December often ushers in our coldest weather in the northern hemisphere. And the full moon on December 4 is known as the Cold Moon. The Cold Moon is a good time to journal, meditate and quietly go within at a time of the year when many of us are being kept indoors because of the cold weather. This full moon is also a great time to do away with that which does not serve us through a burning bowl ritual. We look forward to the coming light as we pass midwinter and enter into the lighter half of the year.
Traditionally, this part of the year has been a time of merriment, celebration and giftgiving, as well as baking, delicious sweets, using warming spices. The spices used in gingerbread and other spicy recipes, such as mulled wine and cider are interesting in that these spices themselves can be protective and energizing in a magical sense: just what is needed for this very cold and bleak time of year.
Here is a past blog post of mine about gingerbread:
December 5 is known as the time of Krampus. Krampus is a being that originated in Germany and Austria and his celebration is on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, December 6. He is the counterpart to Saint Nicholas being the character who would punish all the naughty children.
Krampus was known to have beaten the naughty children with birch branches or carry them off in a sack. He’s basically a bogeyman. Nowadays, all over the world people have resurrected the tradition of the Krampus lauf or the Krampus run. It is a time of fun, and people of all ages participate in these events. The pagan origin of Krampus is that of a mischievous or malevolent nature, spirit, and predates Christianity in the Alpine regions of Europe..
December 6 is known as Saint Nicholas day in the Catholic Church. However, Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus noticeably bears a strong resemblance to some of his pagan counterparts. Described as a jolly old elf, the Santa Claus of Clement Moore seems a lot more pagan than saintly.
I sometimes call him “Odin Claus” because of all he has in common with the all-father, Odin.
No, I’m not saying that Odin and Santa are one and the same, however there do seem to be definite similarities between the two characters. There are a lot of people that get very upset when Santa and Odin are compared to each other, but I can definitely see how Santa could have evolved overtime because of the influence of Odin or Woden in northern European spirituality and culture. I won’t go into all the different ways in which they are similar, but one similarity that I think is rather amusing is that Odin rides an eight legged horse while Santa drives a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. So you be the judge! Decide for yourself if Odin had an influence over our present day concept of Santa Claus.
Here is an article that explains the Odin vs Santa similarities in more detail:
https://sonsofvikings.com/blogs/history/viking-origins-of-christmas-yule-traditions
Speaking of Christianity influencing ancient pagan customs, consider the festival of St. Lucia in Sweden on December 13. St. Lucia was actually an Italian Saint from the third century. December 13 was her saint day because that was the day that she was martyred in Italy. However, December 13 was traditionally considered the winter solstice in the northern European part of the world, and there was, in fact, an ancient goddess or witch-like being in Scandinavia, who went by the name of Lussi. I can just picture a few lightbulbs going on in the heads of early Christian Scandinavian converts when they heard about St. Lucia! This would have been an opportunity to carry on some of their ancient pagan customs by syncretizing their goddess with the Christian saint. On St. Lucia day the oldest daughter of the house puts on a crown of candles and serves saffron buns to her parents in bed. She is accompanied by small children, dressed up as star children. Now that sounds downright “new agey” to me!
Here is a great article explaining the history of this beloved Scandinavian holiday:
The actual day of the winter solstice varies from year to year but it generally falls around December 21. This year it falls on that date at 10:03 am EST. In pagan culture it is a time to celebrate the return of the light since the days will now start to grow longer in daylight until the summer solstice in June at which time they will start to grow shorter again. In ancient times, this was a big celebration in an agrarian society that really depended on the sun and its light.
I actually favor using the term “midwinter” because on a pagan calendar the winter solstice is in the middle of winter. Samhain is technically the beginning of pagan winter. Finding a way to welcome in the light and thinking about all you wish to accomplish in the coming season would be an excellent concept to incorporate into a Yule ritual. Here are a few ideas to incorporate into your Yule celebration.
From Essential Witchery
And here is a past post to give you some more ideas for your Yule ritual:
May the coming year hold many positive surprises and bountiful blessings as you continue your journey through midwinter and beyond!
Yuletide Blessings,
Sarina
The Magickal Cottage 