Saturday, December 21, 2013

Winter Solstice Song Of The Day: "The Holly And The Ivy" - Annie Lennox



It's December and as a devotee to all things Holiday I thought I'd roll out some of my favorite Christmas/Winter music throughout the month. Check back every day for tracks old, new, classic and unique. Happy Holidays!

I'm a huge fan of Christmas. As such, I've read a lot about the origins of the holiday. Most people are aware that Christmas is not the actual birth date of Jesus and the date was chosen to coincide with other "pagan" holidays.

What you may or may not know is how of the symbolism of Christmas comes from earth based religions and their celebrations of winter. Evergreen trees, mistletoe, the burning of candles and yule logs - these things have been borrowed and stolen from religions much more ancient than my own. It's equal parts beautiful and sad that these things have been absorbed into the modern celebration of Christmas.

Druids hold holly to be sacred and special to the winter solstice and ancient Romans believed that it was the plant of Saturn and part of the celebration of Saturnalia - both holidays that early Christians attempted to replace with Christmas. Nowhere is this blend more obvious in one's Christmas caroling than in the English carol "The Holly And The Ivy."

No comments: