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Episode 182: The Pagan Origins of Christmas
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Welcome back, Witches! This week, we’re unwrapping the ancient threads woven into one of the world’s most beloved holidays as we explore the Pagan origins of Christmas. From midwinter festivals honoring returning light to timeless traditions rooted in nature, magic, and ancestral celebration, we’re diving into the folklore, symbolism, and ancient practices that shaped the season long before it was called Christmas. So get in, Loser because we’re traveling back through centuries of winter lore to uncover the magic at the heart of the holidays.
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
Resources
- Dhar, Rittika. The Pagan Origins of Christmas: Saturnalia, Yule, and Other Pre-Christian Traditions. (2024). History Cooperative. https://historycooperative.org/pagan-origins-of-christmas/
- Worsley, Lucy. The Astonishing Pagan Origin of Christmas. (2022) BBC. https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0dl578j/the-astonishing-pagan-origin-of-christmas
- ET Spotlight Team. Exploring the Pagan Roots of Christmas: 5 Traditions that Originated from pre-christian Practices. (2023). The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/exploring-the-pagan-roots-of-christmas-5-traditions-that-originated-from-pre-christian-practices/articleshow/106248171.cms
- Sky History. The Pagan Roots of Christmas. https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-pagan-roots-of-christmas
- English Heritage (n.d.) What was the Roman Festival of Saturnalia?. English Heritage. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/members-area/kids/kids-christmas/saturnalia
- National Trust for Scotland (n.d.). Scottish Christmas Traditions. NTS. https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/scottish-christmas-traditions
- Celtic Life (2024). Celtic Christmas Customs. Celtic Life. https://celticlifeintl.com/celtic-christmas-customs/
- Melinda Beck (2022). Did Women Fight as Gladiators in Ancient Rome. History Channel. https://www.history.com/articles/women-gladiators-ancient-rome
- Otherworldly Oracle (2019). Yule & Christmas Plants Like the Poinsettia, Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe. Otherworldly Oracle. https://otherworldlyoracle.com/christmas-plants-magic/
Lisa Wagoner (2020). Using the Liminal Space Before the New Year. Patheos.com. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/witchindeed/2019/12/using-the-liminal-space-before-the-new-year/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction & Season Finale Announcement
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult, but feel lost somewhere to start? Then welcome to Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey.
00:00:12
Speaker
Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we've learned about the craft. So get in witches for our final episode of season four, where we take a look at the pagan origins of Christmas.
Behind the Scenes: Recording Challenges
00:00:50
Speaker
so maybe just a disclaimer gizmo is in the room with sam yeah gizmo's in the room with me and so yeah when we we're recording our outro just now and he's making his presence known again But if I know I'm at home by myself and I know if I put him outside of the room, he's going to like have anxiety and I'll have to put him in his tunnel. Yeah.
00:01:14
Speaker
I mean, one of these more recent episodes that we've done separately, i had to be like, hi, sorry, I'm home alone and I can't close my a door to my office or my mom's will lose their shit. So yeah. And then you just hear the clicky clacky of their little nails. was like, sorry. Oops. You're a little familiar.
Season Reflection & Listener Appreciation
00:01:31
Speaker
Yeah. So this is officially the last episode of season four, which is insane.
00:01:39
Speaker
like yeah crazy to be saying that. yeah I felt crazy putting that in the notes. I was like, wow, four? Four. The end? Yeah. That's wild. Yeah. We truly appreciate each and every one of you for your grace and your patience this season, especially with everything going on in our lives over the past few months. Sam is officially in Washington. Yay!
00:02:03
Speaker
Are you loving it? Oh, I love it. I love it. I mean, I miss some things about Japan, obviously, but i am so happy to be here in the States. Like the weather is perfect. the Like every day I feel like I'm just like blown away by the scenery. We see Mount Rainier all the time. Like it's, I feel like she's in our backyard. Like that's just amazing.
Acknowledging Supporters & Life Challenges
00:02:28
Speaker
But yeah, with winter break here now, we have a few weeks to get our schedules in order and begin preparing for the start of season five, which again, that's just insane to me. But we also wanted to catch up on our shout outs because we have kind of sucked lately and we apologize. So yeah thank you to Natalie, Ruby, Quinn, James, Chase, Lisa Marie, Sybil, Kayla, Amber, Melissa, and Emily from Patreon. And Ty, Kelly, Megan, Justin, Brianna, Amy, and Anna from Supercast.
