Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.12.2014, Síða 54

T H E R E Y K J A V Í K G R A P E V I N E X M A S S P E C I A L2
The date was later changed to Decem-
ber 25, partly because of the swap from
the Julian to the Gregorian calendar,
and partly to steal a little thunder from
Saturnalia—a holiday dedicated to the
deity Saturn, which was celebrated from
December 17-23.
Saturnalia was a festival of role re-
versal, gambling, ritualistic sacrifice,
drinking, binge eating, and the quest for
knowledge. People took the day off work,
slaves were allowed to be disrespectful
to their masters, and people satirized
leaders by randomly appointing a King
of Saturnalia, who got to shout arbitrary
decrees. A topsy-turvy day
to let people vent their frus-
tration on the Winter Sol-
stice. Think of it as a benign
version of The Purge.
The Christmas
practise of gift giving was
probably picked up from
Saturnalia, as Christianity
continuing accumulating
customs like an endless
game of Katamari Damacy.
But of course they dropped
all the healthy venting and
partying in favour of good
old-fashioned repression.
As the Christian
faith spread into areas that
celebrated the Winter Sol-
stice, slapping their Aion-
Saturn holiday onto the pa-
gan customs was a smooth
process. This was quickly
rationalized by the birth of
Christ being a sort-of sol-
stice celebration, as Christ was the most
awesome sun of them all, conquering the
darkness, changing his own diapers, etc.
Deck the halls with
geysers of vomit
With the Winter Solstice merger, Christ-
mas absorbed the indoor fir trees and the
parasitic plant mistletoe, both of which
played an important role in Norse my-
thology. The mistletoe played a pivotal
role as the plant that was used to slay Bal-
dur, the closest thing to a Christ figure
found in Norse mythology. The fir tree is
thought to have been in celebration of the
great world tree Askur Yggdrasil. Also,
these were simpler times and evergreens
were thought to be magic, as they opted
out of the whole seasonal cycle of death
and rebirth that the other plants put
up with. Finally, those nice green trees
looked nice and served to slightly cover
the common medieval poverty urine
smell so pervasive in homes at the time.
For the Norse and Germanic pagans,
late December was chosen, ostensibly
due to the Winter Solstice. It is just as
likely, however, that those pagans felt it
was a suitable time to get properly shit-
faced, as it represented a lull in the yearly
workload that happened to coincide with
everyone having enough to eat and drink.
The pagan Yuletide celebration may
have stretched over the whole of No-
vember and December, as the ostro-
goths named November the first month
of Christmas and December the second.
Anglo-Saxons celebrated Yule from De-
cember into January.
Not that much is known about the
Yule celebrations, but odds are things
weren't as coordinated as many modern
pagans would like to believe. Icelanders
in those days were a ragtag group of tax-
dodgers, and it’s doubtful that they had
a distinctly hierarchical and well-orga-
nized system of belief.
We do know that it involved the sac-
rifice of livestock and systematic binge
drinking. In a 9th century poem to
Harald Fairhair, the first king of Nor-
way, there are references to the “play-
ing of Frey’s game,” which is thought to
have been some kind of sexual fertility
ritual. It goes on to describe the ritualistic
slaughter of a hog devoted to the deity. As
the hog was a common fertility symbol in
the region, it does seem to indicate that
there was a significant hanky-panky side
to the Yule celebration. Which is par for
the course when you combine loose mor-
als and weeks of heavy drinking.
The heavy drinking aspect of the
pagan feast can’t be overemphasized.
People were legally required to brew ale
and maintain a supply in their homes, in
case any chieftains decided to pop in for
a quick one. Peasants would actually be
fined if they were found to be lacking in
ale.
Chieftains themselves were required
to stage elaborate and generous feasts,
and as with the Saturnalia, they were an
all-inclusive booze-up where slaves were
allowed to participate.
Modern pagans
Modern pagan celebrations are a hodge-
podge of dubiously sourced, cobbled-to-
gether traditions, much like Christianity
(although modern pagans are generally
much more likeable and way more likely
to be into heavy metal).
