Reflections on Yule Part Three-the Heathen Elements of Christmas

 Having established in my earlier essay Reflections on Yule Part One-the Lie of Christmas (the Dating) that 'Jesus of Nazareth' was not born on 25th December and the lack of historical evidence for his existence in Reflections on Yule Part Two-the Lie of Jesus's Existence , I turn now to the clear pre-Christian and heathen elements of the festival which Christians refer to as 'Christmas' (Christ Mass).

Father Christmas/Santa Claus/St. Nicholas

This character is so clearly heathen in character that the Church does not even attempt to hide his true origins, except in trying (and failing) to give him a 'Christian' name: St. Nicholas, a 'saint' that was remarkable for his generosity and gift giving. His name evolved into 'Santa Claus' through the Dutch 'Sinterklaas'. The parallels between this character and the continental Germanic Wodan are clear. I refer my readers to an old essay of mine: Santa Claus and his Origins in Germanic Folklore .

The Exchange of Gifts

This practice can be traced to the pre-Christian Roman festival of Saturnalia when statuettes made from wax or clay were given as gifts. Often they took the form of images of the gods. Of course, Christians will try to explain away this custom as being related to the giving of gifts from the three wise men to the child Jesus. During Roman times gift giving became more and more extravagant and opulent, very much like the commercialism of Christmas today.

The Singing of Carols

The word 'carol' stems from the Old French carole, which was a circle dance, accompanied by singing. Although people today always seem to associate the term with Christmas, that was not always the case. Of course, not all Christmas carols have a religious flavour to them: many are now very secular and seasonal popular songs, and this has been the case since the1950s at least. The origin of singing carols at Christmas more than likely has its origins in pre-Christian Yule as part of the seasonal practice of chasing away the 'evil' of winter to make way for the birth of the sun. The ancient custom of wassailing in England appears to be one of the precursors of this custom where singers went from door to door offering a drink from the wassail bowl (a goblet) in exchange for a gift. Door to door carol singing is an extension of this custom. 

Christmas Candles

The lighting of Advent candles is not very common in modern England (except in churches) but it is a ubiquitous custom in Germany. Christians attribute the lighting of special and often decorative candles as symbolic of the 'light of Christ' entering the world. The truth of the matter is, prior to the invention of electric lighting, candles were one of the few means of creating artificial light during the dark winter evenings. I have already mentioned the giving of wax gifts at Saturnalia and this helps to explain the phenomenon of the Christmas candle in this age of electricity!  

The Christmas Tree

The decoration of an evergreen conifer in winter has clearly nothing to do with the fable of a Jewish child born in a middle-eastern stable! The decoration of such trees is clearly a custom which originated in the cold Germanic north. Why our ancestors decorated such trees is anyone's guess. Some may suggest that it is a half remembered custom from the days when the heathen Germanic peoples of continental Germania engaged in the veneration of trees, the Irminsul obviously springs to mind. The custom of decorating small conifers did not take hold in England until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria imported the custom from her native Germany.

Christmas Wreaths

This form of greenery is closely associated with the Christmas tree, evergreen which survives the winter and is largely used as a seasonal decoration on front doors here in England. Like the Christmas tree, this is a German import and one which I have only seen popularised in recent years. With its import into England its artificial 'Christian' significance has been entirely lost. The modern Christmas wreath dates back to 16th century Lutheran Germany. The wreath in Germany is not hung on a door but is studded with candles to mark the four weeks leading up to Christmas. No doubt, the Lutherans cobbled together this practice from the Roman feast of Saturnalia and Yule, the elements going to make up the wreaths are clearly heathen in nature and origin.

The Yule Log

Due to the lack of coal fires and the rise of central heating in England, this is a custom which has virtually died out. A log is selected and portions of it burnt on the hearth fire during this season until the twelfth night. It seems to have served as a bringer of good luck and a protective device against lightning and fire. The burning of the Yule Log symbolised the return of the sun, with the light and heat that it carries with it. The customs, practices, beliefs and superstitions varied by country and region but there is no doubt that they all had a common origin in pre-Christian religion and indeed may stretch right back to Proto-Indo-European times. The remnants of this custom are now to be found in the rather pathetic 'Yule Log' cake, which hardly anybody associates with the original concept.

Holly

Decorating rooms with holly can be traced back to the Roman feast of Saturnalia. Its survival through the harsh northern winter again is symbolic of the eternal reappearance of the sun at this time of year. It also has protective qualities. The redness of the berries signify the continuity of life when all around appears to be lifeless.

