Home » Mind & Soul » Wicca/Witchcraft » Surviving the Winter Holidays

Surviving the Winter Holidays

© Karen Mitchell

Hard to believe it's almost Thanksgiving, isn't it? In the next 5 weeks, we'll all run a marathon of winter holidays, not pausing to take a breath until 2005. The holidays have only become more stressful for me as the years go by... now I have to divide my time between two families, and I have a much more diverse circle of friends than ever before. It hasn't been easy figuring out ways to make everyone happy over the holiday season. This article will outline some of my thoughts and ideas for helping you navigate the holiday season.

First off, there's the sticky question of how you integrate new Pagan traditions into your existing holiday. If you aren't already out of the broom closet with your family and friends, this is probably not the best time to come out, especially if it means giving up a long-standing family tradition in favor of a newer Pagan one. Yes, it may be an inconvenience to have to skip, or move, your Yule celebration so you can attend a cousin's Christmas pageant, but sometimes you have to go along with the flow.

If your family is aware of your Paganism, you may want to throw your own Yule-themed party, or invite loved ones to a Yule ritual. Or perhaps you can incorporate the "Pagan" traditions into your existing celebrations, bringing wassail to a party, or a decorated Yule log. Much of our secular Christmas traditions have roots in more ancient Pagan customs anyway: greenery, Yule logs, decorated trees, etc. If your family celebrates Christmas, it may not be much of a shift. Families celebrating other religious holidays, such as Hanukah or Kwanzaa may have a bit more blending to do. As my own family is Christian, I can't really advise you on how to blend those particular holidays.

Be careful to not fall into the "Christians stole Christmas from the Pagans" trap at this time of the year. Yes, many of the secular Christmas traditions have roots in older Pagan practices, as I mentioned above. And yes, there is evidence that the celebration of Jesus' birth was moved to December 25th to bring it closer to other Pagan winter holidays that celebrate the birth of a God or of the New Year. But... to claim that one religion directly stole something from another is ludicrous. There has been a lot of borrowing over the centuries, back and forth. It's also important to note that most modern Pagan traditions probably bear little resemblance to more ancient paths, unless they are Reconstructionist paths. (Remember this point. I'll be bringing it up again in March or April, to illustrate the fallacy of the "Christians stole Easter from the Pagans" idea.)

The copyright of the article Surviving the Winter Holidays in Wicca/Witchcraft is owned by . Permission to republish Surviving the Winter Holidays in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.