The Irreverent and Unconventional Guide to Holiday Tunes

Tags

Christmas, music, yule

As a Pagan, I have a confession to make…

I love Christmas.

Ferreals.

I love it. I love the trees, the decorations, the lights, eggnog–I even love fruitcake.  Sure, we have Yule/Solstice (Happy Belated, BTW, either way you celebrate it), but it’s still weird to celebrate a what amounts to a major cultural holiday on the wrong day (even if much of the iconology we associate with Christmas has its start in pre-Christian traditions)…  It’s a bit like being the only person celebrating the 4th of July on the 1st of July.

But the thing I love the most of all is the music.  I think it because I associate it with one of the most treasured traditions of my childhood…  You see, I come from a musical family upbringing (unfortunately, I’m the least musical of them all), and every Christmas of my childhood included a rousing hour or so of various relatives pounding out tunes from yellowing pages of sheet music (I am, however, an excellent page turner) and taped together books of Christmas music on the piano..or whatever other instruments they had brought along (including the good ole voice box).

Unfortunately, the Winter Solstice just doesn’t have that many singable carols…

Yes, we have music (a huge improvement from my early days as a Pagan).  As much as it makes me smile when I hear it on the rare occasion its played radio, Jethro Tull’s Solstice Bells does eventually get tiresome on the 347th replay for the season.  And sure, there’s the ever-popular Santa Claus is Pagan Too, by Emerald Rose and The Christians and the Pagans by Dar Williams and Bring Back the Light by Gypsy, or there’s Inkubus Sukkubus’s Hail the Holly King and Solstice Evergreen by Spiral Dance and Lisa Thiel’s Winter Solstice Song…but (with the exception of Santa Claus is Pagan Too), they just don’t have the same je ne sais quois as a rousing round of Jingle Bells.  Nor do many of them possess the solemn beauty of Silent Night, though there are some lovely mostly songs  the Solstice–like this piano solo on Michele McLaughlin’s Christmas album or this demo by Peter Gundry, or Tori Amos’s Winter’s Carol:

Or, perhaps familiarity is partially to blame; after all, Oh Holy Night, which is one of my favorite Christmas AND Yule tunes, only requires a slight bit of rephrasing to celebrate the night of the Sun’s rebirth instead of the night of Christ was born.  There’s this rather lovely rendition of What night is this? and about a dozen different Silent Nights (none of which I like).  None of this, however, solves the problem of what to do with holiday music once Yule is over and everyone else is still gearing up for Christmas.

So, here’s a few songs that celebrate the holiday season (all the holidays) with honesty and a jaunty tune…in no particular order of irreverence or unconventionality:

 

And, my personal favorite…

 

So, whatever your faith may be, and with all sincerity “I bid you pleasure and I bid you cheer | From a heathen and a pagan | On the side of the rebel Jesus.”

May your day be merry, whether you are celebrating Christmas tomorrow or not.

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I believe in Santa

Tags

myth, Santa, yule

Santa’s had a long and bumpy road on his way to becoming a modern icon, but now that he’s here he doesn’t look likely to leave anytime soon. In a world that so often lacks any magic, Santa provides a doorway into a realm of imagination and wonderment. A world without Santa is a world I don’t want to live in. We share so little myth these days, and what myth we do share rarely transcends religious boundaries, but Santa is different. With his origins in Greek myth, Catholic tradition, Norse paganism, and the wilds of the human imagination, he’s capable of not just magically jumping down chimneys, but of jumping into the hearts of whoever will have him.

read the rest (from “The History and Origins of Santa Claus” by Jason Mankey @ Raise the Horns)

I commented on another blog post today, on my position on “The Santa Debate”.  As in, whether or not “doing Santa” as part of one’s family traditions is a good idea or not.  Interested in the sorts of comments on a mostly Christian blog, I felt compelled to ask about “doing Santa” on the blog’s Facebook pagan, and asked: Do you do Santa? Is he “Pagan too” (I love that song)? Or do you consider Santa to be “lying”? Or do you maybe do something else (like we do the Yule Faeries)?