00:03:06
Speaker
Thank you all so much for being a part of our Patreon and Supercast communities. We appreciate each and every one of you. And we're working to get fully back on track with all your perks and bonuses because we're sorry,
Sam's Recent Move & Adaptation
00:03:18
Speaker
okay? We're trying our best. Yeah, it was it was rough, okay? Like the last time six months has been, not even six months, it's been the last like four months have been awful, but literally the last month.
00:03:33
Speaker
For you especially. It's been awful. Yeah. Like my life has been all over the place. Your life is wild right now and I don't even know how you managed to survive it.
00:03:43
Speaker
I'm proud of you. Thank you. Yeah. It is it was really – I literally – I posted about this on my Instagram, but like I was sitting there thinking the other day because Avery had asked me, like, what were we doing a month ago?
00:03:57
Speaker
You're like, i don't even know, bro. Yeah. And so I went and I sat thought back like 30 days from then. And I was like, 30 days ago, we didn't even know we were moving. Like we didn't even have anything solidified. We just knew like a move was going to
Pagan Origins of Christmas: An Introduction
00:04:12
Speaker
come. Yeah. We thought it was going to be in like December. Yeah. And then I'm just like, oh my God, like literally today we're recording this on the day, like the actual 30 day mark of when we found out for sure we were moving and that we only had 20 days to do it.
00:04:29
Speaker
I'm sure as somebody who has done an overseas move more than once, I don't know how you did that. I don't know. Yeah, I i don't either. blown away that it was even possible.
00:04:43
Speaker
ah Yeah. like Because I'm sitting here thinking I was like, for most I mean, when we went to England, we had two months notice, which I thought was too short. Yeah. But knowing that most people get – a year, nine months, six months notice at the very latest to move internationally. And we had 20 Insane. ours like Our first move to Germany was four months notice. And I was like, what do you mean? like How am I supposed to move my whole life internationally in four months?
00:05:16
Speaker
And then this move, we had like three, I think. And even then I was like, Which is still not enough time. Yeah. It was very stressful. yeah. It was – I don't know how we did it because with – I don't know how you did.
00:05:31
Speaker
The dog needing all these special things. The kids needing all these special things. Like, oh, my God. But we made it. We're here. We made it. We're here. are in school. We have a house. We have cars. We – are here. We just have no furniture. So i am recording on a suitcase. So all of our listeners who have been here since way back when know that this is not uncommon for me to just find random places. but loves herself a suitcase desk. Yes.
00:06:03
Speaker
I should take a selfie of this and show you guys. my recording setup. Sam has definitely recorded on a suitcase. Oh, like several times over yeah the four seasons. Yeah. Like it's not even like, I'm sitting here thinking, okay, I'm going record. And now we have a spare room specifically dedicated to podcasting. So I shouldn't have to record on a suitcase for very much longer, but I'm sitting here thinking, okay, I'm going to record in the spare room.
00:06:33
Speaker
And then I'm like, wait a second. what am I going to use? Oh, suitcase. No big deal. Suitcase, clarify. Suitcase, yeah. But we're not talking about international moves and suitcase
Christianity's Adoption of Pagan Solstice Celebrations
00:06:44
Speaker
desks.
00:06:44
Speaker
We are not. What are we talking about today? So we are talking about the pagan origins of Christmas. This episode was so much fun to research. Yes. And I'm sorry if I'm long-winded because I went down rabbit hole after rabbit hole.
00:07:02
Speaker
I think it's warranted in this episode, 1000%. Yeah, yeah. And you know some of the stuff might be familiar because we have discussed some of these things on the podcast before. but also want to give a shout out to my friend and listener Brody because I know she's listening to this because ah like literally yesterday the day before, she messaged me and she was like, hey, have you guys ever covered on your podcast like the pagan origins of specific holidays, like whether it be Samhain Yule and all this stuff. And I was like, well, funny you say that because literally we're recording that this week. And so I said, we have done like, so if you're familiar with the podcast, like you'll know we've talked about it before with, I think in season one for Samhain, we discussed some of the pagan origins of Samhain. I know we've talked about it for Easter as well.
00:07:51
Speaker
But I don't know if we've ever gone like this intense, like this deep into the topic before. um Maybe that's something we do going forward in season five for some of the more prominent holidays that we see celebrated kind of worldwide or at least like mostly worldwide, you know. who It might be interesting to kind of look at those similarities and where things were pulled from.
00:08:17
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. I think that would be great. We should absolutely do that. So to kick us off with a little intro on this, many, as we know, many of the well-known Christian traditions have deep pre-Christian roots. And this episode isn't about dismissing modern celebrations tied to Christianity at all. Like we're obviously very respectful, even though we have our own feelings and beliefs. Mm-hmm.
