For most of us, the Christmas season is a time of joy, giving, family, and the birth of Jesus Christ. There’s millions of twinkling lights, gaudy holiday bobbles, ornament loaded fir trees, and lots of Christmas goodies to snack on. It’s also full of stories and folklore that are nothing but myth and legend to some who observe the holiday in a more Christian fashion (though their iconography is mostly pagan). But what about the origins of Christmas? Before the times of monotheistic religions and Christian Christmas tales? Before we put the Christ in Christmas, most referred to this holiday season as the Winter Solstice or Yule. For those that celebrated at the time, it wasn’t about shiny wrapping paper, Black Friday sales, or how much you spent on gifts…it was about surviving the hardest time of the year, the part of the cycle where we emphasized survival over anything as we waited for the sun to return.
The Occult Archives theme song by JunkFood2121, background music by Purple Planet Music (www.purple-planet.com)