I got some really interesting answers.  I understand the concern of lying, by perpetuating the idea that jolly fat man rides around in a plush scarlet velvety suit pulled by flying reindeer and managing to deliver gifts to all of the world’s children in a single night (but I tend to think that its not a big deal).  I mean, the sheer physics of that are very unlikely.  But it seems that a number of people also had problems with the “naughty or nice” thing as some sort of bribery/punishment thing.  Also, I saw that even in some families that chose not to “do Santa”, that their kids picked it up from school anyhow and (even in families where they were told that Santa wasn’t real) children often chose to believe intentionally (a variation of this has occurred in our home too).

My answer though, in comments on the blog post, was that, in our family, we believe in the sacredness of stories (I’ve talked about this before around here).  Mythos is incredibly important to the human experience, whether it be the mythology of hundreds of thousands of religious traditions or the mythology of folk tales. Myth is the collective search of humanity for truth, meaning and significance in the experience of life, so that it resonates beyond the merely physical (and short) time that we are alive into something more.

We’ve been teaching our children for as long as they’ve been alive that it is the spirit of the story that is important, not how literal it is or is not–whether it be Tolkien, the Nativity, or the Oak and the Holly King.  Santa doesn’t need to be literal to be REAL.  Santa isn’t a jolly fat man in a red suit, he’s the human conception of the spirit of generosity, built upon generations of myth–from stories and images historical characters as varied as Nikolaos of Myrna from to the Norse and Germanic god, Odin. Honestly, he’s probably the best part about the holiday, because he’s accessible to everyone, regardless of religion (and ethnicity–don’t even get me started over the Faux “News” debacle over the race of Santa).

I believe in Santa.  Actually, I believe in hundreds–no, thousands of Santas, all around the world.  People that embody the spirit of a jolly fat man in a velvety red suit, to bring job to children.  People that take the extra time at Christmas, or even all year round.  People like this, and this, and this, and this.  Bottom line: Santa is one helluva awesome myth to believe in. Even though he doesn’t deliver our presents–too busy getting ready for Christmas. He has his little winged friends, the Yule Faeries do it!

Tis the season…

Tags

yule

Merry Yule!

Okay, so I’m couple days early…but we started our Yule celebration yesterday, and will keep going for 12 nights.  So Merry Yule it is!

Why 12 days? Because for 12 nights (at our location), the night is 14 hours and 22 minutes long (according to one of my favorite helpers).  The number of “Longest Nights” (unless you decide to count seconds) varies a bit on one’s longitude.  For example, my good friend in the Northwest Territories  gets six nights that are 19 hours and 1 minute long.  (Other folks might celebrate 12 days of Yule, but start on the 20th or 21st)

How We Do Yule:

Night 1–Talk about axial tilt.  So, I found this adorable “Axial tilt is the reason for the season” meme…  But silly meme’s aside, its true!  We have a solstice because the earth is tipped to the side.  So, for the first night, we talk about the science behind the season.  This is also when we slice oranges to hang on the tree to dry.

Night 2–Talk (in a general sense) about how and why different cultures celebrate the Winter Solstice, and some of the similar themes prevalent in the holiday.  Read Winter Solstice by Ellen Jackson.  String cranberry wreaths.

Night 3–Talk about balance and equilibrium and the Dongzhi Festival, the Chinese celebration of the Winter Solstice.  Eat dumplings, string popcorn blessing garland.

Night 4–Talk about Winter and what winter meant for our ancestors, how winter was a challenge in terms of finding food, keeping warm, of the importance of light in a dark world.  Talk about Beiwe and her mythology (Beiwe is the Sami goddess of the Sun).  Keep all electronics off, candle light only.

Night 5–Talk about the importance of the Sun to the Earth, and to us.  Talk about how ancient peoples watched where the sun rose and set to know where they were in the year.  Talk about Stonehenge and Newgrange, and other ways that different cultures watched the sun, about the “woodhenge” at Cahokia, about the Hopi tracked the sun using kivas for their celebration of Soyaluna.  Make the sun, to go on the tree the next day.

Night 6—Go out to dinner and a movie (we are either going to see Frozen or the new Hobbit movie), and return to presents delivered by the Yule Faeries.  Make up new Yule Faerie stories!  Drink eggnog, eat cookies.  Hold the family ritual for Yule and put the sun on the top of the tree.  Go to bed for the sunrise beach walk to greet the new Baby Sun King.