00:08:39
Speaker
But this is us doing our part to acknowledge and educate others on how many popular traditions actually have pre-Christian roots. And I think this is important as well because I know so many people who are like, maybe they grew up very religious and they are taking a step back from this like religious upbringing that they had, but they associate a lot of things with their religious upbringing. And so whenever it comes to Christmas, they think that, oh, I can't celebrate the way that I did before because this is Christian. And it's like, actually, most of it isn't. So you're good to celebrate however you want to.
00:09:18
Speaker
But there's this longstanding theory as well that the reason why Christians were able to spread their religion across Europe so quickly was because of their willingness to embrace celebrations that were already prevalent within different regions. So they started adopting it and celebrating it with the people who were actually living in that area and believed these pre-Christian like pagan beliefs were And then they're like, actually, we're going to adopt this and we're going to like snowball it into creating something that ties into Christianity. And that is like a long running theory about it. And I honestly think it's probably true.
00:09:53
Speaker
Yeah. I am actually going to talk about that in depth later on in this episode. Whoopsie. I'm sorry. No, you're good. You're good. I didn't know that. This is one of the areas that I was like, Okay, rabbit hole, here we go. Yes. Right down it. So that's just like a precursor. It is. It is. It's like an introduction to it. Yeah. hey But let's start off with winter solstice specifically. So there was an importance that weighed on midwinter across cultures. And some of these include the fact that the winter solstice is the longest night of the year, and for ancient peoples, this was a huge moment. Life revolved around the sun, the seasons, and survival. So this turning point actually mattered.
00:10:39
Speaker
Midwinter symbolized both darkness and hope Yes, it's the darkest day, but it also marks the return of the sun, and it's the point where the days start to lengthen. Communities gathered during this time not just to celebrate, but to get through the most challenging part of winter together. They would share food, stories, and ritual created a sense of safety and connection. So across cultures, the solstice is tied to themes like death and rebirth, protection from winter's dangers, honoring ancestors, and celebrating the renewing power of the returning light.
00:11:13
Speaker
Many solstice traditions involved lighting fires, torches, or candles, and this wasn't just practical for warmth, it symbolically strengthened the sun and welcomed its return.
00:11:24
Speaker
There were many Indo-European and even global solstice observances. Solstice celebrations weren't unique to one culture. Indo-European groups like the Germanic, Norse, Celtic, Slavic, Baltic, Greek, and Roman peoples all marked the moment with mid-winter festivals.
00:11:43
Speaker
These celebrations almost always included big feasts, winter would be harsh, and communal meals helped foster a feeling of abundance and protection going into the darkest months.
00:11:54
Speaker
Bonfires played a major role in and many of these festivals, representing the sun's energy and helping to drive back the darkness and any malevolent forces thought to linger during midwinter.
00:12:05
Speaker
The solstice was also seen as a liminal time. People often turned to divination, believing that spiritual insight was stronger when the veil was thin. And many cultures shared similar themes even without direct contact. And some examples include um the Scandinavian Yule focused on light protection and ancestral veneration. Roman Saturnalia was known for feasting, gift giving, and role reversals. For the Persian Yalda night, a vigil was kept through the darkest night to welcome the reborn sun. Slavic Koliata had caroling, mask wearing, and celebrations of the young sun.
00:12:47
Speaker
And there were even Celtic and Druidic observances that were held at sacred sites that aligned with the solstice sunrise or sunset.
Roman & Norse Traditions Influencing Christmas
00:12:56
Speaker
So no matter the region, the overall theme is the same. The solstice is a sacred threshold, marking a moment when light begins its gradual return and triumphs over darkness.
00:13:08
Speaker
And speaking of some of the Roman tradition, so I'm going to talk a little bit about Saturnalia and Sol Invictus. So Saturnalia was a Roman festival honoring Saturn, the god of farming.
00:13:19
Speaker
It began as a one-day event, but later expanded to run from December 17th through the 23rd. So how is it celebrated? There was a sacrifice of young pigs followed by a public feast, and it was a huge public holiday. And it was like a carnival with like lots of food, drinks, and gift giving. As Tiffany mentioned, the celebrations were supposed to be epic and ancient sources mention a poem by Publius Papinius Sadius, which are what a mouthful. I'm sorry.
00:13:51
Speaker
and What a a name. What a name. And this poem was about a Saturnalia under Emperor Dominician, where during the game, sweets like dates, figs, plums, apples, and pears were dropped from ropes in the amphitheater.
00:14:08
Speaker
which I thought was kind of interesting. yeah um And people would bring baskets of bread and luxurious foods and wine and just kind of like picnic about and share food with other people.
