In my home, we decorate with lights, yule logs, mistletoe, holly and young pine trees for the whole of December while we prepare for the festivities to come.
I like to celebrate the Winter Solstice (Imbolc) on 21st December and that is just the beginning of our holiday season here in the UK. Traditionally, I would always attend the Stonehenge Druid ceremony and spend the longest night of the year by candlelight among the all-night drumming sessions, terminating with a circle of dedication to the first sunrise of the New Year.
We then have a tradition of mid-winter feasting parties and gift giving which lasts until the 5th January when we remove all the decorational signs of our 'calling back the light'.
I lived in Spain for several years and they have their main gift giving party on the 6th January, known as the Day of the Kings (el dia de Los Reyes Magos), which reflects the arrival of the 3 Wise Men at Jesus' birthplace with gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Spain is the only place where this happens because it was strictly Roman Catholic under Franco until 1975. Christmas in Spain is a very religious event.
In my home, we decorate with lights, yule logs, mistletoe, holly and young pine trees for the whole of December while we prepare for the festivities to come.
I like to celebrate the Winter Solstice (Imbolc) on 21st December and that is just the beginning of our holiday season here in the UK. Traditionally, I would always attend the Stonehenge Druid ceremony and spend the longest night of the year by candlelight among the all-night drumming sessions, terminating with a circle of dedication to the first sunrise of the New Year.
We then have a tradition of mid-winter feasting parties and gift giving which lasts until the 5th January when we remove all the decorational signs of our 'calling back the light'.
I lived in Spain for several years and they have their main gift giving party on the 6th January, known as the Day of the Kings (el dia de Los Reyes Magos), which reflects the arrival of the 3 Wise Men at Jesus' birthplace with gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Spain is the only place where this happens because it was strictly Roman Catholic under Franco until 1975. Christmas in Spain is a very religious event.
It seems strange, because I believe at 350 the church wasn't even yet on the new calendar. Under the old calendar Christmas is January 7th.