Night 7–Talk about hope, light, respecting others, and the holidays of Diwali and Hanukkah (even though both were in November this year). Read the story of Tante Golda in The Miracle of the Potato Latkes and the story of the latke in Lemony Snicket’s The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming.  Eat latkes.

Night 8–Talk about how the Winter Solstice is celebrated in the Southern Hemisphere (during our summer), and the festivals of We Tripantu  and Inti Raymi, and about how the Summer Solstice is being celebrated (now) in the Southern Hemisphere.

Night 9–Talk about Christmas and the mythology of Jesus.  Put up the nativity set.  Listen to Handel’s Messiah (because its beautiful).  Make a gingerbread house.

Night 10–Talk about Saturnalia, Mithra, and Sol Invictus (the Roman and Romanized holidays).  Celebrate.  Let Misrule (the kids) try their hand at Rule for the evening.

Night 11–Talk about our roles as individuals as humans in a wider, global, human community.  Talk about Kwanzaa, and the principles of Kwanzaa.  Discuss our roles and principles as a family.

Night 12–Reflect on the holidays, personally, and as a family.   Consider the upcoming New Year.

 

Some past Yule topics:
A bit about Garnet, the Yule Fairy
The role of stories in a multi-faith season
Herbs for Yule
More Herbs for Yule
DIY, kid-friendly decorations
Yarn Dolls (a craft)
A DIY tree trimming idea list
Solstice thoughts
Popcorn Magic
A Yuletide Maxim (which reminds me that I ought to start Maxim blogging again)

The Return of Sol Invictus

Tags

end of the world, mayan apocalypse, solstice, winter solstice, yule

Just because the Apocalypse didn’t happen, doesn’t mean this isn’t true:

And the reason ^ is true is because, well…this is true:

Lets face it, Humanity is on a funky sort of of feedback loop–change is inevitable and progressive, but the struggle is eternal.

Which is why the Solstice matters.

if the universe existed in a single year…

Billions of years ago (14 actually), something happened.  Something that might have been special, that might have been miraculous…or it could have actually been pretty darn routine.  Its hard to say though, since none of us were here (or there) and we lack the capacity to see quite that far yet.  But, either way, in the beginning, a giant explosion hurled existence into being and set forth events that would lead to us.

Our Sun (a pretty average sort of star), was born from some of the matter ejected in this explosion.  One of many, many swirling clouds of matter contracted under its own weight, spinning* itself into the shapes we know today as the Sun and its solar system.  It didn’t happen overnight–the sun’s formation took about 9 billion years (that is one heck of a pregnancy!), and in its birthing, the “extras”, the left over material that had formed in bands around the developing proto-Sun, conglomerated into the planets…including Earth.

The Solstices (and Equinoxes) celebrate the cycle of the Earth’s journey around the Sun, journey that is mimicked in our own lives, in Humanity, and by the Sun itself.  There is no Baby Sun King, no Dying Solar God–there is a planet, with a tilt.  But the Sun does live…it was born, and it will die, on a timescale that we have no possibility of understanding.  Mankind with long have ceased by the time the Sun burns out.

In the timescale of the Universe, our Sun is at his peak–midway through its life. We might allegorically celebrate this as the time of the Sun’s rebirth (or the Sun’s height, for those in the Southern Hemisphere), but its really about our rebirth.

Our renewal.

Our chance to keep fighting the fire of our existence.

Our reminder to make this the end of the world as we know it.

Because, maybe then, we can keep spinning until we become something better.

Change takes time.  It took the Sun 9 billion years to be birthed.  And the Earth and the Sun working together another 4.5 billion** years to make complex life.  It has taken us, by comparison, 8 million years to evolve*** from our nearest common ancestor with successful descendants. Our species, Homo sapiens, has only been around for 100,000 years, and only in the past 10,000 years did we lay the foundations for the societies of today (through the “invention” of agriculture).

Every year, we celebrate the turning of the wheel–the Wheel of the Year, but also of our time, because the former is a microcosm of the latter. We celebrate the Sun, because it is the ultimate giver of life on this planet, whether we take the time and energy to worship it as a solar deity or just respect its plain damn awesomeness.

Addendum:
*The Sun is still spinning…
**I just love this site…
***…and we are still evolving!

Bonus Track: Teach your kids about the Earth’s travels with an orange, a stick, and a flashlight.