00:14:20
Speaker
Which sounds delightful. That does. Yeah. During Saturnalia, social norms were flipped and masters would serve so their slaves and the slaves could take that day to relax and join in on the fun. Which I think is great. However, like, why do you have to own people? Like, um ah yeah you know. Different times, I guess. Different times. Whenever I was researching this, they also like were specific in saying that female gladiators would fight during Saturnalia.
00:14:47
Speaker
But whenever I was looking this up, the thing is, though, that female gladiators would fight during other times as well. So it's not like this was one of those social norms that was flipped. So I'm not sure why it was like only saying that like female gladiators would fight because then other sources, I saw that it was female and male gladiators would fight during Saturnalia. Yeah.
00:15:07
Speaker
I don't know. um There was nothing that i found that explicitly stated that female gladiators only fought or definitely fought during Saturnalia, but it's believed that they fought.
00:15:20
Speaker
So who knows? But instead of saying Merry Christmas, Romans would say low Saturnalia during the festival. So very sweet. And then for Sol Invictus, there's no record in the Bible of exactly when Jesus was born, as we know. Some scholars think that spring may be more likely if he was actually a person who existed anyway. But in Rome, December was party season. So after Saturnalia ended, there was a day called Sigillaria Augusta.
00:15:50
Speaker
which involved the giving of the gifts. And I could not find a definitive way of how to pronounce Because when I searched Sigilaria online, it like everything that would come up is related to something else, like a different meaning of the word. like ah I don't even know.
00:16:04
Speaker
I'm not even going to try and pretend like I remember what it was, but it was like, I think a rock or something. But so i was like, okay, well, I don't know. I'm just going to make up my own pronunciation. We do like that. We do. December 25th was celebrated by the Romans as the birthday of Sol Invictus, the sun god. Sol Invictus meaning unconquered sun.
00:16:24
Speaker
When Christianity became more dominant, December 25th was adopted for Christmas, and this was sometime around AD 354 to 360. And in merging the Christian holiday with existing winter festivities, many Saturnalia customs carried over with it. So you would see things like Lighting wax tapers and torches like advent candles, decorating with evergreen wreaths and plants, and gift exchanging, singing and caroling, storytelling and boisterous parties. So moving into Norse and Germanic traditions, this is where we see more of Yule.
00:17:03
Speaker
So with Yule's origins, this was a major midwinter festival celebrated by Germanic and Norse peoples, lasting anywhere from a few days to a full 12-day celebration.
00:17:13
Speaker
This was a time focused on feasting, honoring the gods and ancestors, strengthening community bonds, and bringing protection to the home during the harshest part of winter. Yule marked the symbolic return of the sun, so many rituals centered around warmth, fire, and welcoming the light back into the world.
00:17:33
Speaker
It was also a time of storytelling, drinking, toasting, and offering thanks for surviving the darkest part of the year. With that, there's still many pagan elements that we still see today surrounding Yule and Christmas, and some of these are Things like the Yule log, which originally came from the tradition of bringing a massive piece of wood into the home and burning it slowly over several days.
00:17:58
Speaker
Today, this is symbolized by a log-shaped cake, candles, or simply a warm fire. Also, the use of evergreens that we see in the form of trees, wreaths, and garlands. The evergreen symbolized life, resilience, and protection during a time when everything else seemed dead or dormant.
00:18:16
Speaker
Mistletoe held sacred meaning for many Germanic and Celtic groups, and it was seen as a plant of peace, fertility, and healing, which ties into its modern use during the holidays. Gift-giving and feasting were already major parts of Yule long before Christmas existed. Sharing food and small gifts helped strengthen community ties and ensured goodwill through the rest of winter, as well as wassailing, so singing and going door-to-door with blessings or carols. These practices all have roots in old winter traditions.
00:18:49
Speaker
There are also a few deities or even mythic figures that are connected to Yule. So for starters, Odin was strongly associated with Yule and was even called Yulefather or Yulefather. He was believed to ride across the winter sky leading the wild hunt.
00:19:05
Speaker
The wild hunt was seen as a powerful ghostly procession sweeping through the night during midwinter. And this imagery may have contributed to today's magical figure flying through the sky in December, known as Santa Claus.
Celtic & Scottish Winter Traditions
00:19:18
Speaker
So surprise, surprise. Mm-hmm.
00:19:35
Speaker
offering food and thanking them for protection So next up on our list as we explore the different pagan roots of Christmas, we're going to take a look at some of the beliefs seen in Celtic traditions and along the British Isles. Here, the winter season was marked by traditions that blended pre-Christian beliefs, magic, and folklore and a very different relationship with Christmas than what we may recognize today.
