A very happy Christmas, or Yule, or Alban Arthur or Midwinter, or whatever you are celebrating at this time of year. And yes, I am still wishing you a Happy Christmas even though it’s the 27th of December and it’s all over bar the shouting and the hangovers, right? Actually, no. I know so many people who have their decorations up in mid November (and if that’s your thing, by the way- go for it!) but then can’t wait to get them down again on Boxing Day and ‘get back to normal’ and for me, at least, that misses the point of this time of year. The advertising machine grinds into action around the beginning of November, as soon as Samhain is over, urging us to make sure we are ‘ready for Christmas’ so that everything is ‘perfect’ for the ‘big day’. Have you got the perfect tree? The perfect presents? Are your decorations as good as they can be? Is your Christmas dinner timed to perfection? Because may the gods have mercy on you if everything isn’t perfect on the day.

All of that emotion and anticipation and energy (not to mention money) invested into a single day. And the Neo Capitalist infrastructure really wants you to get worked up about having everything ‘just so’ so that you will continue to be a good little consumer! But what is it actually all about? What is it that we are all so frantically running around celebrating at this time of year? Well that will, of course, very much depend upon who you are and what you believe. If you are a Christian, then of course it’s all about the birth of Jesus, God made flesh; with us. If you, like me, are a Pagan, then it is a celebration of Midwinter; the period of quiet reflection at the dark of the year when the sun seems to stand still in the sky for three days and the world holds its breath. If you have no particular spiritual path then perhaps it is about friends, family and conviviality. Most religions have some form of celebration at this time of year and lets be honest, in the long dark nights and the short cold (and presently foggy) days we need something to cheer us up! What all of us can agree on, I think, is that it’s all about hope. Hope for a better, kinder, fairer future. Hope that the warm long days will come back. Hope that in the deepest darkness there is a spark of light.

In my household, pretty much the whole of December is sacred time, including as it does, Krampus Night, the Feast of St Lucy and the Feast Day of Epona, so my decorations go up around the 5th of December if I can. And they come down on the 6th of January- Twelfth Night. Because for me it’s not all about a single perfect day that I have to ‘get right’. It’s about the enchanted, magical time of the year when hope and joy and kindness are given room at my hearth. And if it’s not perfect- well that’s fine because we are human. This year I never got Christmas decorations up at home at all- we did it in the office instead because that’s where we were most of the time. And we worked on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and that’s fine too, because we also made it to the OBOD Winter Gathering and a Medieval Babes concert and, of particular sentimental value for me, the last ever Carols and Capers Concert with Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band, which was a major part of my experience of Christmas while I was growing up. And it’s really not all about one day- We made a real difference to a grieving family by coming into work on the 25th, and Christmastide was still magical.

By celebrating the whole twelve days (and I don’t mean a constant party, or going on a huge great drinking spree- who has the energy to do that for twelve days?) I mean slowing down and taking notice of what is going on around you. Spending time with friends and family where you can, and generally being aware and open to the magic of the season- by doing this we also take a stand against the capitalist agenda that Christmas is about the money you spend. Enjoying Christmas in a relaxed, joyful, slow way is an act of rebellion and a commitment to joy and to kindness and that’ my friends, is what it’s all about.

I didn’t get any Christmas cards out this year- I just couldn’t keep enough plates in the air to be able to do it- so this year, I will be sending some cards out in January when all the festivities are over and the real long, dark, cold slog of winter sets in in earnest. I reckon a card could really cheer people up then so that’s what I’ll do. There’s no right way to do this- and I totally understand why some people want the whole thing out of the way as quickly as possible. For me, though, it’s the magic of the Midwinter period that matters- not having a single, guilt and anxiety ridden day.

Happy Christmas!!!