From the time the ancients began to worship the sun as a physiological representation of the Giver of Life, they charted the annual movement of the sun relative to the earth. They observed that by the late fall the days were getting shorter and the sun was sinking in the sky. To them the sun appeared to be dying. On December 21, when “the sun stood still,” the ancients believed the sun had “died” and that darkness would overtake the earth.
The next three days, December 22, 23, and 24, the sun seemed to hang precariously still. The nights did not get any longer, but neither did the days. On December 25 the sun rose slightly earlier and ascended a little bit higher in the sky than the day before. Ah, the sun was born again! This re-birth of the sun on December 25 was celebrated as the re-birth of the Light of the World when the impending darkness enveloping the world had been overcome.
This yearly event of the death and re-birth of the Light of the World gave rise to the annual celebration of the Festival of the Winter Solstice. It was also called the Feast of Lights. This celebration was highlighted by communal bonfires, sacred fires in the temples and burning torches and candles for the homes, all in honor of the re-birth of the fiery sun, the timeless symbol of their Life Giver. Feasting, gift-giving and oftentimes excessive revelry became part of this celebration. Evergreen trees (pines and firs) were considered sacred, as they remained forever green throughout the year. A pine tree was cut down each year, carried to the temples and decorated with a star on top, for the ancients knew that a star was simply a nascent (newly born) sun.
Thus evolved the ancient religions of the Sun Gods. These “Sun” religions abound with legends of a Solar Man. Ancient religious traditions teem with stories about the Hindu Sun God Krishna, the Egyptian Horus, the Greek Helios, the Persian Mithra, the Druidic Hesus, and the Nordic Yule. The birthday of these “Sun Gods” or “Solar Men” (whether they lived or not) was celebrated on December 25. They were often referred to as “The Light of the World” or “The Savior of the World” from darkness.
These “Solar Men”, part divine and part human, were said to have been born of a virgin. On December 25, the constellation Virgo (the virgin) is at its peak ascendancy, i.e., the re-birth of the sun occurs under the influence of Virgo. When the constellation Virgo (the virgin) is in its ascendancy, it influences and causes the rise, the birth, of the sun. Certain Sun God celebrations included striking and dramatic scenes of a divine babe (the sun at its weakest or re-born) in a manger and a mother beside it. Communal rituals, such as midnight services on December 24, were celebrated in grottos, cave temples or virgin temples with blazes of candles and clouds of incense. In the morning, after praying all night, the people burst into rejoicing because the virgin “had given birth to the Eternal” (the Divine Child of the Sun). These motifs of the Sun God religions would eventually find their way into the Christian tradition.
Understanding the ancient and symbolic origins of Christmas does not denigrate nor diminish the traditional devotion to the birthday celebration of the Christ Child. Rather, it helps us to look beyond the literal acceptance of an event or celebration and see it in a larger context.
This sacred symbology of the sun represents each and every one of us — our spirit, our true Self, the God within, a “spark of light.” We, of our very nature, made “in the image and likeness of God”, are spirit — eternal, immortal, divine light! The entire Winter Solstice tradition, this festival of lights, is an annual celebration of the rebirth of the “light within” that is the very essence of our being. The tradition of gift-giving and camaraderie was born out of the desire to honor the “light” within our neighbors, friends, and loved ones. Everytime we see Christmas lights emblazoned on office buildings, in the windows and along the contours of houses or draped around trees and shrubbery, let us celebrate the re-birth of our own Divine Self, our own “light within.” When we send “Christmas” or “Seasons Greetings” cards or wish someone “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”, let us not forget the deeper meaning of our written and oral salutations. “Ye are the Light of the world..…let your light shine forth.”
As we enter into the Yuletide or Christmas season, let us remember its ancient and symbolic origins — the celebration of the Winter Solstice, an annual celebration of the death and re-birth of the sun, the “Light of the World.”
In the sacred and mystical symbolism of the timeless tradition of the Winter Solstice, the time to celebrate the annual re-birth of “the Christ within you” is now.
