![]() It was incorporated with earlier Norse solstice traditions after many Norsemen converted to Christianity around 1000 A.D.Īs a symbol of light, Lucia and her feast day blended naturally with solstice traditions such as lighting fires to scare away spirits during the longest, darkest night of the year. Lucia, one of the earliest Christian martyrs. ![]() Lucia’s Day: This traditional festival of lights in Scandinavia honors St. It was revived in the 20th century (with mock sacrifices) and continues today. Animals-including llamas-were sacrificed during the ceremony, and the Incas used a mirror to focus the sun’s rays and kindle a fire.Īfter the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in the 1500s, the Spaniards banned the Inti Raymi holiday. When it appeared, they crouched down before it, offering golden cups of chicha (a sacred beer made from fermented corn). Before dawn on the day of solstice, they went to a ceremonial plaza and waited for the sunrise. The Incas fasted for three days before the solstice. ![]() In Peru, like the rest of the Southern Hemisphere, the winter solstice takes place in June. Inti Raymi: The Inca Empire payed homage to the sun god Inti at a winter solstice celebration called Inti Raymi (Quechua for “sun festival”). The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new piglet or calf that would be born during the coming year. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. They would set one end of these logs on fire. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which became known as Yule logs. Yule: The ancient Norsemen of Scandinavia celebrated Yule from the winter solstice through January. Some theorists believe the early Roman Catholic Church may have chosen the same date for Christmas in order to supplant pagan rituals, though many Christian scholars dispute this. In the later Roman Empire, Mithra blended with Sol Invictus, god of the “unconquered sun.” For some Romans, Mithra’s birthday was the most sacred day of the year. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. Mithra was an ancient Persian god of light. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, on December 25. Business and schools were closed so that everyone could participate in the holiday's festivities.Īlso around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month, enslaved people were given temporary freedom and treated as equals. Saturnalia, a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture, was a weeklong celebration in the days leading up to the winter solstice. Roman Holidays: Ancient Romans held several celebrations around the time of the winter solstice. READ MORE: 8 Winter Solstice Celebrations Around the World Stonehenge, which is oriented toward the winter solstice sunset, may also have been a place of December rituals for Stone Age people. Some archaeologists have theorized that these tomb-like structures served a religious purpose in which Stone Age people held rituals to capture the sun on the year’s shortest day. Neolithic monuments, such as Newgrange in Ireland and Maeshowe in Scotland, are aligned with sunrise on the winter solstice. Humans may have observed the winter solstice as early as Neolithic period-the last part of the Stone Age, beginning about 10,200 BC. After the winter solstice, days start becoming longer and nights shorter as spring approaches. The winter solstice is the day of the year with the fewest hours of daylight, and it marks the start of astronomical winter. Fire and light are traditional symbols of celebrations held on the darkest day of the year. (The reverse is true in the Southern Hemisphere, where the shortest day of the year occurs in June.) Cultures around the world have long held feasts and celebrated holidays around the winter solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, it takes place between December 20 and 23, depending on the year. The winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year.
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