THE SUNTURN

In ancient northern Europe, no one knew why the seasons changed and the days got progressively shorter and colder as the Sun sank ever lower in the sky, wandering south along the horizon at sunrise and sunset following the Summer sunturn (solstice), until finally – hopefully! – it would stop and turn, before beginning its journey back toward the north again. When it did, people knew that the days would soon start getting longer, and eventually warmer, again and that their supplies of food and oil, etc. would last until the coming Spring, Summer and harvest enabled them to replenish their stocks. 

If there were no Sunturn the days would continue getting shorter and colder. When their supplies of food ran out they would starve, if they hadn’t already frozen to death from the cold - or knocked themselves out by bumping into a tree in the perpetual darkness!

That is why our ancestors celebrated the Sunturn (or “solstice” in Latinised English). They did not understand why the Sun turned and were helpless to do anything about it if it didn’t. They were fearfully aware of their absolute dependency on nature, or on the gods’ good will, so they prayed (and sacrificed) to them, asking them to halt the Sun's southward journey, to turn it round and send it heading back north again. And when the Sun did turn, they let out a huge sigh of relief, gave thanks and celebrated.

When Christianity came to northern Europe the bishops realised that there was no way to stop people celebrating the Sunturn – it was far too important a festival; so they adapted it to their own purpose instead, claiming that it was Jesus’ birthday. It wasn’t, of course, as the bishops well knew; Jesus was a Piscean, born far closer to the Spring equinox than to the Winter sunturn. Christianity had arisen in a part of the world where the seasons are far less pronounce, so that the Sunturn didn’t the have same importance for people there as for those in the north.

So long as we were all Christians of one denomination or another it was perhaps understandable and acceptable for us to celebrate our “Saviour’s” birthday in place of the Sunturn - but not any longer. Let the Christians among us celebrate Jesus’ birthday at the proper time, in March or April, so that we can return to our northern roots and celebrate the Sunturn again. Not in fear of a fickle god, but in awe and wonder at nature’s works and in deep appreciation for all we have learned about them.