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Page 45
From all I have been able to gather respecting this great sun feast at
the winter solstice as it was celebrated in this country in prehistoric
times, I am of opinion that the sacrifices were offered to the sun on
the shortest day, to propitiate his return, and that that day was a day
of great solemnity, but that the day following when the mistletoe was
distributed and hung up, was a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving on this
account, that the sacrifices had proved acceptable and efficacious, the
sun having returned again to begin his course for another year, and this
day was the first day of the year.
I am aware that the Romans appointed the first of January as the first
day of the year as early as B.C. 600, and dedicated it to the goddess
_Stranoe_. This, however, could not affect the inhabitants of Britain,
at least not until the Roman invasion, and this influence did not reach
our northern counties. There can be little doubt, I think, that the
great festival of the Romans, the Saturnalia, held in honour of
_Saturn_, the father of the gods, and which lasting seven days,
including the winter solstice, was introduced into this country, and in
course of time became identified with the Druidical festival of the
natives. Other elements conspired to modify the ancient druidical
festival. After the Romans withdrew their armies from the island at the
commencement of the fifth century, other invaders took their place.
Saxons, Jutes, Angles, and Normans occupied large tracts of the country;
but as these were mostly all sun-worshippers, their festivals and
ceremonies would, for the most part, coincide with the native usages,
and whatever peculiarities they might bring with them in the matter of
formulas, would take root in the localities where they were settled, and
eventually the indigenous and introduced formulas would coalesce.
Another element which materially influenced and, _vice versa_, was
materially influenced by Pagan formul�, was Christianity. Introduced
into Rome at a very early period, it was for a long time opposed as
subversive of the established religion of the empire. Now, during the
festival of the Saturnalia, the Romans decorated their houses, both
inside and out, with evergreens, the Christian converts refraining from
this were easily discovered and set upon by the people, were brought
before the judges and condemned, in many cases, to death, for their
infidelity to the national gods. But as a result of this severity the
Christians learned to be politic, and during the Saturnalia, hung
evergreens round their houses, while they kept festival within doors in
commemoration of the birth of Christ. This Christian festival, with its
heathen attachments, soon spread throughout the Roman empire, and thus
became introduced into Britain also. It appears however, that the day on
which this feast was kept differed in different localities, until
towards the middle of the fourth century Julius I., Bishop of Rome,
appointed the 25th December as the festival day for the whole Church, an
edict which was universally obeyed. As was to be expected, many of the
ceremonies and superstitious beliefs emanating from the Saturnalia were
merged in the customs of the Christian feast, and do still survive in
modified forms till the present day. In many of our Christmas customs we
can thus perceive the influence of the self-preservation policy of the
early Roman Christians, and in the survival of many other pagan customs
in this and other of our festivals, we can trace the influence of
another policy, the worldly-wise policy of the Roman Church.
At the close of the sixth century, Pope Gregory sent St. Augustine, or
Austin, to this country as a missionary, and by his preaching, many
thousands of the people were converted to Christianity. This Pope's
instructions to Augustine concerning his treatment of heathen festivals,
were that "the heathen temples were not to be destroyed, but turned
into Christian churches; that the oxen killed in sacrifice should still
be killed with rejoicing, but their bodies given to the poor, and that
the refreshment booths round the heathen temples should be allowed to
remain as places of jollity and amusement for the people on Christian
festivals, for it is impossible to cut abruptly from hard and rough
minds all their old habits and customs. He who wishes to reach the
highest place must rise by steps, and not by jumps."
From the enunciation of this policy, we can readily understand how the
festive observances connected with heathen worship remained in the
Christian observance. I have stated what is supposed to have been the
Druidical manner of keeping this festival of the winter solstice, but I
have not seen any account of how the festival was observed in this
country when Augustine arrived as missionary. I have no information
concerning the manner in which the oxen were sacrificed, nor the
character of the refreshment booths round the temples. We know that
there were booths in connection with heathen temples where women were
kept, but whether this practice was indigenous in Britain, or was
imported into this country by the Romans, or whether Pope Gregory may
have written without any special knowledge of the customs here, but
merely from his knowledge of heathen customs in general, we do not know.
Nothing is said in these instructions about changing the day of keeping
the festival from the solstice to the 25th of December. It is probable
that no change of date was made at this time, at all events we may, from
the following circumstance, infer that the change, if made, did not
reach the northern portion of the island. Haco, King of Norway, in the
the tenth century fixed the 25th December as the day for keeping the
feast of Yule. King Haco's fixing on this particular date would be a
resultant from the Romish edict, for the Norwegians were at this time
Christians, although their Christianity was a conglomerate of heathen
superstition and church dogma.
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