Celebrating the longest night of the year...

So its the longest night of the year. Originally it was celebrated all over Europe as 'Yule'. There are so many links about this:

http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/yule.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule
http://www.candlegrove.com/yule.html
http://www.isholf.is/gardarj/yule1.htm

After learning about the original meaning of Yule (and how it was Christianized into Christmas) I was amazed at how ancient cultures all across the world found joy in every aspect of nature. The day after the longest night was the day of the birth of 'The Divine King' - symbolized by the Sun, and longer days. It made sense to mark this day of the year with festivities. Saturnalia of Roman origin was also dedicated to celebration of the harvest just after the winter solstice, the deity of Saturn representing the force/inspiration behind the hard working laborers, farmers etc.

Even the origin of Santa Clause has more in common with Grandfather Frost - of ancient Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ded_Moroz

The confusion of Santa Claus with St Nick is also a Christianizing myth - since Christian missionaries had to associate every pagan holiday with a Christian story. The festival never really went away - the traditions were never lost - but just re-interpreted, to accommodate a new zealous religion.

Once the origin is known it makes it easier for non-Christians to celebrate these holidays in the west. So my son believes in Santa - and he luvs the story about how he visits in the middle of winter to cheer everyone up. He knows that Christians celebrate Christmas to mark the birth of Jesus - but because they didn't know when he was really born. Dec 25th became the chosen day on the new Gregorian calender.

The only tradition I don't understand is the cutting of trees and their installation inside a house for celebration. Which nature loving people would practice this? When I looked this up online, I couldn't get a concrete explanation. I can understand decoration of trees around the house - but not the chopping of them. Many websites attribute this to commercialization of the tradition of decorating the home with tree branches and greenery in the winter. Evergreens were looked upon as holy - well, all ancient cultures look at nature as holy - every tree, animal, bird and even rivers and oceans are looked upon with reverence. Man's dependence on them is vital - and this reverence merely recognizes this interconnection of man with nature. Evergreen trees came to symbolize eternal life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree

Even the stocking is of Northern European origin. Children hung stockings up filled with oats, and Grandfather Frost would take the oats for his horse, and fill the empty stockings with treats for the kids.

So everything we see today as part of Christmas had relevance reaching far back in ancient times. One can rename festivals and even change the stories.....but when people closely trace their traditions and history - they will have to acknowledge this eternal connection to nature, and how by respecting that connection, their ancestors preserved the planet.
Today with those values lost in west - we are facing an age of global warming. Right-wing religious groups believe nature is for our use - and even deny global warming! It is unfortunate. Simple respect for our planet has to be revived in western/christian society. Zealous missionaries cut down trees and destroyed groves in Europe - just to spite the pagan beliefs of trees being sacred. I think that was the turning point on our planet - where a new religion's need to survive was more important than the vital balance of nature which held together life on earth. Colonization spread these values all around the globe. Old cultures were heavily put down - people had to be 'civilized' to probably understand that the earth was worthless - and everything was about heaven and hell. With the onset of the industrial age (again a contribution of the 'civilized world') encouraging more development at the expense of nature - we find ourselves in today's circumstances.
The need of the hour is for all of us to acknowledge the timeless divinity in nature and save our planet. This has been expressed beautifully by the Chief Seattle...

"Human kind has not woven the web of life.
It is but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect"

Chief Seattle