Photo by Kevin Smith. Bow Flat near Canmore, Alberta, Canada. (via flickr)
My heartfelt thanks to Ooooh for allowing me to guest tonight’s Diary and Meditation! — Sean
The longest night. The first night of Winter.
Ancient peoples had every reason to be afraid on the Longest Night. Our response to the penetrating dark and cold, as human beings, has always been and always will be to exercise our holiest emotion, our Compassion, towards each other as we gather together in out homes and at our hearths, sharing every good thing we have in order to keep the dark and deadly Winter at bay and bring the Sun back to our lives again.
More on that in a moment. First, a word from our Sponsor (the ever brilliant and wonderful Ooooh):
Good evening and welcome to Monday Group Meditation. We will be sitting from 8:00 to 10:30 PM Eastern Time. It is not necessary to sit for the entire extended time, which is set up to make it convenient for people in four North American Time Zones; sit for as long as you like and when it is most convenient for you. Monday Group Meditation is open to everyone, believers and non-believers, who are interested in gathering in silence. If you are new to meditation and would like to try it for yourself, Mindful Nature gave a good description of one way to meditate in an earlier diary, copied and pasted below:
"It is a matter of focusing attention mostly. In many traditions, the idea is to sit and focus on the rising and falling of the breath. Not controlling it, but sitting in a relaxed fashion and merely observing experiences of breathing, sounds, etc. Be aware of your thoughts, but don't engage in them. When your mind wanders (it will, often), then return to focus on breath and repeat."
Note: You are also welcome to join us on Sunday mornings at 10:00AM for the Dkos Sangha Open Threads which are hosted by davehouck.
Now, where was I? Oh, yes, the Longest Night. Those who know me well and/or have been around for a while know that I am Pagan. In the Pagan Community, we have several interesting traditions involving the Winter Solstice, the Longest Night. Like Christians, we gather in our homes to feast and exchange gifts, for the warmth of the company of our loved ones is just as important an antidote to the dark cold outside as the fire on the hearth itself. Also, it’s no accident that the Jewish Feast of Chaunukkah occurs in the vicinity of the Winter Solstice; although it’s not exactly known when the events celebrated occurred in the year (we have a pretty good idea which year, but not when in that year), it really makes sense to celebrate The Feast of Lights when we need, well, lights to dispel the darkness! Pagans often feast and gift, and then take a literal “long winter’s nap” so they can rise before dawn and take their drums and musical instruments for the rite of “Drumming Up The Sun” — another way to dispel the darkness and welcome the Light to the world again.
In nearly all cases throughout history, the Holiday’s focus is on the Divine Childe: the Returning Sun, the New Year, the Babe holding all promise while still being the Dispeller of all that is old, cold, dark and dead. This is why Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus at this time; the clues offered in the Nativity Narratives in the Biblical Gospels suggest that Jesus was born in the spring, when sheep have their lambs and shepherds keep watch over their flocks by night to guard those lambs against predators. Please also do note that under the original, un-modified Julian Calendar, the Longest Night is that of December 25. The shift to the 21st is part of what happened when Pope Gregory XIII reformed the Calendar so that Easter would continue to fall in the Spring in the Northern Hemisphere like it’s supposed to; under the older Calendar devised by Julius Caesar, the position of the Spring Equinox (and therefore Easter) drifted through the months without limit.
[Special Note: The specific moment of the Celestial Solstice, when the Sun appears to be directly overhead at the South Pole, occurs at Monday, December 21, 2015 at 9:49 PM MST. Therefore, the night of December 21 is, in fact, the Longest Night in 2015. Sometimes, this event occurs during the daylight hours of either the 20th, 21st, or the 22nd of December in your longitude; when this happens, your longitude has two Longest Nights, the night before the Celestial Solstice and the night after.]
Icon of Saint Nicholas of Myra, 13th Century, from St. Catherine’s Monastery, Mt. Sinai, Egypt
Santa Claus throughout history
Another delightful Yule tradition is that of a Divine Messenger who shares bounty with everyone during this time of cold and hardship. This tradition is much older than Christianity; it was ancient on the day Jesus was born. And the colder and darker your Winter, the more prevalent this custom appears to be. Scandinavians, Britons and Germans, for example, had an aspect of Odin/Odhinn/Wotan who had more in common with today’s Santa Claus than, well, Saint Nicholas of Myra for whom the modern Father Christmas is named. But the fat tummy, the red suit, the flying sleigh, and the white beard and mustache all hail from Odin’s neck of the woods! Ancient pre-Christian Romans celebrated the Saturnalia at this time, but never failed to propitiate an aspect of the King of their Gods, Jupiter Hospitaler, at this time, for Jupiter defeated Saturn for the Kingdom of the Gods and the freedom of His siblings. And it is to the Hospitaler, Jupiter the Generous, that Romans dedicated works of charity and almsgiving which they performed at this time of year.
In some nations which were once Odin-worshipping and are Christian nations today, it is the Divine Childe Himself who comes bearing the gifts for the household, and especially those for the children. Otherwise, it’s usually Father Christmas, Santa Claus, the result of building this legend of abundant generosity onto the frame of Saint Nicholas of Myra, who got the “street rep” enabling the creation of that legend by smuggling bags of gold coins into the bedrooms of poor girls so they could marry honorably (as they would have dowries to offer) rather than either live in sin or have to make their livings as prostitutes.
How does this affect our Practice?
Here’s how I see it:
All of this reminds us to keep putting our Compassion into action, especially during this time of year when it is so hard for so many of us to simply keep living. Do what you can to keep the darkness and the cold away from those not as fortunate as you. And definitely cherish your own, keeping your loved ones close, warm, and happy! This is the time of year when we need to not simply proclaim, but practice, the watchword of this time: “Peace on Earth, Good Will towards humanity!” More now than at any other time of year (and in spite of massive pressures to the contrary, the irony of the Season) we need to practice Peace and Good Will towards all our neighbors, difficult though it may occasionally be! (Nobody ever said all aspects of Spiritual Practice were going to be easy!)
Your viewpoint, of course, may differ (and please see below).
And please accept my offer of Blessing, Love, Compassion, and Peace to you and all of yours this Yuletide Season! — Sean
Now, a question for you all:
How do you observe the Holidays of the Longest Night?