00:19:58
Speaker
In Scotland, Celtic pagans celebrated the winter solstice, which as Tiffany mentioned at the start of the episode was the darkest day of the year, not just as a date that occurred, but as a turning point. Their rituals were tied directly to nature, honoring the sun's return, aka S-U-N, not S-O-N, and appeasing spirits and lighting up the darkness.
00:20:19
Speaker
Eventually, we see that Viking influence and the Norse, like pagan influence of Yule merging with local practices, which brought feasting, merriment, and a worldview that celebrated the long, dark nights rather than fearing them. And then as far as folklore that we see within the Celtic and British Isles, there is the Kaliak, which we I've either talked about on the podcast before, or you have, or it's been in an... a We have talked about it somewhere. Yeah, we talked about it somewhere. I don't know if it was on the podcast or in the newsletter, but we have talked about it. Maybe both.
00:20:59
Speaker
ah But she was a mythological hag of winter. who Right. Yeah.
00:21:09
Speaker
if Who is represented by a carved wooden figure and she embodies the power of winter. Burning her representation was said to banish the dark and coldest energies of the season. And this in some places is still done today, which I thought was very interesting that that would be carried over. over so many centuries. And then and forgive me if I mispronounce this, I am trying to be honest here.
00:21:35
Speaker
Kram Doofne Nolig, which translates as the dark crooked one of Christmas, was a folk spirit that is said to haunt the season. Also names. Yeah.
00:21:47
Speaker
yeah And some stories said that misbehaving children might hear his wind in the chimney or sense his presence in winter shadows. So this is giving me very Krampus energy, yeah which you know kind of ties back to that Nordic influence as well.
00:22:05
Speaker
Christmas as we know it. wasn't really a thing in Scotland. And after the Protestant Reformation in 1560, there was actually a law that was passed in 1640 that made celebrating Yule vacations illegal. So baking a Yule bread was once considered a criminal act, if you can imagine. That's wild. Absolutely rude.
00:22:27
Speaker
Yeah. And it wasn't until 1958 that December 25th actually became a public holiday in Scotland. And actually, Hogmanay... That's that ago. That's not that long. That's the year my dad was born. So like that is wild. Yeah. um And actually, Hogmanay became the real annual festival for many Scots, which is their New Year celebrations. And I'll get into that here in a second. But many of the old ways didn't disappear though, and some survived, and we see these symbols throughout modern celebrations of Christmas. So the Yule bread, so tying back to that Yule log that you were talking about. In Scotland specifically, families would bake a special loaf often shaped in a circle to symbolize the sun, and sometimes a trinket would be hidden inside, and if you find it, you have good luck.
00:23:17
Speaker
Burning Rowan, especially burning a twig of Rowan, was a way to symbolically clear the air, removing bad feelings, grudges, and jealousy between people. Additionally, there is the tradition of the first footing. so The first person to cross your threshold, especially on New Year's, brings symbolic gifts to your home, whether this be salt, coal, whiskey, or bread.
00:23:40
Speaker
And then also a black, like giving a black bun. And this is a dense fruit cake that is wrapped in a pastry and it's full of raisins, spices, and nuts. It's often gifted as part of the first footing tradition.
00:23:53
Speaker
And then lighting candles. So windows lit with candles is a so Celtic tradition that is supposed to guide travelers and ward off ill spirits. And you'll see this...
00:24:06
Speaker
a lot through Celtic pagan traditions, and of course, it's something that is carried on today. We see this a lot in Christmas decor with the candles in the windows, as well as Gaelic carols. So in Gaelic-speaking areas, traditional carols were sung at midnight mass, and then additionally cleansing the house or rutting. Before the new year, this was said to sweep away bad fortune.
00:24:30
Speaker
So moving from Scotland to Ireland, we're going to talk about some of the things that were celebrated in Celtic Ireland and may have been passed on now. So first we have this Druidic festival called Albin Arthuin. that took place around December 21st on the winter solstice. It was a fire festival that celebrated the birth of the sun, and many Christian traditions throughout this area include some of these same fire celebrations.
00:25:01
Speaker
Evergreen plants like holly was a symbol of rebirth for the pagan Celts and also a symbol of hospitality, as it was believed that fairies sought shelter inside the evergreen to escape the cold, which I thought was just So cute. Mistletoe is believed to have healing powers and to ward off evil spirits, cure illnesses, and help enemies to reach a truce.
