Winter Solstice

PollySis · 12-21-2007, 07:55 PM

Well, pagan cysters - have a great jul! Looking forward to the days getting longer!

Got my mistletoe yesterday - always my favourite little ritual. Here's something I found about mistletoe online for those who are interested:

Quote:

Although many sources say that kissing under the mistletoe is a purely English custom, there's another, more charming explanation for its origin that extends back into Norse mythology. It's the story of a loving, if overprotective, mother.

The Norse god Balder was the best loved of all the gods. His mother was Frigga, goddess of love and beauty. She loved her son so much that she wanted to make sure no harm would come to him. So she went through the world, securing promises from everything that sprang from the four elements--fire, water, air, and earth--that they would not harm her beloved Balder. Leave it to Loki, a sly, evil spirit, to find the loophole. The loophole was mistletoe. He made an arrow from its wood. To make the prank even nastier, he took the arrow to Hoder, Balder's brother, who was blind. Guiding Holder's hand, Loki directed the arrow at Balder's heart, and he fell dead.
Frigga's tears became the mistletoe's white berries. In the version of the story with a happy ending, Balder is restored to life, and Frigga is so grateful that she reverses the reputation of the offending plant--making it a symbol of love and promising to bestow a kiss upon anyone who passes under it.

http://www.candlegrove.com/mistletoe.html

And from OBOD, here's this about the solstice:

http://druidry.org/obod/festivals/arthan.html

Navi · 12-22-2007, 01:23 PM

Cool stuff.

Slavianstvo has Koljada:

Quote:

Most agree that the word comes from the Roman word "calendae" which meant the first 10 days of any month. Some, however, believe the word is derived from the word "Kolo" or wheel - much like the word "Yule" is an Anglo-Saxon word for wheel. The holiday's original name may have been "Ovsen". The holiday was filled with revelry. Processions of people masked like animals and cross-dressers roamed the village. Often they were accompanied by a "goat"- a goat's head, either real or (usually) made and stuffed on a stick. The person holding the "goat" would be covered by a blanket to play the part. Sometimes a child on horseback - symbol of the reborn sun - would accompany them; the horse was often played by two young men in horses costumes. One of the wenders would carry a spinning solar symbol, internally lit by a candle, on a stick.