Remember the song, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of he Year" ? Made famous by the singer Andy Williams, this song has a line, "There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmas long, long ago."
Why ghost stories you ask? The tradition dates back to the ancient Celts. In Celtic Times there were ghosts, spirits and other haunting beings who were associated with the Fire Festival and the Yule Season.
The Winter Soltice, Alban Arthuan, or better known as Yuletime Season is a time of death and rebirth of Nature and our souls. It is said the Old Sun dies at dusk of December 21st. and when the Sun of the New Year is born at the dawn of December 22. The New Sun is thought to rejuvenate the aura of the Earth. It is like a mystical cleansing to the spirits and the souls of the dead.
Samhain is considered the most haunted time of the year in the Celtic calendar; Yule is the second. Haunting starts on December 6th to December 20th. The spirits are more active as they wait for the rebirth of the Sun’s powers. One can be visited by their ancestors, relatives, spirit guides or their soul friends.
This haunting is not the same as during Samhain, where the veil is thinned so that the dead can walk among us. The spirits of Yule are connected with the mystical and the psychic side of the Solstice Season.
I did not know this! Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteThat would explain why at 2 am a 10 lb weight fell off my shelf onto my floor. I had used it at 8pm, and made sure it couldn't move. This explains a lot :)
ReplyDeleteLove,
MG
*whosthatgamine.blogspot.com*
I had never paid attention to that line in the song - very informative. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt puts a whole new perspective on Dicken's Christmas Carol, too, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteYou can't help but wonder if he wasn't thinking of the those ancient Celtic beliefs when he wrote his story.
As we know, it wouldn't be the first time that traditional pagan symbols and beliefs were altered to fit into the mainstream holiday celebration. So he places his story on the day before Christmas.
A few days late, but it is a very appropriate time for the Ghost of Marley to appear, and then Ebenezer's redemption by the three Spirits.
Thanks for bringing this to light!
I was just thinking about that song the other day and wondering why "scary ghost stories" - thanks for the enlightenment lady!
ReplyDeleteB
Very interesting , maybe that's why I drew the bright sun shining over those evergreen trees. Although I didn't know about the old sun dying or this Celtic beliefs , perhaps there was a spirit guiding me.
ReplyDelete~ Be Blessed ~
Great info - I had no idea! I really like that song too!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'd never really given any thought to that particular line in the song!
ReplyDeleteBut you're right.
Thanks for the history lesson.
)O(
boo
Love this post! And I do love ghost stories at this time of year. Perhaps because I'm Irish, it's just part of me!
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