From time out of mind, long before recorded history, people facing the long cold nights of deepest winter have sheltered together around the warmth and light of fires. They gathered for safety from the elements, companionship, and reassurance.
Over time, the wisest learned to predict the seasonal patterns of day length, and many began to schedule these gatherings on the shortest day of the year - the winter solstice.
We don't know what stories were first shared in these gatherings – the words having been lost to time, translation, and the vagueries of oral tradition. But the shared warmth, light, food and drink—and the promise of longer, warmer days to come—must have lifted spirits, and given hope. With time, the stories became an important part of these gatherings – built up and embellished year upon year.
The Greeks were likely not the first to fit mythology to this occasion, but their stories reflect hopeful aspirations shared by all. They explain the leafless trees, and the bare soil with the story of Hades having stolen away with Persephone, to be his queen in the underworld. Her mother was Demeter—goddess of the harvest—who, in her heartbreak and grief, turned away from her duties to the world, turning it dark and cold. But with Zeus's intervention, an agreement was negotiated; Hades may keep Persephone for part of the year, but each spring must return her to her Mother, who annually rejoices, returning warmth and fertility to the Earth.
Whether the people hearing these stories took them literally, or as hopeful metaphors, we don't know. But, as they anticipated the renewal of life in the coming spring, these stories must have nourished their hope.
The Romans used the occasion—as they did so many—for a holiday of feasting, drinking, and the exchanging of gifts, in honor of their god Saturn.
Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, Celebrations of Light, and Merry Christmas!
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