Yuletide

As you may recall from 5th grade science class, the Earth orbits the sun; our orbit describes a plane around the sun. At the same time, the Earth spins on its axis; but that axis is not at 90° from the orbital plane, as would be mathematically neat and easy to picture. Instead, Earth's axis is (currently; it does change slowly over time) at 23.45° off from that. The winter solstice is the day of the year when this axis is pointing away from the Sun. (Summer solstice is when it's pointing towards the Sun.) Since the Earth's axis defines both the North and South poles, half the Earth always has its Winter Solstice the same time the other half has its Summer Solstice. (People on or near the equator don't have a solstice of either type, poor dears.)

The winter solstice, which occurs around December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere and June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere, is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The summer solstice, which occurs around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere and December 21 in the Southern Hemisphere, is the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The solstices affect the amount of sunlight and heat that different regions of the Earth receive, and thus influence the seasons, the climate, and the life cycles of plants and animals.

Primitive people, who spent pretty much all their time outdoors, were far more sensitive to changes in the environment that we are. Yet, even modern Americans, who spend pretty much all our time indoors, notice when it starts getting dark so damned early! But, not having attended 5th grade science class, primitive people may have feared the shorter days, associating them with the colder temperatures, snow, lack of plant growth and food animal shortages they do, indeed, produce. As shorter days meant fewer minutes of sunlight every day than the day before, some cultures interpreted this as a sick or even dying Sun. And with the Sun being, literally, the energy source of all life on Earth, this would not be a good thing.

And so they prayed to whatever they held sacred, usually the Sun itself, to heal itself and come back to life!

Now, to the naked eye, once the sun sets on the horizon at its southernmost (Northern hemisphere) or northernmost (Southern hemisphere),it doesn't immediately bounce back, making primitives think it's died. However, priests (people with esoteric knowledge, passed on to them from who knows whom) knew that this was an illusion; that, just like last year and every year before that, the Sun would come back to life, beginning its climb back to its Summer position; and this would happen in exactly three days.

Despite the paintings you may have seen, not even the most primitive people could have seriously thought the Sun was really going to stay dead, when the same thing had happened every previous year in the memory of the oldest person, and in the memory of every old person they'd known when they were children. But, in that majority of human history before Netflix and Chill, any reason for a celebration (we call it a party) is reason enough. And the Winter Solstice certainly had cultural and religious significance, as it represented the death and rebirth of the Sun, the balance of light and darkness, and the hope for the subsequent new year.

It's a matter of historical record that every major ancient culture has had its Sun god, with attendent mythology and a birth date associated with the Winter Solstice. For example:

Horus was one of the most important and ancient gods of Egypt, who was worshipped for over 5,000 years, from the late prehistoric period until the Roman era. The earliest evidence of Horus worship dates back to the late Predynastic Period, around 3100 BCE, until the 4th century CE, when Christianity became Egypt's dominant religion.

Dionysus is a god of wine, fertility, and theater, who was one of the most popular deities in ancient Greece and Rome. He was the son of Zeus and a human virgin named Semele, who died when Zeus revealed his true form to her. Zeus rescued the unborn Dionysus from her womb and sewed him into his thigh, from where he was later born. The date of December 25 for his birth is based on a Hellenistic festival called Brumalia, which celebrated the winter solstice and the rebirth of Dionysus. Although not primarily a sun god, he was nevertheless described as such by Greek writer Nonnus, who described Dionysus as a sun god who traveled around the world with his army of followers, performing miracles. Nevertheless, Dionysus hung out with Apollo, the Greek's primary sun god, who may have thus benefitted by association when the Romans later combined (or conflated) a bunch of earlier sun gods into…

Mithra, a god of light, truth, and contracts, who originated in ancient Persia and was later adopted by the Romans as Mithras, was born from a rock and was associated with the sun and the bull. The date of December 25 for his birth is based on the Roman celebration of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the birthday of the unconquered sun, which was dedicated to Mithras and other solar deities (including Dionysus). He was also been connected with a baptism (by the Christian writer Tertullian), the cross (by Christian writer Justin Martyr), and with resurrection (by the Christian writer St. Jerome).

Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, which claims he is the Son of the Abrahamic deity, Yahweh, (which, in English, at least, qualifies as a sun god). Like most other sun gods, he was said to be born of a virgin. The date of December 25 for his birth is not mentioned in the Bible, and it was not until the fourth century CE, when it was chosen by the Roman Emperor Constantine to coincide with the pagan festival of Sol Invictus, the unconquered sun. This was because Sol Invictus/Dionysus/Mithra were so very popular with the general populace, that there was no way they would give up their Winter Solstice celebrations to become Christian, unless Constantine could figure out a way to incorporate the Solstice with Christianity. Voila! Christmas.