From the Wee Grimoire: Twas the Night before Yule

Tags

pagan parenting, sabbat fairies, winter solstice, yule

‘Twas the night before Yule, and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that the Yule Faeries soon would be there;
The children weren’t nestled all snug in their beds,
They were dancing ’round a bonfire, instead.
With Mama and her drum, and the stars shining bright,
As we settled in to celebrate the longest of nights —
When up near the house there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the circle to see what was the matter.
Away up the path, I flew like a flash,
Peeked in through the windows, and took a great gasp.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But eight tiny fairies, with wings so perfectly clear!
They carried presents much bigger than they–
I knew it was magic they brought on this day.
Everything they touched glinted and glowed
As they laid out each gift in a sparkle of snow.
They sang and danced, all cheery and free’
“We’re helping Santa to make his deliveries
for all the children that dance and play
to celebrate the Sun King’s birthday.”
I crept away slowly, not wanting to bother,
and headed back down to where we were gathered.
I’m sure I was spotted, as the faeries flew high,
For a flash of wings glittered near my eye
As I heard one say “Have a blessed Night!”
And I know now that Mama was right–
While Santa is busy getting ready for Christmas,
He has special helpers for the littlest Pagans and Wiccans!

by me

Meet Garnet: You might remember the Sabbat Faeries…but if you don’t, its okay–I can tell you again!  You do remember that tonight is The Longest Night, where we celebrate the dying of the Old Sun King and the birth of the Baby Sun King?  Tomorrow is what we call Yule, or the Winter Solstice–the time when the Baby Sun King is reborn and the days will start to grow longer again as the Sun gets stronger.

Yule is the favorite holiday of Garnet, who loves the snow and evergreens.  In fact, Garnet actually lives in an evergreen–the 34th branch of the biggest, tallest pine tree in the Piney Woods!  When Garnet decided to move from the city to be closer to her friends (she used to live in New York City’s Central Park), a cardinal friend built her a nest there, so it would feel like being in the city, with its tall buildings.  He even donated some of his feathers to make a nice waterproof roof, and a fox friend donated some of her fur to make the nest cozy and warm.  Garnet loves her perch in the Piney woods, where she can see all the way across the forest.

Garnet is in charge of the Winter Solstice, and organizing all the fairies to deliver the gifts for Pagan children that celebrate the Winter Solstice.  She had gotten to know Santa one winter, and he was so upset that he felt he wasn’t doing a proper job at Yule, because he was still trying to get ready for Christmas, that she offered for her and her friends to help.  You see…during the rest of the year, Garnet is busy with her regular job–she helps teach the baby birds how to sing their special songs, but by winter, they’ve all learned them!  She was happy to help Santa out since she would be sitting around waiting for Spring to come around again otherwise.  And so, Garnet makes sure that the fairies pick up the presents from Santa on time to deliver them to all the boys and girls that celebrate Yule while Santa double checks his list and packs his sleigh.

What was that you asked?  What about Santa’s cookies and hot chocolate?  Oh!  don’t worry–that’s why we make the cookies extra small!  And use your doll tea set!  Besides…fairies have a very high metabolism.  Why, I bet they eat as much as Santa!

Chimneys?  No…fairies don’t like those–the soot makes them sneeze!  And since they are so very tiny, they can fit through key holes and window cracks.

How do the presents not get squished?  I have no idea…except to say, its magic.

A note from Mom:  This is where I probably should mention that we don’t normally treat Santa or the Sabbat Fairies as “real”–at least not as “real” as the literal, physical (or otherwise) sort of entity.  We don’t lie to our kids.  Chickadee would be the first to tell you that Santa is “made up, but that’s ok because he’s still cool” followed up by a “but I’m not supposed to say he’s not real, because it might hurt someone’s feelings” (she’ll probably tell you the same thing about Jesus) (my objection isn’t to her saying he’s either isn’t real, but that she hasn’t learned to do so with much tact yet).  But we do tell stories.  There is a difference, and even a very small child is capable of understanding that difference.  Kids are much better at suspended disbelief than we are.  We have always (from the get go) separated the idea of something being “true” from something that contains “Truth”.  We follow a belief system seeped in mythology, mythology that is symbolic and allegorical and powerful…but not true.  So, for our kids…Santa (and the Sabbat Faeries) are a story, and stories are important.