00:25:22
Speaker
Irish Celts also practice the tradition of placing candles in windows, just like with the Scottish Celtic people, to ward off evil spirits and guide travelers. the Yule Log or the Christmas Block. In Ireland, there was a tradition of burning a Christmas block that was tied to an older pagan ritual fire, warmth, and and protection during the darkest time of the year. And fire was very significant in Celtic paganism, not just as a source of warmth, but to encourage the return of light in the sun, which also ties back to the Norse pagans that Tiffany already talked about as well.
00:25:58
Speaker
And then additionally, there was the Wren Day or the hunt the Wren Day. This is one of the most famous and pagan rooted traditions. And this is Wren Day on St. Stephen's Day. And it occurred on December 26th in Ireland. So historically, people would hunt a Wren and this Wren would be placed on a pole decorated with holly, ivy, and ribbons and paraded from house to house singing and collecting money.
00:26:25
Speaker
The hunt is said to come from ancient Celtic practices and could be tied to a sacrifice or a symbolic offering at solstice. Over time though, the actual killing of the wren has mostly stopped, and most modern celebrations use a mock wren or like a stuffed animal in place of the wren, which I like that a little bit better. red's a bird, right? Yeah, a bird. A cute little bird. Yeah. And then we also have Calling the Waits, which was a tradition that involved musicians going around before Christmas and serenading people to wake them up in the morning, kind of like a door-to-door procession.
00:27:04
Speaker
And then in Wales, we have a few additional practices. So the Cullennig is the Welsh New Year and it's linked to midwinter and it's not strictly tied to Christianity, but this ritual involved
Rebranding Pagan Traditions in Christianity
00:27:19
Speaker
going door to door to give small symbolic gifts like bread, cheese, and coins.
00:27:24
Speaker
And this custom may have pagan roots connected to renewal, hospitality, and ensuring community ties. And then there's also the Mariluid, or sometimes called the Mary Lloyd. This meant the Grey Mare, and it's one of the most iconic Welsh customs. Essentially what this is, is a horse skull decorated with ribbons and often glass eyes, and they were carried by someone under a sheet. So like this horse skull would be carried by someone under a sheet. Like a horse ghost. Yeah.
00:27:55
Speaker
Yeah, like making it appear animated. And so the Mari Luid would go from house to house singing and reciting rhymes and it would challenge residents of each home to like an insult poem competition. Like, it reminds me of what was that show? It's like the rap battle thing. know I'm talking about? Yeah, that's what it reminded me of. And if the household won this like insult poem battle thing, then the Mari Luid would leave. But if they didn't win, then they would be expected to feed and like give drink to the whoever was dressed up as the Mari Luid. And this tradition most likely to derived from some of the many death-oriented seasonal rituals seen in ancient Celtic pagan traditions. And it could be both seen as like a symbol of death and renewal, but also as a way of mocking death and confronting some of the darker aspects of winter and making a little bit of, you know, light out of it. And then we also have Plygain singing. And this is a Welsh caroling service traditionally occurring around from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. m on Christmas morning, which that sounds like no a terrible way to wake up. I'm sorry. i will be know about with my earplugs in. Yeah. No, please don't wake me up at 3 a.m. m nom saying No. But this, while not overtly pagan, ties back to many pagan aspects associated with this time of year. So pre-dawn, which ties back to the liminal time of day, which ties back to like also communal gathering and singing and whatnot. And then additionally, wassailing, which I know Tiffany has already mentioned already. This Welsh tradition involves communal wassail bowls filled with fruit, spices, sugar, and beer. and was often tied to pagan practices of blessing trees, community, fertility, and honoring the spirits. And many of the customs that I've talked about, it especially associated with like the Celtic region, British Isles and whatnot, often show how early Christian traditions didn't completely override pagan practices. Instead, they kind of blended with them. And additionally, the 12 days of Christmas, so in Celtic regions, the 12 days leading up to Christmas or winter solstice was considered days that opened up spiritual activity. And this is when people said that maybe their farm animals were said to speak at midnight, ghosts might walk, and they experienced prophetic dreams more easily.
00:30:29
Speaker
And so it's like the Christians who came to England, Ireland, Scotland, and the British Isles just, we're going to talk about, like adopted a lot of those ancient pagan traditions and just morphed it into what they believed.
Origins of Santa Claus
00:30:44
Speaker
So let's take a deep dive into that. yes yeah So we obviously cannot talk about this topic without the discussion of Christianity's rebranding of deep-rooted pagan traditions to suit their practices and their agendas. So buckle it up, because here we go.
00:31:02
Speaker
When Christianity expanded into Europe, it didn't politely adopt pagan traditions. It strategically absorbed and then rebranded them in order to convert pre-Christian communities more easily.
00:31:14
Speaker
Many pagan celebrations were deeply rooted in the culture, and early church leaders recognized that people weren't going to abandon their solstice festivals, their deities, or their seasonal rites overnight.
