So how are you feeling? I mean right now with Christmas only a week away? Looking forward to the holiday and spending time with family and friends? Organised and ready for parties, gatherings and present-giving? Or maybe just a little bit stressed about the whole event and kind of hoping it will all be over and we can get back to normal (whatever that might be after this crazy year).
It's a bit depressing that at this time of year family feuds, arguments and divorces increase and I think that's largely to do with the pressures that are on all of us from advertising, TV commercials, social media, and our own childhood images of perfect Christmases and the feeling that somehow we need to create a perfect Christmas for everyone else too.
But how about we get back right to where all this started and try to find the real spirit of the season and find health and harmony to take us into the new year...
I'm sure you already know this, but Christmas was not originally a Christian festival – its origins go back thousands of years to the celebrations that took place around the Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the the year, usually on the 21st December – this is an actual astronomical event when the sun appears to stand still for a few days before the days gradually start getting longer again – Solstice means 'sun stand still'.
To our ancestors, this was an incredibly important time of year, the darkest day over, the sun gradually begins its climb back towards spring bringing warmth and light back to the earth – rather important when you are dependent on the weather and the seasons – and this gave rise to many celebrations and rituals to celebrate the turn of the year and the hope of life to come.
My own celebrations are centred around the Solstice with a focus on renewal, rebirth and the celebration of life itself...
Yule
This is the probably the best-known of the pagan festivals if you live in Europe; we even still use the term Yule to refer to this time of year. Many of the traditions we think of as being 'Christmas' actually come from the Norse pagan festival of Yule:
Decorated Trees – People would bring evergreen trees and plants into their homes to remind them of new growth – lighted with candles and berries, they would celebrate the passing of the darkness
Holly – the dark green holly leaves symbolise the Holly King who rules until the winter solstice – at the turn of the year, the Oak King takes his place until the summer solstice. The red holly berries symbolise the resting Earth Mother
The Yule log – not the chocolate covered confection we know today (although there's nothing wrong with that) but an actual log (or even a whole tree!); our ancestors would bring a great log to put on the fire as part of the celebrations; the fire kept away evil spirits and it was kept burning for the 12 days of the winter celebrations when the change in the light and the lengthening days would be clear to see. The ashes were believed to be sacred and were used on the ground for growing the new crops, and the last bit of the log was kept as kindling for the next year's Yule celebrations. Later, as hearths became smaller, smaller Yule logs appeared, often with candles to symbolise the flames of the Yule log – each family member would light a candle and make a wish for the coming year. And of course, we now also have the chocolate covered cakes, but the symbolism is the same
Lights and candles – fairly obvious really, the lights symbolise the light of the sun as it gets warmer and drives away the darkness
Wreathes – these were made from evergreens representing eternal life and the the circle represents the wheel of the year
Giving gifts – symbolising the gifts from Mother Earth and given to celebrate and give thanks for her blessings
Saturnalia
This was a Roman festival which had very similar meanings to Yule – the end of the darkest day and the celebration of the new year to come. Saturn is the Roman God of agriculture so it makes sense that people would celebrate and honour him for the harvests of the previous year and the hope of good harvests for the coming year. Saturnalia was celebrated between the 17th and 23rd December and was a completely riotous celebration of eating, drinking, giving gifts and playing silly games (sounds familiar?). Often roles were reversed so that the rich and powerful waited on their servants and the lowest member of the household was elected King for the day and given the title 'Lord of Misrule' – he was allowed to play tricks on the rest of the household.
St Lucia's Day
Traditionally celebrated around the solstice, this celebrates St Lucia who was martyred for bringing food for Christians hiding from the Romans in 304AD. Again, it is a celebration of light driving out darkness – lights and candles keeping away evil spirits.
There are many other traditions celebrating the solstice across the world – Dong Zhi in China, Shab-e Yalda in Iran, Inti Raymi in Peru, Toji in Japan – all of them marking the passing of the darkest day and the return of the light, so it's not surprising that when the first Christians crossed the globe, they incorporated the traditions of the solstice into their celebrations.
