GLOBAL SOLSTICE CELEBRATIONS

© by Georgios Paraskevopoulos

Today’s article is a collection of legends and celebrations giving information about venerable Solstice Celebrations to illustrate the universally of many diverse cultures. 

Alban Arthan - In Gaelic language Alban Arthan means literally, "Light of Arthur." Alban Arthan is the Celtic and Druidic Winter Holiday. This is the Celtic commemoration of the rebirth of the sun with the Birth of the Divine Child, He who is known as Beli Mawr, The Shining One, Great Lord of Divine Fire. The deities of Alban Arthan are the Dagda and Brighid. Brighid is the bearer of the flame of inspiration, which penetrates the darkness of mind and soul, just as the light of the reborn Sun penetrates the darkest time of the year. The caudron of the Dagda is a symbol for the promise, that nature will bear fruit once again and care for all beings living on Earth. The plants of Alban Arthan are in the first place mistletoe and holly, but in a wider sense all evergreen plants, e.g. spruce, fir, pine etc. The green of the plants is pleasant to the eye and symbolizes the promise of renewal and new growth.

Chaomos - Kalasha celebration of the Solstice. Chaomos is the ancient traditions of Pakistan pre-date the Christian era. During winter solstice, an ancient demigod returns to collect prayers and deliver them to Dezao, the supreme being The festival includes the making of bonfires, singing, dancing and purification ceremonies. There is a ceremony to honor the dead with offerings of special breads and fruits. The god Balimain and his wife Indr arrive from Tsiam, the Kalash homeland (their current location is within Pakistan and Afghanistan), with faces masked. During this celebrations women and girls are purified by taking ritual baths. The men pour water over their heads while they hold up bread. Then the men and boys are purified with water and must not sit on chairs until evening when goat's blood is sprinkled on their faces. Following this purification, a great festival begins, with singing, dancing, bonfires, and feasting on goat tripe and other delicacies.

Christmas - Roman celebration of the birth of Yeshua Ben Nazareth, who is called Jesus, Son of the God Jehovah and the mortal Virgin Mary. The historical Jesus was born something like 2000 years ago, so this date was originally chosen, not because it is the actual date of His birth, but because it was already celebrated as the birth date of several gods in the Roman Pantheon.

Dazh Boh - Ukrainian celebration of the return of Shchedryk, the Generous One, the Dazh Boh, the Giver God, who is the sun.

Dies Natalis Invicti Solis - The discovery of the precession of the equinoxes led Stoics in Tarsus to "hypothesize the existence of a new divinity responsible for this new cosmic phenomenon, a divinity capable of moving the structure of the entire cosmos and thus a divinity of great power." Mithras was this deity, and he is seen killing the bull because the act symbolizes the ending of the cosmic age in which Mithraism was born. The festival of Mithras' birth was December 25th, the winter solstice, and the rebirth of the sun's light.

Dong Zhi - The Chinese Solstice feast of Dong Zhi is celebrated on the longest night of the year, when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest. The coming of winter is celebrated by families and is traditionally the time when farmers and fishermen gather food in preparation for the coming cold season.

Dosmoche - Tibetan Celebration of the Dying Year which lasts five days.

Hanukkah - The Hebrew Festival of Lights, now begins on the 25th of Kislev, three days before the new moon closest to the Winter Solstice, and had its origin from an ancient Hebrew story, tells of Adam's fright when he first saw the winter darkness descending earlier and earlier.

Lenaea - The Greek Festival of the Maenads, in which the death and rebirth of the 'twice-born' harvest god Dionysus was re- enacted. 

Makara Sankramana - Indian holy day celebrated by Hindus the day after the winter solstice. The light of the returning sun represents human warmth, charity, and love, replacing the darkness of human selfishness.

Novo Hel - Novo Hel (New Sun, todays' N o ël). It is derived from Celtic via Greek Neos _Helios. Novo Hel is the Gaulic festivcal of the winter solstice.

Rekeh Ur - Egyptian celebration of the rebirth of the sun in the form of Horus, son of Osiris and Isis, the falcon-headed solar hero who is destined to battle Set, god of chaos and destruction, for the survival of life on Earth. When Horus is born, the whole land and even the cosmos is reborn.

Sacaea - Babylonian and Persian 12 day solstice celebration during which masters and slaves exchanged places. In each household, one slave was picked to be the master. In the palace, a mock king ruled in place of the true king. The Greeks also celebrated Sacaea, but added their own unique twist. The failing light of winter gave rise to the legend of the Kallikantzaroi, the monsters of chaos who, during most of the year, were forced to live underground. During the 12 days of the solstice celebration, however, they were free to roam the earth, perpetrating malicious practical jokes. To scare them away, the Greeks burnt the equivalent of the Yule log.