00:31:26
Speaker
So instead of banning these traditions outright, Christianity often took what was already being practiced and relabeled it with a Christian meaning. This made the transition appear smoother, but was ultimately a way of phasing out older beliefs.
00:31:41
Speaker
December 25th wasn't chosen randomly, as we've kind of already discussed. It aligned with the already established Reborn Sun, spelled S-U-N, festivals like Sol Invictus and various Indo-European solstice observances. This allowed the church to say, in effect, you're already celebrating the return of the sun, S-U-N, now celebrate the birth of the sun, spelled S-O-N. These shifts weren't neutral or cooperative. They were part of a broader process of conversion, suppression, and replacement of indigenous European religions.
00:32:17
Speaker
During this time, we also saw a rebranding of pagan symbols to now have Christian meanings. Some examples of this can be seen in the following. So evergreens, which were long associated with protection and the endurance of life through winter, were reframed to symbol the eternal life in Christian theology. The solstice theme of the returning sun, which was a symbol of hope,
00:32:41
Speaker
renewal and cosmic rebirth in pagan traditions was replaced with the narrative of Jesus as the new divine light of the world. Fires, candles, and lights that were originally meant to strengthen the sun or ward off winter spirits were kept and but they were reinterpreted through a Christian lens.
00:32:59
Speaker
Feasting and community gatherings once tied to appeasing gods, honoring ancestors, and surviving midwinter were repurposed as Christmas celebrations centered around the birth of Christ.
00:33:10
Speaker
Many magical or protective customs were allowed to continue, but only after being stripped of their original divine associations. So over time, their pagan roots were downplayed or erased in favor of Christian symbolism.
00:33:24
Speaker
And what we see today is the result of religious takeover, not equal blending. Pagan traditions survived, but often only because they were renamed, repackaged, and absorbed into the expanding Christian
Magic of Holiday Traditions & Ancient Origins
00:33:37
Speaker
worldview. So...
00:33:39
Speaker
There's that. That's really sad. I know. I hate it So let's bring it up with Santa Claus. We you down. Now we're going to build you back up. So Santa is basically a patchwork of both pagan and Christian influence.
00:33:55
Speaker
So first, we're going to talk about St. Nicholas and early Christian influence. The modern Santa figure is often presented as being rooted in St. Nicholas, who was a fourth century Christian bishop known for generosity and gift giving.
00:34:09
Speaker
As Christianity spread, the church used St. Nicholas as a more palatable, Christian-friendly replacement for older winter deities and spirits. Over time, st Nicholas absorbed traits from many pre-Christian figures becoming a hybrid character meant to ease converts away from their ancestral traditions.
00:34:28
Speaker
There's also pagan roots to Santa, to his appearance, and his role that can be seen in various ways. One of the strongest influences is Odin, who we've already discussed was deeply connected to Yule.
00:34:39
Speaker
Odin's imagery is strikingly Santa-like, a long white beard, a hooded or fur-lined cloak, and a supernatural ride through the night sky. Children in some Germanic regions would leave out boots or offerings for Odin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir.
00:34:53
Speaker
This practice eventually morphed into children leaving out stockings or shoes for Santa. Here in Germany, on the evening of the 5th of December, children will put out their cleaned boots or shoes, called Niklaus Stiefel, outside, and St. Niklaus will fill their boots with treats like nuts, chocolates, oranges, and even small toys if they were good throughout the year. Naughty children, however, receive coal or even a switch in their shoes, which cracks me up.
00:35:22
Speaker
You're bad. Here's your spanking stick. Yeah, we're going to spank the shit out of you. Yeah. And then on the morning of December 6th, known as St. Nicholas Day, the children wake up to gifts or not, and many families celebrate the day. And another piece of this is that the night of December 5th is known as Krampusnacht, and this is the evening where Krampus goes around scaring, collecting, and spanking naughty children, so There's also that. is Yeah, also that. He's got his naughty children's sack. The biggest takeaway here, though, is that the idea of a winter gift bringer arriving during the darkest days came from pre-Christian beliefs long before St. Nicholas entered the picture.
00:36:04
Speaker
Now let's look at the reindeer, yule beings, and even the Arctic traditions. So reindeer symbolism has roots in Sami and Arctic shamanic traditions, where reindeer were sacred animals connected to winter migration and magic.
00:36:20
Speaker
Scandinavian traditions also include the Yule goat, which was a spirit or a figure who brought the gifts or demanded offerings. In some regions, the Yule goat was the gift giver before Santa replaced him.