Ivy

Always associated with the holly is ivy, symbolic of death. In ancient carols ivy, was depicted as being female and forlorn while holly was male and full of life. Together they symbolise the eternal struggle between life and death, summer and winter. The ancient Romans believed that ivy was a device to help prevent drunkenness, and the god Bacchus is pictured as wearing a wreath on his head! 

Mistletoe

Like holly, this plant also fruited during the winter season and was a symbol of fertility. In ancient times the druids harvested this plant from oak trees. Its white berries were symbols of male virility. It is likely that the druids, however used the plant for medicinal purposes. The plant is said to offer protection from witches and evil spirits.

Excessive eating and drunkenness

Little needs to be said about this and I have yet to encounter a Christian who can establish a case for these being  'Christian' activities. These are clearly a remnant of the feast of Saturnalia.

Santa Claus and his Origins in Germanic Folklore

The notion of Santa Claus as the bringer of gifts at Yule can only be traced back to the the late 19th century in England, having reached County Durham in the northeast of England by the 1880s. However he can be traced back to mainland northern Europe much earlier than this and indeed the name Santa Claus is derived from the Dutch Sinter Klass from St. Nicholas who is a xtianised version of the Germanic God Woden. However despite the comparatively late arrival of Santa Claus to England the concept of an old man with supernatural powers granting gifts at Yule can be traced further back in England to Father Christmas in the 16th century and indeed even earlier than this. The English version that we have today is no doubt a fusion of these various mythical beings.

Father Christmas in England has always been portrayed as an aged and bearded man wearing either green or red robes, lined with furs. He appears to have supernatural and ineed elf-like qualities, being able to transport himself down chimneys. Clearly whether we call this being Santa Claus or Father Christmas these are most certainly xtianised names for a much older and pre-xtian entity. Yule is an ancient midwinter festival observed by the Germanic and other northern European peoples and its origins are lost in antiquity for it is so ancient.

We are provided with certain clues as to the origin of this being. His physical appearance certainly resembles that of Woden and in particular his shaman like qualities. Woden is also the leader of the Wild Hunt which is a feature of the Yuletide. The belly laugh of Santa Ho Ho Ho! is speculated to be an echo of the shouts of Woden whilst riding His Furious Host at Yuletide.

"With the devil is associated the figure of an enormous giant, who can stand for him as well as Wuotan; and this opinion prevails in Switzerland. There the wild hunt is named  diirsten-gejeg (see durs, thurs, p. 521): on summer nights you hear the durst hunting on the Jura, cheering on the hounds with his hoho; heedless persons, that do not get out of his way, are ridden over." (Jacob Grimm, Teutonic Mythology Volume 3, page 920)

However we know that Woden's favoured means of transportation apart from using His feet (he was known as The Wanderer) was His eight-legged steed Sleipnir. One of His Norse names was Jolnir, again closely associating Him with Yule. The fact that He is a rider of a horse however does not accord with the image of Santa Claus who typically uses a sleigh drawn by reindeer, clearly an indication of an arctic attribute. However the driver of reindeer does of course hint of a shamanic quality which accords more with Woden than say Thunor. However some scholars consider Thunor to have a white beard and amongst certain northern European peoples the Thunder God is viewed as an old man. This is particularly the case with the Lithuanian Perkunos or the Finnic Ukko.

We are reminded that the reindeer which pull Santa's sleigh are called Donner and Blitzen-'thunder and lightning' from the Old Dutch 'Dunder and Blixem'.  Again this is a strong indication that this figure is in reality Thunor. Santa's usually red robes also adds to the idea that this is Thunor as red is a colour that is most closely associated with Him. Interestingly the colours of red, white and black that feature on the modern day's Santa's garments hearken back to the colours of old Germany and also to the Aryan caste system which I have discussed quite comprehensively in previous articles. Possibly the black in the costume is derived from the soot in the chimneys!

Interestingly in Sweden the sleigh was viewed as not pulled by reindeer but by goats-the Julbocker and driven by the Jultomten. In the first edition (1895) of H.A. Guerbers Myths of Northern Lands (this particular edition is out of print-only later and slightly differently worded editions are currently available as far as I am aware) it is stated:

"The fireplace in every home was especially sacred to him, and he was said to come down through the chimney into his element, the fire."

In later editions of this work it is certainly stated of Yule:

"One month of every year, the Yule month, or Thor's month, was considered sacred to Frey as well as to Thor, and began on the longest night of the year, which bore the name of Mother Night."

I do not wish to be dogmatic about such things. Clearly the original mythological figure that Santa Claus is based upon is a fusion of both Woden and Thunor, possibly hinting at an older deity that encapsulates features of both Gods. I have hinted at such a concept in the past and the Gods willing I will expand upon my theory in a future article.