Originally written in December 2020, updated in December 2022.
Merry meet! Happy Solstice! What does it mean to celebrate Solstice? The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice (also known as Yule) is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. The celebration of Winter Solstice takes place on the shortest day and longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, it takes place between December 20 and 23, depending on the year. This year, it will take place on December 21st, 2022.
Pagan – The word “pagan” once was a pejorative, it was a term of dismissal, meant to imply that someone was from a rural area, less cultured, and backward. It had no religious meaning at all. However, as Catholicism swept through the Gallic areas, it became a way to refer to the “country bumpkins” who had refused to accept the change from the earth-based, druidic spiritual beliefs. The term pagan now encompasses many belief systems and should be used carefully when labeling others. Because of its history, if the person you are referring to does not refer to themselves as pagan, it is probably best to ask them how they would like to be considered.
Our family celebrates Solstice by baking Mother Winter’s Wish Bread. The evening of Solstice the family gathers. We place a large candle with water in the middle of a shallow dish. We light the candle as the sun sets. We place herbs representing the things we want for the future year and coins representing future prosperity. The candle represents the Yule log, which isn’t practical for our family. An hour before dawn, I wake up and start the Bread dough. As the sun rises three generations gather around the bowl of risen dough. We pull small dough balls and place raisins or nuts in each ball. With each ball, we make a wish for someone else. The kids often surprise us with their insight into family members’ issues that we didn’t know they’d noticed. As the sun rises, we blow out the candle and have breakfast while the wish bread cooks. The water and herbs are returned to the earth and the coins must be freely given away.
In my own experience, I was told I would go to hell. (Most pagans do not believe in the construct of hell, so it would be hard for us to be sent there.) I have had literal water (holy water) thrown on me to cleanse me of my evil spirits. Most times the people who engage in such behavior have little to no understanding of pagan beliefs. Their ideas are all rooted in the use of the term witch, in many Christian texts and teachings, as an evil creature related to the devil. The term “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” has been abandoned for years. It persists in some teaching despite the fact that the Catholic Church acknowledges that the original biblical term was “poisoner”. Women who were referred to as witches were often herbal healers. Many were accused and killed to gain property or lessen their status.
The best way people can support Pagans, Wiccans, and others of the earth-based spiritual paths is to simply respect that their beliefs are different. Acceptance would be good, but simply not attempting to “save” them would be nice.
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The winter solstice is the longest night of the year. It is when the planet reaches its epoch of being turned away from the sun. It is our darkest day. People have been celebrating this day for millennia. It has always served as a moment to acknowledge the dark and difficult times and cast your thoughts forward to hopeful times. Many different societies have recognized this day as a holiday. The celebrations have evolved and differ from geographic locations based on beliefs and climate. Some things appear to have carried over into many American households. Many households will do things to celebrate Christmas with no idea of their “pagan” origins.
https://www.paganfederation.org/what-is-paganism/ The Pagan Federation
I am always amused by my spiritual beliefs being referred to as “Non-traditional” religions when most harken back to pre-Christian practice. There are many groups that practice earth-based religions. Many native peoples, in the Americas as well as in other countries, still recognize their connection to the earth. Many now refer to themselves as witches or will use the term Wicca to refer to their spiritual path. Wicca, is actually a new term for practitioners who consider themselves witches. It became popular in the 1940s. However, even within Wicca there are many sects: Gardnerian, Dianic, and more. There are witches who practice in covens and witches who practice alone. There are green witches and kitchen witches. The only way to find out is to ask. For most followers of any variation of pagan religions, it is against their belief to proselytize. So, they won’t be knocking on your door, you have to ask! Most don’t mind answering questions.