Saturnalia - Roman festival to the ancient god, Saturn. In Ancient Rome, the mythical age of Saturn's kingship was a golden age of happiness for all men, without theft or servitude, and without private property.

Soyal - Hopi (Native American) month-long celebration with rituals to insure victory of light over darkness. The Hopi tribe "is dedicated to giving aid and direction to the sun which is ready to 'return' and give strength to budding life."

Tongji - Koreans celebrate the winter solstice with a thick red bean porridge that has small round rice cakes in it. They often sprinkle the porridge around the house and large trees nearby because the color red scares away evil spirits.

Shohgatsu - Japanese New Year celebration. Preparation for Shohgatsu begins on December 29th. On New Year's day, Toshigami-sama, god of the year, visits the people.

Uttarayan (Festival of Kites) - The Indian winter solstice has traditionally been celebrated as Sankranti or Pongal, though somewhere down the centuries an 'astronomical' mistake had been made and it is now celebrated on 14th of January every year. This day is called Uttarayan, which means "Northern journey", and marks the beginning of the sun's ascent.

Yalda - Iranian vigil kept through the night, burning fires to help the sun (and Goodness) battle darkness (thought evil). People light huge bonfires on the seashore at sunset to symbolically "encourage" the Sun to get stronger.

Yule - Scandinavian feast to honour Odin at the darkest part of winter (Dec. 22). Odin's nickname was Jolin (pronounced "Yolin", and from there came the word Jul (Yule). The Scandinavians still use this word for Christmas. Once when I was, 10 years old I asked my teacher what Jul means and she could not give me a trustful answer.

Zagmuk – The Zagmuk festival is the oldest known winter festival. It is a written record. The Mesopotamians celebrated the solstice by supporting the god Marduk in his annual battle with the powers of chaos. Zagmuk is an ancient Mesopotamian winter celebration in which is reenacted the god Marduk's victory over the forces of darkness and disorder. Marduk's success resulted in a world born of a chaos which was "without form and void." The order thus won was tenuous and had to be recreated each year as darkness recaptured the earth. Marduk used any available allies among whom the king, as the embodiment of the state, was foremost. The king retired each December, was disinvested by Marduk's priests in order to do battle, and was reinvested as king after a new victory over darkness and chaos. In its essentials this was a sacrifice and rebirth to insure the continuity of the world.

Kindly Regards

Georgios
 

REFERRED SOURSES:

1. "Summer solstice - Johannisnacht - Midsummer night," at: http://www.serve.com/
2.  Robin DuMolin, "Summer Solstice," at: http://www.celestia.com/
3.  Robin DuMolin, "Summer Solstice," at : http://www.celestia.com and http://www.christiaan.com

4.  Janet & Stewart Farrar, "Eight Sabbats for Witches," Phoenix Publishing, (1981), P. 143 to 144.
5.  "Summer Solstice," at: http://users.erols.com/ 
6.  J.W. Mavor & B.E. Dix, "Manitou: The sacred landscape of New England's Native Civilization." Inner Traditions (1989).
7.  Selena Fox, "Summer solstice celebrations for families and households," http://www.circlesanctuary.org/ 
8.   "Find the equinoxes and solstices for a particular year," at http://domeofthesky.com/
9.  "World Time Zone: Accurate local times," at: http://www.isbister.com/
10. "Litha," a list of links to web sites about Litha, is at: http://paganwiccan.about.com/religion/paganwiccan
11. "Litha," a description of the festival from a Neopagan perspective, is at: http://home.att.net/
12. "Litha: Summer Solstice," at: http://www.byzant.com/
13. Morgana, "Ritual feasts - handfasting," at: http://www.newavalon.com/
14.  G.S. Hawkins, "Stonehenge decoded," Doubleday (1965), Pages 46 & 47.
15.  C.L. Souvay, "St. John the Baptist," The Catholic Encyclopedia, at: http://www.newadvent.org/ 
16.  Paula Giese, "Medicine wheel: Sun & Stars," at: http://indy4.fdl.cc.mn.us/ 
17.  The Center for Archaeoastronomy quarterly newsletter on the equinoxes and solstices. See: http://www.wam.umd.edu/
18.  M Lnnqvist & K Lnnqvist, "archaeology of the Hidden Qumran: The new paradigm," (2002) a book advertised at:  http://www.akateeminen.com  
19.  "2005 Equinox, Solstice & Cross-Quarter Movements," Archaeoastronomy.com, at: http://www.archaeoastronomy.com
20. "Dates and Times of Equinoxes and Solstices," Hermetic Systems, at: http://www.hermetic.ch