00:36:33
Speaker
So instead of having like a human like deity or being going around giving gifts, it was actually this like huge goat. And then many European folk cultures had winter visitors like house spirits, ancestral figures, or masked performers who brought blessings or warnings during midwinter. Santa inherits characteristics from many of these beings, and it's these roots that bring us the Santa Claus that we actually know today.
00:37:00
Speaker
But how did Santa become the dominant winter figure in today's Christmas traditions? As the church worked to erase or overwrite pagan winter deities, Santa evolved into a sanitized, Christian-approved figure who absorbed their roles.
00:37:17
Speaker
Over the centuries, folklore, church narratives, and later commercial influences blended it into this cheerful, modern Santa that we know today. And what survives beneath the surface, though, is this mosaic of pagan winter gods, ancestral spirits, and solstice traditions.
00:37:35
Speaker
that I have been wrapped in red velvet and made more acceptable to Christian culture. Wow. Yeah. Yep. Yep. where Wow. I love how informative that is. Like that too. I just wish we could take that whole section as well and like just blast it all over socials. Yeah. Like that is the teaser. This whole thing. Listen to it.
00:37:57
Speaker
You're a 20 minute teaser. Yes. But to kind of, okay, so I will say as a way to kind of bring the up episode to a close and tie it all up neatly and a little you though, I want to talk a little bit about how there are a lot of magical and folkloric elements still present. This is a very magical time of year. And regardless of how you grew up, if you're just starting out, you can make this time of year be as festive and as magical as you want to be. So we have mentioned like, so first of all, protective charms within holiday plants just in general. And this is just a few, like there are a ton more and I have in our resources, a list of magical Yule plants. So give that a look if you want to, but we've mentioned, multiple times on this episode, plants like holly. This was an extremely protective plant. Holly was also thought to hold an ever-living magic because it stayed green while most other things died. It was thought to protect homes from evil spirits and fairies. It was put above doorways or windows to ward against misfortune. And bringing it inside is said to invite good luck while If you let it rot, it was said to obviously like bring you bad luck. So this can be a really simple, easy way that you can bring some magic into this time of year that also connects back with some of these ancient Celtic
00:39:20
Speaker
pagan Norse practices that we've talked about on this episode. And then mistletoe was another protective plant. It was considered otherworldly because it grew on trees without ever touching the ground. And it was said that the Druids harvested the mistletoe because it was thought to heal illnesses and protect from poisoning. So this is another very powerful protective plant that you can use during this time of year.
00:39:44
Speaker
And then as you know Tiffany mentioned this already, there was a lot of divination traditions that were tied together with New Year and midwinter. So one that I know we've talked about on the podcast before was blowing ashes from the hearth in certain ways on New Year's. And it was said to predict whether a household would thrive over the course of the next year or whether would might have a difficult time. This is a practice that you could do at home and it doesn't have to be ashes from your hearth. It could be putting some salt down. It could be going outside and like grabbing some dirt from your garden and then blowing it. Like it just depends. And then also the shoe toss. So girls would throw shoes over their shoulders to determine if they'd marry soon. So if you have a group of women that you want to get together um during this midwinter or on New Year's, you could do that. There's also the grape eating tradition, which most people are more familiar with. But these are things that you could also do that tie back to ancient pagan traditions that have been celebrated this entire time, but just have been rebranded. And then lastly, I kind of want to just touch again on the liminal feel of the season because this is a time when the veil thins again.
00:40:56
Speaker
Veil thinning is usually associated with Samhain, but midwinter is also another liminal state. The sun is at its weakest and the nights are the longest. Nature appears dead and animals can act weird due to the cold or darkness. And this was also the perfect time to stay indoors and tell
Season Four Conclusion & Future Teaser
00:41:13
Speaker
spooky stories. So this time of year as well, because of...
00:41:17
Speaker
the darkness because of the cold, it can feel for some pretty isolating, but try and embrace this time and tie it back to some of the practices that we've talked about already that have their roots and ancient pagan origin, because it might make you appreciate the darkness and the cold and a whole new light.
00:41:38
Speaker
But that's all.
00:41:50
Speaker
That's a wrap on this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. We hope you had as much fun as we did. If you loved this episode, we'd be eternally grateful if you left us a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts. It helps more witches, seekers, and magical misfits find our show.
00:42:07
Speaker
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00:42:28
Speaker
You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GetInWitches or email us at We're Doing Witchcraft at gmail.com. Join us in January for Season 5 of Get In Loser We're Doing Witchcraft.
00:42:39
Speaker
We have a lot of amazing episodes planned and a few surprise guests scheduled. Until then, stay magical, stay curious, and as always, blessed be, witches.