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In Germany, for example, if one came across the Wilde Jagd, if you weren’t immediately snatched up or killed, you had a few options.
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So let’s stick with the original idea, which is still full of notable trickery. Even glimpsing this darker version of the gathering was a portend of doom, war, and death. They supposed that before Christianity, the Wild Hunt was when these otherworldly beings would come and bring good tidings and fortune to the people of Earth, but after Christianity was introduced, the tales about it turned it into a darker, more devilish phenomenon. We have our good friends the Brothers Grimm, Jacob Ludwig Karl and Wilhelm Carl, German folklorists and philologists, to thank for much of what we understand about the old winter traditions, from their research and complications published in the 1810’s. Evergreens represented the sun god Baldor to the Scandinavians, and Saturn to the Romans. Greenery was even important to the Ancient Egyptians, who used green palms during this time when their sun god Ra was just starting to recover from his annual illness. Throughout Europe, evergreens were hung over doors and windows, as their greenery in a time of bleak cold was believed to ward off negative energies and illness. In Old No rse, one name for the gods was “Yule-Beings.” The most important business deals and marriages were brokered, and it was an auspicious time for oaths. Midwinter was very much a serious time, when the world was getting dangerous and the gods and the undead (Draugr) were about.
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She is a protective goddess, one that could bestow blessings on the family house that worshiped her, or give solemn guidance to those facing difficult decisions. Modern Wicca tends to attribute leadership of the hunt to the Greek goddess Hecate, patron of crossroads, ghosts, sorcery, entrances, and a whole lot else.
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Some of the more recognizable of those would be Odin, Wodun, Fionn mac Cumhaill, King Arthur, and the Devil.
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There are variations of the Wild Hunt all throughout Europe, with different deities and deceased local historical figures of note as the leaders of the party. It was a celebration during the Wild Hunt, a period lasting from mid-November to early January (a time of storms and unpredictable weather), when it was believed that the fae, supernatural beings, and even the dead, would come out in great numbers to parade in hunting parties through the woods or across the sky. Yuletide specifically comes from the Germanic people of Northern Europe. Many other cultures have also recognized the winter solstice and celebrate it in their own way, such as the Dōngzhì Festival in China. Written by Lori Evans December 2017, updated December 2019.Ī number of events are connected to the Yuletide season and the Jul/Yule Feast: the Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year, referred to as the “ Tekufat Tevet” in the Talmud, and in the Northern Hemisphere is on December 20 or 21), the Roman Saturnalia, and of course, Ch ristmas. Leave a Comment Not the Christmas Grandma remembers
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