Finding health and harmony
So in all this excitement, shopping, planning, decorating, merriment and stress, how do you find health and harmony for yourself? It's very easy to get caught up in the mayhem and find ourselves out of time, out of pocket and out of patience; we fret over whether we have bought the perfect gift, whether the turkey will be cooked to Nigella* perfection, whether the family gathering will end up in an argument (again), whether we'll put on several kilos after eating too many mince pies and whether we will be able to pay off the credit card in January, but it doesn't have to be that way – if you can allow yourself to step back and remember what solstice is really about and just enjoy it in all its imperfections, you can find your own little piece of harmony in the chaos
1. It's a celebration, not a competition
Advertisers are a cunning lot – they sell us images of perfection day in and day out; remember back in the summer when they were telling us how to get the perfect beach body, with air-brushed photos? Well Christmas is no different – we see the joyful family round the perfectly decorated tree each opening the perfect gift; snow falls outside the window and carols are being sung by angelic voices – it's still airbrushed but we're led to believe that if we just buy the right things, somehow we too can have this impossibly magical scene. Instead of striving for an unattainable advertiser's image, keep yourself and your loved ones at the centre of your celebrations; enjoy each other's company, buy presents that mean something rather than feeling that 'more is more', eat together, laugh together, and just relax into each others' presence; there may be niggles and arguments along the way, but it will be your celebration not a competition for the 'perfect' Christmas.
2. Find time for reflection
The weeks running up to Solstice and Christmas are traditionally for quietness and reflection; the days are dark and the nights are long and the Earth is resting before the energy of Spring arises in the new year. Try to take some time out for quiet reflection – walk in nature on a cold day, read that book you've been looking forward to but haven't found time, sit in a café with a cup of coffee and do some people watching, practise mindfulness or meditation, (see my blog on mindfulness here), listen to a piece of inspiring music, get up before sunrise and watch the sun come up (come on – it's not that early), walk with your dog, children or grandchildren; just try to step out of the mayhem for a little while and give yourself permission to relax.
3. Practise Gratitude
One of the central tenets of both the Solstice and Christmas is that of gratitude. Our ancestors celebrated the returning sun and the feasts were a celebration of the year's harvest. It's easy with all the pressures of the season to find ourselves complaining and moaning but taking some time to feel grateful for all that we have is a sure way to feel happier, healthier and calmer (see my blog on Gratitude here). Enjoy all the little pleasures and you may find they're not so little – a card made by a child, a shop assistant who is friendly and helpful despite being run off her feet, a beautiful sunrise or sunset, a hug from a loved one, a smile from a stranger – when we begin to take notice of these small things, we realise that in fact they hold us all together.
4. Practise Kindness
This goes hand-in-hand with gratitude and is another central theme of both Solstice and Christmas. When we are grateful for the things in our lives, we find ourselves wanting to share that and again, it's the little things that make the difference – a smile to someone we pass in the street, giving someone a hand when we see them struggling, donating to a charity we feel strongly about, buying a hot drink for a homeless person on a cold day, saying thank you to the people who make our lives easier. Kindness spreads very quickly and can literally change someone's life. For more ideas about kindness there is a lovely organisation called Suspended Coffees who make it their mission to spread kindness.
5. Forget Food Guilt
Solstice, Saturnalia, Christmas and all the major celebrations involve feasting in some form or another. Our ancestors who often suffered long periods of deprivation, if not starvation, would have really understood the idea of feasting. It's a bit harder when we live in a society where food is always available but we still use food to celebrate and most of us have seasonal favourites that we look forward to. So I am absolutely not about to give you a list of 'primal versions' of your favourite things (although there are plenty of ideas on Mark's Daily Apple if you really want them). For me, Solstice is a time for sharing, celebrating together and enjoying the riches of the season just as our ancestors would have done and this is no time for feeling guilty about everything you eat because it isn't healthy/Primal/low-carb; eat what you really enjoy and eat it mindfully – being stressed about food is neither healthy nor harmonious.
6. Create your own Solstice celebration
On or around the 21st, Solstice itself, try to find some time to reflect on what it means – the light after the darkness, new growth springing from the resting earth, new beginnings and new life. Perhaps create your own ceremony using candles and fresh greenery to say thank you for the returning light; make a wish on your Yule log – real or chocolate; get up before dawn and watch the sun rise; walk outside and just breathe. Somewhere deep inside, you already have your perfect Christmas.
From out of Darkness and Cold, the Light Returns
Have a Blessed and Happy Solstice,
*To be perfectly fair to Nigella, I used her Christmas lunch countdown from her Christmas book last year and it was a godsend!
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