Here we're on the eve of the Western Christmas, that Christian and then commercial graft onto the body of pagan traditions, stories, and symbols called Yule, which circulating and crosspollinating among the Roman, Germanic, Nordic, and Celtic worlds, gelled into the coherent winter holiday we enjoy today.
Yule myth actually contains some really interesting ideas and phenomena: communication with the dead continues on from Samhain, and as the cold and dark really start to set in, vibrant colors and symbols of vitality are bandied about to buttress the community against the bleak chill pressing in from all sides. Strange and sometimes dangerous spirits wander the frozen landscape out there in the dark, which are best sheltered in from, avoided, and ignored. Me? I do choose to ignore the unrecognized Timeshare Exit calls that have recently invaded my phone.
We get some of the residue of those sentiments as winter passes over us in the Western Hemisphere, though the nature of winter itself is changing within my lifetime. One wonders where the myth goes from here.
I'll have to get more into that later, as family will soon be here, and I'll be quite busy. For a lot of folks, the light and color and food and company creates a welcome warm pocket to push back what cold is left. If that's you, enjoy, and if not, enjoy the quiet nevertheless.