Amaterasu is the Japanese sun goddess, who was born from the left eye of the creator god Izanagi. She hid herself in a cave after her brother Susanoo offended her, plunging the world into darkness. She was lured out by the other gods, who threw a three day party outside the cave and placed a mirror to reflect her light. She is celebrated on the Winter Solstice as the bringer of light and life.

Inti, the Inca sun god, was the ancestor and protector of the Inca people. He was depicted as a golden disk with a human face. He was honored on the Winter Solstice with a festival called Inti Raymi (the festival of the sun), which involved sacrifices, dances, and feasts.

Yhi, the Australian Aboriginal sun goddess, who was one of the primordial beings that emerged from the Dreamtime. She brought light and life to the world by opening her eyes and awakening the sleeping animals and plants. She also created humans from clay and gave them fire. She is celebrated on the southern hemisphere's Winter Solstice (June 25th) as the source of warmth and vitality.

Surya is the Hindu god of the sun, who rides a chariot pulled by seven horses. He is the father of many other deities, such as Karna, Yama, and Shani. He is worshipped on Makar Sankranti, which is the winter solstice festival that marks the transition of the sun into the zodiac sign of Capricorn (Makara). This festival involves flying kites and making bonfires.

Interestingly, the Jewish celebration of Chanukkah, which is also celebrated at this time of year, seems less connected to the winter solstice. However, the symbolism of light and darkness in Chanukkah may reflect the contrast between the long nights and the short days of winter, as well as the spiritual struggle between good and evil. The menorah represents the divine presence and the hope for salvation.

Now, as the sun rises further to the South each day, it also slows as it does this. The ancient Celtic Druids, being less precise perhaps than their southern neighbors, actually celebrated the Winter Solstice for twelve days, which is the origin of our twelve days of Christmas. Their customs included a lot of holly, mistletoe and candles, all symbols of light and life during the darkest, most lifeless time of the year. The more enthusiastic among them even brought evergreen trees right into their homes and decorated them (after which their cats promptly knocked them down). They also roamed the neighborhood singing songs (carols) of praise to the sun, and gave each other gifts as a gesture of generosity and gratitude.

So, yeah, the holdidays we all celebrate, despite thinking we are worshipping gods?

They're all the Yuletide, baby!

The tradition of bringing a tree into the home and decorating it for Christmas became popular in Germany in the 16th century, especially among the Lutherans. The Christmas tree spread to other parts of Europe and America in the 18th and 19th centuries, thanks to the influence of German immigrants, royalty, and media. In 1846, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who was of German origin, were depicted in a newspaper with their children around a Christmas tree. This image popularized the Christmas tree among the British and the American upper classes. In 1851, the first Christmas tree market was set up in New York by a German immigrant named Mark Carr. In 1895, President Grover Cleveland had the first electrically lit Christmas tree in the White House.

Today, the Christmas tree is one of the most recognizable symbols of the holiday season, and millions of people, Christians and non-Christians as well, around the world celebrate by decorating their own trees with lights, ornaments, and gifts. While the Christmas tree is a source of controversy for some who see it as a pagan or secular element that has nothing to do with the Christian meaning of Christmas, others argue that the Christmas tree can be a symbol of faith and hope, and that its origins are not important as long as it is used to honor the birth of Jesus.

And that brings us to Santa Claus.

The tradition of gift-giving at Christmas dates back to the Roman festival of Saturnalia (another Solstice holiday), which was celebrated in late December with feasting, gambling, and exchanging presents. The early Christians, who of course had previously been pagams, retained this custom and gave gifts to each other as a reminder of the gifts of the Magi to the baby Jesus. Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian bishop who was known for his generosity and kindness to children (yikes! if we'd known then what we know now about clergy and children…!), was popularized by the Dutch, whose nickname for Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas, was brought to America by Dutch immigrants in the 18th century.

The image of Santa Claus as a jolly old man in a red suit with a white beard was influenced by the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (also known as The Night Before Christmas), written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1823, and the illustrations by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly magazine in the 19th century. The Coca-Cola Company also popularized this image through its advertisements in the 20th century.

The Cocal Cola adverts were probably the beginning of the crass commericialism of Christmas, but it certainly didn't stop there. Now, in 2023, Christmas is so commericialized, pretty much every store owner counts on it to bring their accounting books into the black (the origin of Black Friday sales).

Of course, I have to laugh at the irony of Christians lying to their kids about the existence of Santa Claus regarding Christmas, and then agonizing years later when increasing numbers of their kids come to the conclusion that, since Santa isn't real, neither is Jesus.

(When my kids were little, I told them Santa was real—as the Spirit of Generosity, just as Superman is real as the Spirit of Strength—that it's easier to think of abstract concepts as though they were actual people. I also explained that most parents don't think their kids are smart enough to understand this, and it wasn't my kids' job to set their friends straight.)

And, insofar as we embody those spirits ourselves, we are all Santa…and Jesus…and Amaterasu and the rest.

Though I must admit I rather favor Amaterasu. She has the best outfits!