Hope yours is nice. And a full moon tonight!!!!!
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| Celtic Radio Community > The Celts > Winter solstice |
| Posted by: Welsh Guy 20-Dec-2002, 08:48 AM |
| Not being a christian, may I join the festive season by wishing you all a Joyous Winter Solstice. |
| Posted by: barddas 21-Dec-2002, 10:41 AM |
| Likewise, sir! Hope yours is nice. And a full moon tonight!!!!! |
| Posted by: FloweroftheWest 21-Dec-2002, 05:58 PM |
Hello! Even tho being a Christian i wish ye happy holidays and nice celebrations! May I ask what they involve (not being curious at all lol)?  |
| Posted by: Aon_Daonna 22-Dec-2002, 06:23 AM |
| i do wish you all the very best in your festive season, and i'm just as curious as flower o.t.w. is =) |
| Posted by: free2Bme 25-Dec-2002, 01:04 PM |
| I learned today that kissing and embracing under the Mistletoe was begun by celtic Druids. They believed that the mistletoe had the power to remove malice and evil if one embraced your enemy underneath it. I dont think there is a "celebration" of sorts for Winter Solstice, it is just a reference to the shortest day of the year. I have heard that eggs will balance on their ends on this day too. |
| Posted by: Maibh 27-Dec-2002, 09:06 AM | ||||
According to Rekindling the Celtic Spirit by Mara Freeman, the custom of kissing beneath the mistletoe originated in the Middle Ages when it was called the Holy Bough. In the middle was a model of the Christ Child or Holy Family. As visitors would enter the house during the Season, they were greeted with the "kiss of peace", a sign that any bad feeling which might have come up over the year was now forgiven and forgotten.  Further on Mistlestoe: the Roman author Pliny in the first century wrote of a proceeding by the Druids in which the plant was cut from the tree (it's a parasitic plant) with a golden sickle under an invocation of the moon, "the one who healed all things." And since the Druids regarded mistletoe as a universal healer, perhaps they believed the white berries contained the essence of the moon. One of the old Scots Gaelic names for it is druidh-las, "druid's herb". It was highly prized for its healing properties and its modern Gaelic name is uil'-ìoc, "all-heal."
The egg balancing is actually on the equinox, supposedly because of the way the earth's tilt makes the day and night equal in length. I've never had it work, though I keep trying. And yup, there is much celebration of the Solstice. There was a great piece on it on the History Channel the other day. The Soltice isn't just the shortest day. It means that from here on in the light will be growing and that is a good thing (especially if you have seasonal depression). There's a lot of religious meaning around it if you are of the Pagan persuasion as well. Cheers, Maibh |
| Posted by: Cabbagehome 28-Dec-2002, 08:05 AM |
 I read that mistletoe is being studied as a trement for cancer. An other case, of science going back to the old knowlage.
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| Posted by: FloweroftheWest 29-Dec-2002, 07:38 AM |
Aha we getting there verra enlightening ta!  |
| Posted by: jaynebylak 10-Dec-2003, 10:01 AM |
| If one is of Pagan Beliefs, yule celebrates the rebirth of the God as symbolized by the sun which will begin to wax anew after this night of peak darkness. It was also believed that on this night the Holly King, as the God of waning year would fight a battle with the Oak King, the God of waxing year,.and lose. Often Yule coven rituals have members reenact this fight. Yule is one of the oldest and most widely observed of all the Sabbats, yet it was not part of Celtic year till Norse Invaders made it so.The Nordic influenced Celts celebrated yule by decorating evergreen trees, wreaths, holly, mistletoe and accompanied by feasting and dancing. Just a little more information about yule/ winter solstice Jayne |
| Posted by: Celeste of the Stars1 17-Dec-2003, 03:24 AM |
| This is part of a peper I posted in "the grove". The rest of the paper talks about yule and what we do and why we do it if any one is interested. Kissing Under Mistletoe - The roots of this habit are unknown, but is likely tied with the fertility aspects of mistletoe and that it was viewed as a bringer of peace by the Druids. Some earlier versions of this tradition say to remove one berry with each kiss. When there are no more berries on the sprig of mistletoe, no more kisses. |
| Posted by: floralia 17-Dec-2003, 07:48 AM |
| Just to add to the confusion surrounding mistletoe, I have read that because the plant was seen to be not of the air or of the earth, it was treated as a "neutral" and when enemies met beneath the plant that they would lower swords and shake hands. From this it evolved to being the place that one would kiss another, regardless of whether it was someone you would normally do that with... Gotta love that mistletoe. Flora |