through to the New Year (Kalends) when the Latins rejoiced that the days were getting longer and the power of the sun stronger.
It was a time of real merrymaking, when bonfires were lit, homes were decorated with special greenery, people gave each other presents, and there were lots of fun and games. We’re not talking about blowing up balloons and playing computer games, but an early form of charades in which slaves dressed up as their masters, and lords pretended to be servants, and it is said that people danced through the streets wearing very little except some blackened faces and a smile!
These pre-Christian celebrations didn’t just take place in ancient Rome, for at the same time in Europe the winter solstice, when the sun is farthest from the equator and at the point when it appears to be returning, became known as the Festival of Yule. In Britain, France (Gaul), Germany, Denmark, Sweden and especially Norway, the Yule or ‘Juul’ celebrations became the highlight of the year.
Yule logs and candles were lit to the gods Odin and Thor, houses were decorated with evergreens, Yule food and drink were prepared, and mistletoe was ceremoniously cut. Although over two thousand years old, the Yule traditions are still continued today.
In Britain, the Druids celebrated the Festival of Nolagh and it is thought by some that Stonehenge was built as a temple to the sun, constructed in such a way that it cast shadows wherever the sun happened to be.
In fact, practically every country in the world, from China to India, from South America to the Middle East, held celebrations at this time of year.
In Greece it was the birthday of Hercules, Ceres and Bacchus (an excuse to indulge in the grape) while the Egyptians