What traditions, celebrations etc do Pagans carry out during Christmas time?

Question

Also, by what name do Pagans call this time of year?

Answer 1

We call this time winter-same as you lol.

What festivals are celebrated during the festive period depends on what Pagan religion you mean-Pagan is a blanket term that covers hundreds if not thousands of religions.

Personally I celebrate Yule which falls on the winter solstice (22nd of December this year).It is a festival common to many European Pagan religions-Celtic,Germanic and Norse and Hellenic etc.

We decorate trees,give gifts,burn Yule logs and have a celebration feast.As you will notice a lot of these traditions were adopted by Christians.

Answer 2

Yule, Jól, Soltice are all the winter celebrations by different traditions or pagan paths.
Most of the Christmas traditions are Norse or Celt in origin. The Mistletoe is the story of Loki and Baldr. The wreath, the holly, the yule log, the wassailing, the ringing of the bells, leaving cookies out for santa (leaving out wheat for Odin during the Wild Hunt), the Christmas ham and the Christmas tree. And for the love of the Ancestors dont tell me how this all stuff found in the Bible. I actually had a guy tell me the Christmas tree was in the Bible. Show me an evergreen in the freaking middle east and we'll talk.
Please know, that while the Christians borrowed the date and many of the traditions, the MEANING of "Christmas" is very Christian and belong only to them. The MEANING of Yule is obvioulsy all ours.

edit:I left out what we do! LOL We'll do Mothers Night with kindred, I'm haveing a Yule party with some people from the UU Church that I take the kids too and then the next day I'll head to Memphis to my family. My sister, her husband I are all Asatru so I'm sure we'll do something and then on Christmas day we celebrate with our Christian family members.
I go crazy on Yule. Since I was a kid it's my favorite time of the year. I lucked out on my religion feeling the same way. LOL This is our most important holiday

Answer 3

Well let's see.....
-decorating a tree - a pagan tradition prior to christianity
-exchanging gifts - a pagan tradition prior to christinaity
-yule logs and singing of ancient legends (carols) - a pagan tradition
-mistletoe - kissing under it was a sign of friendship - a pagan tradition


And there are many more. The Winter Solstice was a pagan holiday long long before christianity copied the many pagan traditions in an attempt to make the conversion of pagans into christians easier.

Answer 4

Yule, we celebrate the winter solstice, usually similar to what the earlier Christians since they used it as the universal birth date for Christ. We decorate with greens, have a feast, and celebrate. We have a yule log, mistletoe and holly, music and presents... I celebrate having my family together and pray for a great year to come with prosperity and the renewal of the earth! Everyone probably has their own personal rituals and some standard ones that will fit many beliefs. This is what I do.... Hope you like it!

Answer 5

they celebrate the winter solstice, when the day begins to get longer. some of the traditions used at christmas comes from this. the yule log (yule is one pagan name for this time of year), the christmas tree is another carry over

Answer 6

You'd never be able to tell them apart from Christmas ones!

On the day after Thanksgiving, my neighborhood goes bonkers with lights, so every evening from then til the New Year we take the kids for a walk around to see it all.

We put up and decorate a tree; make a gingerbread house; hang stockings; bake cookies; mull wine; have a fire. On Christmas eve we visit all the family in town to exchange gifts. Christmas morning the kids get treats in their stockings. I make sweet rolls and then a huge dinner for the family.

It's all about celebrating light in the darkness, hope, giving, caring, family, community.

Answer 7

Yule, or Winter Solstice. I tend to use "Winter Solstice" myself.

I decorate the house with lights, put lights and decorations on an evergreen tree, put lots of candles around the house along with holly and mistletoe, as well as reindeer/stags. I buy gifts for my husband (and try to corner him under the mistletoe for a kiss ::grin:: ).

I also have a solitary ritual in my yard under my oak trees on the night of the Winter Solstice, listening to the stillness of the longest night of the year, and then celebrating the Rebirth of the Sun.

Answer 8

The winter solstice and Yule

Pagans celebrate the rebirth of the sun god, born of a virgin birth, in a cave, surrounded by adoring animals and wise men on Dec. 25, who grew to perform miracles and his followers were washed in the blood of his symbolic animal.

He was Mithra

# # #

I'll let the pagans explain their rituals. For heathens, we celebrate the solstice for 12 nights with a lit tree, candles, decorations, gift giving (all originally pagan/heathen). We honor the deities, the earth, our ancestors and our living family.

Answer 9

That would vary... obviously the Celts and the Romans (or whoever) didn't get together way back when and decide on one name.

The most common names are Yule and winter solstice. Most of the traditions are very similar to those of Christmas (because that's where Christmas got its traditions).

Answer 10

This pagan celebrates Yule.

And then we celebrate Christmas with my folks.