sustenance, it was considered magical. Evergreen trees stay green and are not deciduous, so they have been considered a symbol of immortality. Why not bring one into your house as a symbol?

The notion that Christmas is an overlap on a Roman festival called Saturnalia was proposed by Sir James Frazier in The Golden Bough, the first major exploration in the embryonic field of comparative religion, which was published in 1890. The flaws in his proposal have become evident over the years, however, perhaps even from the beginning. Some questions are obvious. Why did the early Christian movement pay little or no attention to the birth of Jesus? Why did Christian writers propose dates earlier in the year, in May or August? Why did early Christian thinkers write with disdain about festivals commemorating the birth of the gods? Constantine the Great made Christianity the legitimate religion of the Roman Empire around 315. Prior to this, there is no indication of Christians co-opting pagan festivals to suit their needs.

So, the reverse of Fraziers view may be true: Emperor Aurelian created the festival of the invincible sun (sol Invictus) somewhere around 275. Did he institute this festival as a counter to the day Christians were beginning to commemorate as the birthday of Jesus? This is what many historians now think. We may never be able to unravel the picture completely, but theres enough here to set aside Fraziers proposal. Meanwhile, celebrate the holidays in whatever way you find appropriate. You need a winter break!

Fr. Gabriel Rochelle is pastor of St Anthony of the Desert Orthodox Mission, Las Cruces. The church web site is http://www.stanthonylc.org. We welcome visitors.

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Deck us all with boughs of holly - Las Cruces Sun-News