The word "Yule" comes from an Old Norse word which literally means "wheel." The feast was often referred to by the Norse as Hweolor-tid, the "turning time," a name which comes down to us as "Yuletide." The Norse celebrated Yuletide for 12 days, beginning with Mother Night and, in their tradition, as the solstice day dawns, the Sun Goddess, Freya, arises and is reborn. It is from the Norse Yuletide celebration that the tradition of the "The 12 Days of Christmas" arises. For the Norse, Yuletide marks the time when the previous cycle of the seasons ends, the wheel ("Yule") of the year turns, and the cycle of the seasons begins anew. It is a sacred time, when the goddess Holde, guardian of the spirit world, opens the door to her realm and the seeker of wisdom may enter.
Paradoxically, the solstice, when darkness gives way to light, is also traditionally the first day of winter, the harshest season of the year, when the weather is coldest and life is at its most difficult. But, with the lengthening days, comes the promise of spring, and the return of light, warmth, and life.
The Winter Solstice, the Vernal Equinox, the Summer Solstice, and the Autumnal Equinox (The Crosses) divide the year into its four seasons. They are the "astronomical" festivals, whose timing is set by the position of the earth in its orbit. Each of them is marked by a change in the ratio of day to night, reflecting the endless battle between light and darkness that is the cycle of the seasons. The Equinoxes are the balance points, when day and night are of equal length, the points in the battle at which the outcome can go either way. After the equinoxes, either day or night, according to the season, begins to gain the upper hand. The Solstices are the turning points when the tide of battle turns the other way again, and the angle of the sun in the sky begins to rise or fall according to the season. There is archaeological evidence that humans began to track and mark the celestial signs of the turning seasons over 12,000 years ago. With the development of farming, the Winter Solstice gained increasing importance, marking the time when the preparation for spring and the planting of the crops is about to begin.
It is apropos at this point to mention one of the great neolithic monuments, Newgrange, located about 1 km north of the River Boyne, in County Meath, Eire. The entrance way into this megalithic passage tomb mound is aligned with the Winter Solstice and once a year, for 17 minutes, the sun shines through the specially constructed "roof box" above the doorway, and illuminates the floor of the passage way.
The Irish group "Clannad" wrote a song about Newgrange, (it appears on their CD "Magical Ring"). I think it fitting that this song forms the soundtrack to this video tour of Newgrange on the Winter Solstice day.
Now comes my favorite song by Clannad, "Caislean Oir," from their album "Macalla." The tune is haunting, the harmony entrancing, and the combination is magical. It's lyrics speak of approaching The Golden Castle in the Kingdom of the Sun, which is the demesne of the Oak King, where the Green Man presides over a lush and fecund land, and life flourishes. At sunrise on the Winter Solstice we will set forth on our journey to the Golden Castle of Summer.
Here are the Gaelic lyrics and their English translation.
Caisleán Óir (The Golden Castle)
Thart orainn, reált geal san oíche (Over us, a bright star in the night)
Tá'n fharraige chiúin agus suaimhneas sa ghaoth (The sea is quiet, and the wind is peaceful )
An fharraige chiúin ina codladh sa ghaoth (The quiet sea asleep in the wind )
Thíos sa ghleann an ghleann an cheo ( Below in the glen, the misty glen)
Riocht na gréine i gCaisleán Óir (The kingdom of the sun in the Golden Castle )
Tá'n fharraige chiúin agus suaimhneas sa ghaoth (The sea is quiet, and the wind is peaceful )
An fharraige chiúin ina codladh sa ghaoth (The quiet sea asleep in the wind)
Thart orainn, reált geal san oíche (Over us, a bright star in the night)
Tá'n fharraige chiúin agus suaimhneas sa ghaoth (The sea is quiet, and the wind is peaceful )
An fharraige chiúin ina codladh sa ghaoth (The quiet sea asleep in the wind )
Driocht a mheall na daoine roinn (Magic charms the people there )
Soilse geala i gCaisleán Óir (Bright lights in the Golden Castle )
Tá'n fharraige chiúin agus suaimhneas sa ghaoth (The sea is quiet, and the wind is peaceful )
An fharraige chiúin ina codladh sa ghaoth (The quiet sea asleep in the wind )
Thart orainn, reált geal san oíche (Over us, a bright star in the night)
Tá'n fharraige chiúin agus suaimhneas sa ghaoth (The sea is quiet, and the wind is peaceful )
An fharraige chiúin ina codladh sa ghaoth (The quiet sea asleep in the wind )
Lyrics © Clannad
The Image of Cernunnos on the Gundestrup Caldron
I first encountered the music of Clannad through the soundtrack of the BBC's "Robin of Sherwood" series. It is Robin of Locksley's encounter with Herne the Hunter that sets the whole story in motion, and propells it to its inevitable conclusion. It is there that I will leave you, with this singularly appropriate video from that series set to a song from the soundtrack called "The Hunter" (on Clannad's CD "Legend"). Deep within the greenwood, he steps out of the mist and proclaims, "I am Herne the Hunter, and you are a leaf driven by the wind."
The fact that the astronomical year (unlike its fictitious counterpart, the calendar year) cannot be expressed as an exact number of complete days proved to be a problem for ancient peoples. However, the difficulty of trying to fit the evident pattern of the seasons and the observed regularities of the sun, moon and planets into some sort of coherent pattern led to many discoveries and arguably helped found the disciplines of mathematics and science. If we had found ourselves in a completely regular universe, this development may have been much slower or perhaps would not have happened at all.
ReplyDeleteThere is unfortunately a less happy side to the story. Bewilderment at the complex problem led people to cast about for any solution that seemed to have a fighting chance of explaining the observations. In a pre-scientific age when the value of logic and the importance of evidence had not yet been appreciated, it was possible to propose all kinds of theories, some sensible and others ridiculous - such as, for example, the notion that there were powerful supernatural beings at work manipulating our world to their own ends.
While we may perhaps without too much harm treat these myths as entertaining and poetic, it troubles me that many people still take them seriously and even believe that they provide a wisdom that we have somehow lost. To do so, they conveniently forget that this old learning was abandoned precisely because better sources of knowledge were discovered.
I think that for many people it is easier to mumble about goddesses and sacred fires and New Age mumbo jumbo than to face up to the challenging task of learning about the realities of the world as presented by science. And yet, you know, the weird and mysterious world revealed by, say, quantum physics is far stranger and in its way far more poetic than anything dreamed up by theologians.
What we think we know keeps us in a rut; what we do not understand challenges us and leads us to further discoveries.
Just came over for a catch-up. Very interesting to read about New Grange. Whenn my Irish husband was working in Dublin, we lived out there for a year and visited New Grange. It had a wonderful atmosphere. My in laws live near Cork and I was surprised how many stone circles and historic sites there are in Ireland.
ReplyDeletethank you for this - i send e-cards at this time of year saying 'have a cool yule' and now i can send a link to your blog for people to read about it!
ReplyDeleteA brilliant post in every way! You've touched on things here that have drawn me for years. I find the ways and beliefs of the ancient peoples and the echoes they have left in the landscape fascinating.... and I know and love all those Clannad songs (and Robin of Sherwood!)
ReplyDelete:)