CHRISTMAS AND YULE TRADITIONS IN ENGLAND by Arnora The date of December 25 as the date of Christmas was the result of an arbitrary decision made by Pope Julius I in the first half of the 4th century AD. At that time, the date already covered the festivals of Attis, Mithras, and the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun, all of which are festivals brought to the British Isles by Roman soldiers and auxiliaries. In the cold northern climes, where there was little else to do in the cold months but contrive nifty excuses for a celebration, the Yule season lasted from November till January. A large number of elements which modern people take for granted in their seasonal traditions actually do stem from early pagan customs, many of which were originally associated with the midwinter's feasts and observances. Decorating one's abode, however humble, with branches of evergreens, holly, ivy, and mistletoe, is one example of such long-lasting traditions; it was originally believed that evergreens were a symbol of undying life. In its early days in the British Isles, and in other places in Europe, the Church muckled about in the affairs of happy pagans everywhere and banned this practice because of the pagan origins, but custom prevailed. Also seen in decorative use at the time were laurel and bay, introduced into seasonal tradition by Romans observing the Kalends of January, and rosemary, ilex, and cypress. Of all of these, mistletoe, strangely enough, is still banned by the Church for use in decorations inside holy buildings. It is possible that, this late in the twentieth century, modern morals may have overridden that to a certain extent, but I doubt highly that the practice of "kissing under the mistletoe" is observed during church services, no matter how orthodox or unorthodox one's church may be! Such associations of the "Golden Bough" of legend, which was thought to be sacred by both Norsemen and early Celtic druids, made it strictly unacceptable to Christian priests. The kissing custom appears to be English in origin, drawn from a decorative piece of greenery known as the "kissing bough", which had mistletoe, candles, apples, rosettes, ribbons, and small presents suspended from streamers. This is thought to be a relatively late custom, replaced almost entirely in the nineteenth century by the Christmas tree, which came as an idea originally from Germany via America before catching on in Britain. Gift-giving as a custom began with the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, with tokens and gifts being given to family and poor folk in celebration of the January Kalends. Another tradition which predates recorded history, is the burning of the Yule log, usually an immense piece of ash or oak. Brought in with due pomp and circumstance on Christmas Eve (adopted as the formal date in later history), it was lit from a piece of the previous year's Yule log, and was maintained throughout the season, generally for the Twelve Days of Christmas. To have the log go out before the end of the holifdays was thought to portend bad things for the coming year, yet it was never allowed to burn away completely, either. Modern firplace grates do not allow for the extravagant size of wood necesary for thi custom to stil have wide-spread popularity, however. Boxing Day is also St. Stephen's Day, named in honour of the first Christian martyr, and in iolated areas, such a the Ile of Man, a ritual known as the Wren Hunt still exists in a much distorted form. The wren was a sacred bird to the English, like both the robin and the swallow, with the exception of this one day a year, in which cae, the boy or man who first killed one of these birds was thought to be in line for good luck over the coming year, and was often named a leader for other seasonal festivities. Modern practice no longer ha anything to do with killing birds, but rather it involves group of boys travelling in bands from house to house collecting money (usually donated later to the Church or some other worthy cause), singing a version of the Wren Song: "The wren, the wren, the King of all birds, On St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze, Although he is little, his family is great, I pray you, good dame, do give us a treat." On the more entertaining face of Yule tradtions, one might find mumming and misrule. The first involves elaborate costumes, often of animals; it has been suggested that "mumme" is Danish in origin (perhaps "momme" in Dutch), meaning to disguise oneself with a mask. Perhaps these remain as a holdover from the era of the "mystery plays" of the middle ages, although modern mumming plays are rather more bawdy that their predecessors. There has been a bastardization of this custom involving such costumed players leaving one abode, and roaming from house to house, gathering their friends as they go, until at some point in the evening, they reach the limits of their mobility and degenerate into a stationary party at the home of a friend. Once the party has reached this stage, another medieval tradtion migh be invoked, that being the chosing of a lord of misrule, usually a young man with a good sense of humour, who, like a king, presides over the festivities, his word being law for the duration of the event. A great deal of mischief was perpetrated under such circumstances, but all was genrally forgiven in the spirit of the season, and in the aftermath and inevitable hangover. It is often easy to forget that our traditions are much older than we give them credit for. Granted, some of our current Western customs have their roots no deeper than the Victorian age, but much of what has survived to this modern age is far older than that, indeed, far older than the Christian traditions which have usurped the original intent and purpose of the season. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ditchfield, P.H., OLD ENGLISH CUSTOMS, London, 1896 Hole, Christina, ENGLISH TRADITIONAL CUSTOMS, London 1975 A BRIEF NOTE FROM THE EDITOR It's amazing what can be accomplished with a little subtle innuendo ... Winter snows settle over the wilde woodes which surround our thriving little canton, and with the lack of communication to the world beyond our wintry borders, we needs must turn inwards for our entertainment over these long, cold months. We bid adieu to one seneschal whilst greeting a new one, and welcome one and all to our fires and circles; well would we do to remind all that this is a season for remembering those we love, and spreading a little compassion to those less fortunate than ourselves. As most of you know, the site fee for the dance ball of one canned or dried good per person will be going to local food hamper programs, so that someone else can benefit from our goodwill. Perhaps it will cause more of us to look outside ourselves throughout the rest of the year as well. Within these pages, you will find the work and effort of several members of the canton, presented for your enjoyment. We on the staff of the Phoenix wish you all a joyous Yule, and a safe one. your soft arms of winter surround my earth lulling, blanketting, hushing barren i am not under your delicate touch sparkling, enchanting, alive close contact you ensnare me in your snowy embrace pillowing me, sustaining me the fire in your eyes anything but cold sparking me, kindling me entice those fires forging far below free me with your touch, your love, from where i am trapped like water surging below the surface of glassy ice show me the world as you have made it white and glittering and beautiful share me with all your creation love and joy and hope and elation Arnora (Dec. 16, AS XXVI) UNTITLED Trees sigh The wind rides high Cutting through thoughts like a scythe The turbulent sound betrays no angry heavens Only the clear lights shining through this curtain of night Mark the choral passage of air Enraptured by the aural pallate They too seem subdued And lulled ever so gently To rest. Brother Thomas.