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Pagan Christmas :The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide
Pagan Christmas :The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide
paperback
Published:
24 October, 2006
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Description
Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling show how the ancient meaning of the botanical elements of Christmas provides a unique view of the religion that existed in Europe before the introduction of Christianity. The fir tree was originally revered as the sacred World Tree in northern Europe. When the church was unable to drive the tree cult out of people's consciousness, it incorporated the fir tree by dedicating it to the Christ child. Father Christmas in his red-and-white suit, who flies through the sky in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, has his mythological roots in the shamanic reindeer-herding tribes of arctic Europe and Siberia. These northern shamans used the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom, which is red and white, to make their soul flights to the other world. Apples, which figure heavily in Christmas baking, are symbols of the sun god Apollo, so they find a natural place at winter solstice celebrations of the return of the sun. In fact, the authors contend that the emphasis of Christmas on green plants and the promise of the return of life in the dead of winter is just an adaptation of the pagan winter solstice celebration.
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9781594770920 |
| ISBN10 | 1594770921 |
| Number Of Pages | 224 |
| Item Weight | 646 g |
| Product Dimensions | 203 x 254 x 13 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Inner Traditions Bear and Company |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
"The authors and the translators richly deserve congratulations on what is without doubt one of the finest books about Pagan Christmas written in recent times." * Lee Prosser, Ghostvillage.com, Dec 2006 *
"The illustrations and photographs are excellent. The text is concise, and accurate. Pagan Christmas is a fine reading experience!" * Lee Prosser, Ghostvillage.com, Dec 18, 2006 *
Author's Bio
Christian Rätsch, Ph.D. (1957 – 2022), was a world-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist who specialized in the shamanic uses of plants. He is the author of The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants and Marijuana Medicine, and coauthor of Plants of the Gods, Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas, and Witchcraft Medicine. He lived in Hamburg, Germany, and lectured around the world. Claudia Müller-Ebeling, Ph.D., is an art historian and anthropologist and coauthor, with Christian Rätsch, of Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas and Witchcraft Medicine. She lives in Hamburg, Germany.