Sunday 25 December 2005

Pic of the day: The Japanese have begun to enjoy Christmas along with everybody else, but does that make them Christian? What's in a composite name?

The war on Yule

I am detachedly amused by reading about some American Christians who talk about a supposed war against Christmas. The increasing use of the word "holiday" instead of Christmas is, they say, an attempt to make people forget the main character of that holiday.

Of course, they seem to have conveniently forgotten that themselves. December 25th is nowhere known to be Jesus' birthday, neither in the Bible nor in historic text. However, it is clearly documented that this day was celebrated as the birthday of Deus Sol Invictus, "the Unconquered Sun God". This deity was particularly popular among the Roman soldiers, and worship of him and his birthday was sanctioned by late Roman emperors. Sol Invictus was sometimes identified with Mithra, also a favorite of the soldiers, and a long-time rival of Christ in the Roman religious life. When one of those late emperors, Constantine, made Christianity state religion, the new faith inherited the popular holiday.

Other midwinter solstice holidays were celebrated elsewhere in the pagan world. Here in Scandinavia, our ancestors celebrated Yule, with big parties in honor of the gods, and with strict requirements as to how much beer must be made in preparation of the holiday. The same rules were transferred to Christmas, only now the partying was in honor of the White Christ and his Mother Mary. Unlike the English, our people kept the old name of the holiday, here spelled "jul" but pronounced the same as Yule. They also kept the parties, now called "julebord". These Yule boards involve overeating, over-drinking and frequently also overt sexual acts. Not so strange perhaps then that there is a tradition to have a boar's head on the table, even though most Norwegians today probably don't know that the boar was the sacred riding animal of Frey (Freyr), the male fertility god. Alternatively the pig's male reproductive member could be preserved and displayed at the fertility rites, but this practice was discontinued somewhere around the Reformation or a bit later.

So if eliminating the word "Christmas" was all it took, then we Scandinavians would be completely and utterly pagan already. I am sure some Americans think so, especially about Sweden which is famed for their easygoing attitude to premarital cohabitation, not a few of which are also same-gender. Be that as it may, despite the pagan name, the Yule pulls more people to the churches than any other event of the year. In fact, for many Norwegians, Yule is the only occasion they set their foot in a church unless carried there. Whether their presence there is a good thing or not can be disputed, of course. To quote the prophet Amos (5:21): "I hate and detest your holidays, and I take no pleasure in your festive congregations." (Your translation may vary.) The fruit will reveal the quality of the tree. The name will not.