Celtic Christmas

This Christmas I have been exploring the fascinating  ancient Celtic traditions of Christmas. So much of the Christmas festival we enjoy is a blend of ancient tradition and cultures that have somehow become meshed together over the centuries, and I thought you might find it interesting to know where some of these wonderful traditions we enjoy each year come from…

So, where or better to start with than Father Christmas?   It’s impossible to to point out one real Santa Claus because his origins are a culmination of Celtic and Scandinavian mythologies. An ancient blend of the Norse god Thor, who rode across the sky in a chariot drawn by goats giving gifts to children at the end of the year. Befana, a Roman goddess bearing gifts and the Celtic Winter god, the Holly King.

The Druid Holly King wore a Holly wreath as a crown and wore red.  Remind you of anyone? In Celtic Mythology, the Oak King (representing light) and the Holly King (representing darkness) were warrior twins, engaged in a never-ending battle for supremacy. Oak trees that are sacred to the Celts lose their leaves in Winter while the holly trees are ever green. But at the Winter Solstice the tides change, and the Oak King starts his new reign of dominance. To celebrate the Holly King’s midwinter dominance, we decorate our homes with holly and ivy-  didn’t know, huh?  The Holly King was rumored to have the power of transformation, renewal and rebirth and this may well be why we make new year’s resolutions? Interesting…

Judith and Santa

More Celtic stories to come…

Judie, at the Shamrock and Peach