Why Was Christmas (Yule) Banned in Scotland and How Did Ancient Celts Celebrate the Winter Solstice?
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2022-12-24

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Chapters:
0:00 Intro and Ban on Xmas 
0:29 The Ancient Celts 
1:04 Yule and the Vikings 
3:15 Why was Xmas Banned in Scotland?

Why Was Christmas (Yule) Banned in Scotland and How Did Ancient Celts Celebrate the Winter Solstice?

Why was Christmas banned in Scotland and how did ancient Celts celebrate the Winter Solstice? The reason why Christmas was banned in Scotland is related to the Reformation, the great transformative event in Christianity where the power of the Catholic Church and the pope was challenged. But before we continue, we need a little context on previous celebrations, including the Viking blood festival of Yule. 

Celebrations took place in Scotland around the Winter Solstice in late December for millennia. The ancient pagan Celts would celebrate around this time of the year, as the winter solstice, or shortest day of the year, was usually around the 21st or 22nd of December. Some say that the tradition of the Yule log came from the Celtic priesthood of the Druids. As they believed that the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter, a log was set alight to bring light into the darkness, conquer evil spirits, and bring luck for the year to come. 

When the Vikings raided, they left many marks. One legacy of the Vikings that lasted for centuries was the Germanic festival to mark the Winter Solstice, called Jól, which was one of the names for their god Odin. This term later evolved into Yule, a festival which was celebrated with a feast and originally would have involved sacrificing animals and even sacrificing mead in the old Norse tradition. 

The Welsh Viking made a good video which I will link at the top and in the description below on How the Vikings Celebrated Yule. In this video, he notes that Haakon the Good, a 10th century King of Norway, a Christian himself, who had to pretend to be pagan in large part however, moved the date of Yule from December 21st to December 25th, according one ancient source. Haakon the Good is thought to have done this to be more in line with the Christian tradition, and was in part an attempt to make a societal move from paganism to Christianity more seamless down the line.

Yule was widely celebrated in Scotland for centuries, taking various forms and infusing different cultures and beliefs. Given this mix, Christmas was often referred to as Yule in Scottish sources from hundreds of years ago, and is sometimes still used as a synonym for Christmas. Christmas as we know it today in large part a mix of Winter Solstice celebrations, Norse and Germanic Pagan festivals, Christian celebrations, various other influences, including the Roman pagan festival of Saturnalia dedicated to their god Saturn, and of course, modern marketing, which have all been rolled into one epic celebration. 

The reason why Christmas was banned in Scotland is related to the Reformation, the great transformative event in Christinaity where the power of the Catholic Church and the pope was challenged. Prior to the reformation, Christmas was a religious feasting day in Scotland. 

Sources:

The National - Why Christmas was banned in Scotland for four centuries - and how that changed https://www.thenational.scot/news/19803443.christmas-banned-scotland-four-centuries---changed/ 

History of Christmas in Scotland, National Trust for Scotland - https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/scottish-christmas-traditions

The Welsh Viking - How Did the Vikings Celebrate YULE? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGPKm-J0cek 

The Scotsman - Scotland's lost Christmas traditions and customs - https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/scotlands-lost-christmas-traditions-and-customs-596853 

Yule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule#cite_ref-SIMEK379_11-0 

National Records of Scotland - Christmas: Banned in Scotland! https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2018/12/10/christmas-banned-in-scotland/ 

Invicta Saturnalia - Rome's Awesome Pagan Christmas DOCUMENTARY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1K9enEfcC4 

#christmas #yule #history