Icelanders are creatures of habit
and strong herd-instincts, and their cel-
ebration does not differ from that of the
Christian in any major ways. And why
should they? The tree, the gifts, the gorg-
ing, the decorations, the date… like Ray J
said: ''I Hit It First."
This is the norm—I guess—for most of
us Icelanders. And here we are, once
again. Capitalism has taught us well, and
our little shopping spree is just a symbol
of our celebration of innocence, as we
search our own infancy for acceptance
with the idea of a charming infant in a
manger as our abundant Saviour. With a
smile. We have baby-Jesuses and Marias
and Josephs luring us in, with the Wise
Men in the windows in the overcrowded
shopping malls of Reykjavík, along with
all our modern era's seasonal Santas, Yule
Lads and Yule Cats. Nothing is sacred—
so it seems—except on our personal level;
our experience and the traditions that
make up our own feast of light and love,
with a variety in drinks and dining...
Or so it seems, as the Advent passes. It
is a stressful time, when mixed emotions
boil to the surface, old sorrows, tough
memories, as we yet prepare for pass-
ing beyond the tragedy which life may
seem to be sometimes into the glorious
and peaceful nights around Christmas
day. Those couple of days when our prob-
lems are set aside and seem unreal. Yes,
these days are holy. In some sense. There
is this hope attached, something not of
this world. The compensation for all the
stress is peace. A happy infantile smile. A
Christ in us.
Still—as traditions halt—the secu-
larized focus leads more and more onto
the bigger picture, the myths and con-
texts that were here before; Winter Sol-
stice has its place on December 21, the
renewed Horus, son of the Sun, turns
the cycle into rhythm at this point. Who
needs this Church and Christ and tradi-
tions from that context while we have...
another context. Or, let's think again:
What is the context of Christmas in a
faith-based symbolism of the Western
society we inhabit? Is it just a marketing
feast for merchants and charity pimps, or
maybe a little warm-up for the New Years
party? Do we have to secularize it just to
be politically correct, as the multicultural
aspects concerning traditions built on
faith question how Christian Christmas
can be?
I don’t know, but there is something
in the culture about how we treat cer-
tain traditions,
which tells me
they are less
important, if
they are faith-
based. In my
mind, there is
no imposing a
mindset of be-
lief attached to
singing Christ-
mas songs that
tell the Nativity
story of Jesus.
Or how detached can a culture become,
if we keep the feast but ignore the fact of
why it is a part of our culture? To me it
is more important to understand what
the entering of Christ into this world was
supposed to mean, as that idea changed
the world, and why it still has signifi-
cance in the modern era that Christ may
live inside me as he entered the world.
Open your heart for the Christ in Christ-
mas this year. It might just save your day.
---
A.M. Finnsson is a candidatus theologiae
who works as a a theological consultant
to various cultural projects, ranging from
strategy and development to fieldwork
with Reykjavík’s homeless. He lives and
works in the Westfjords of Iceland.
WORDS BY RAGNAR EGILSSON
WORDS BY A .M. FINNSSON
JESUS CLAUS ILLUSTRATION BY K-FAI STEELE
The idea of throwing a big celebration in honour of the birth of
Christ is a relatively recent idea. Nobody knows exactly when he
was born; guesses range from 7 to 2 BC and the date is a mystery.
His date of birth was once estimated to be January 6, in an at-
tempt to beat a competing holiday (the celebration of the virgin
birth of Aion, the Hellenistic deity of eternity). In the process
they borrowed the symbolism of the stables. Christianity is in
the business of mergers and acquisitions.
Feast of lights and love, the family days of Christmas; “what to
dine and how to dress”— oh, don't we all just thrill up on the
quirky-looking sweaters and find it all so amusing? And don't
we, just this season, take the necessity of “having a good time”
all too seriously concerning all the consumerism attached, as it
is almost obligatory to accept February’s Visa bill without any
grudge, the late-Christmas-hangover? At least, most of the time
“doin' what ya wanna cuz it's Xmas” has been, in my context,
stepping just a little bit over the line; knowing how much I have
and pushing the limit just a little.
Pagan
Christmas
History lesson, pt. I
Be A Peaceful
Infant Smiling
In The Manger
A Christmas Homily