When I was younger I travelled to many lands, and heard many a good tale but was in a faraway land one winters evening that I met an old magician. The wind was howling and the snow fell so hard that it was difficult to see. I was lost, cold and very afraid when I chanced upon his cottage. He welcomed me in and as we sat beside the fire we got to talking…and as it was the eve of the winter solstice he told me the tale of the real ‘Father Christmas’ – The Green Man.
Long ago when the first trees began to shed their leaves, and the days grew colder and darker, the young trees grew afraid that the sun was gone forever, so the nature spirits gathered the fallen leaves, and petitioned the high Gods, who breathed life into the fallen leaves and the Green Man was born.
He was the spirit of the forest whose first gift was the evergreen. This was a symbol of eternal life and a sign that one day the warmth would return to the land.
Over time the trees grew and became thick dense woodlands that were home to a variety of birds and animals, and eventually mankind was born, and the Green Man welcomed the Earths new inhabitants, changing his role to spread a feeling of hope and good cheer during the dark, cold months when food is scarce and times are difficult.
People of all cultures knew him, and he went by many names, and in many cultures came to represent the rebirth of the sun. For this reason he was occasionally considered to be a feminine spirit or goddess.
Whether he is known as The old man of the wood, Dionysis, Baccus, Pan, Woden, Odin, Jack of the Green, The Green Man or even Beiwe; the goddess who returned fertility to the arctic lands and rode through the sky in a chariot made from reindeer bones, his role as the spirit of winter remains ever constant.
People were grateful for the gifts of evergreens and holly to feed their livestock and initially honoured the Green Man of the woods with a sacrifice followed by feasts and celebrations. Later they came to honour his gifts by emulating his generosity and they began to give gifts to each other.
Now so strong was the spirit of the winter around the solstice that newer faiths adopted this time of year…give or take a bit of poetic licence on their part, and by Tudor times the Green Man had become known as ‘Old father Christmas’. An old man dressed in a fur trimmed green coat, hardly unfamiliar attire for a man of the woods.
Whether the old magician spoke the truth or not I cannot say, that is up to you to decide.
But certainly as British Pagans we have come to know him as the Green Man whose image these days adorns Pagan homes and churchyards alike, while the Coca Cola company’s ‘Father Christmas’ for many has become the new spirit of winter …
Yet as Pagans we know that neither new religions nor advertising campaigns can silence the heartbeat of the Green Man…The true spirit of Yuletide!
Diane Narraway
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