Common holly (Ilex aquifolium) from Traité des Arbres et Arbustes que l’on cultive en France en pleine terre (1801–1819) by Pierre-Joseph Redoutè.

The holly and the ivy

when they are both full grown,

of all the trees that are in the wood

the holly bears the crown.

The first verse from the Holly and the Ivy Christmas Carol. The song is said to be linked to fertility magic.

In the northern hemisphere the winter solstice, also known as Alban Arthan in Druid circles, or Yule to the Neopagans, occurs between 20 and 22 December. This year, the festival falls on 21 December 2024. It is the longest night and shortest day of the year in terms of sunlight, which is due to the Earth’s pole being tilted farthest from the Sun. The word Solstice is taken from the Latin, sol - sun, and sistere - to stop or stand still and translates to Sun standing still. Our ancestors feared that the Sun would never come back, and rituals were carried out to encourage its return. Sun worship at solstices is not a uniquely European pagan tradition, it is seen in cultures across the world from the Iranian festival Shab-e Yalda, which means ‘Night of Rebirth’ to the Native American Indian Hopi tribe of Arizona whose winter solstice ceremony is called Soyal or Soyaluna. The festival predates organised religion.

In European neopagan traditions, the Holly King is a personification of winter and rules over the dark period of the year. At the winter solstice, the Holly King’s power starts to wane, when the light or sun is reborn and the Oak King, a personification of summer, is on the way. The wren bird is said to be the familiar of the Holly King, which is defeated by a little bird known as a robin the familiar of the Oak King. In Ireland and other Celtic countries, the poor little wren bird was killed at this time of year as a symbolic representation of the Holly King’s defeat to the Oak King. The bird was then put on a stick and paraded around from house to house :(

Legend has it that the robin acquired its red breast when it was singed by the gift of fire whilst ‘bringing a flaming branch from the sun’ that it gave to humanity. In Welsh, it is called Bronrhuddyn which means red breast. Leaving an offering outside for the robins at the winter solstice is said to bring good fortune for the coming year. This explains my mum and nan’s excitement about seeing robins in the garden at this time of year.

As his name suggests, the Holly King is connected to the Holly tree, which was one of the sacred trees to the Druids. Holly is said to be protective and has masculine energy. It can be used to protect against witchcraft, bringing hope, renewal and fertility. As an evergreen plant, Holly was used to decorate the home at this time of year as it was thought to be symbolic of abundance and life to come in the new year, as it continued to provide life through the cold, dark winter months. Feasting, particularly the roasting of a boar with an apple in its mouth was customary in traditional Medieval Yuletide celebrations. Most of society today sees the figure of Father Christmas as associated with this time of year.

However, I can’t help but see parallels between the Holly King and the pagan rituals associated with the Winter Solstice. The Holly King personification is usually a man wearing a holly crown and decorated with other evergreen plants.

These pagan rites continued and transformed into Christmas traditions in stories such as A Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles Dickens. In the third Stave of the story, Scrooge is visited by the second of three spirits, the ghost of Christmas present. When Scrooge finds the courage to investigate the shimmering light on the other side of his bed curtain, he opens his bed chamber door and enters the adjoining room with the light source. He sees a large figure, a ‘jolly giant’ who wears around his head a crown of holly and is dressed in a long mantel with white fur trim. This ‘Jolly Giant’ appears to have transformed his chambers into a ‘perfect grove’ with the walls and ceilings decorated with evergreens of holly, mistletoe and ivy that ‘reflect back the light, as if so many mirrors had been scattered there’, (again light source reference), a great fire is roaring in the fireplace,(fire ritual), all kinds of food lies scattered about the room, suckling pigs, goose, duck, plum pudding, chestnuts, minced pies, the list goes on.

John Leech’s illustration of the Ghost of Christmas present

Alban Arthan means ‘the light of Arthur’ and comes from the legend of King Arthur who was also known as the Sun King. Fire is one of the elements used in divination and it is said that images seen in a bonfire or at the fireplace can be used to foretell the future. An old Somerset belief is that the flames can tell us things, they whisper messages about the future. As the iconic witch Doreen Valiente tells, an old Somerset belief is that ‘‘leaping flames talk and if you listen at the right time, they will tell your future’.

Many of the rituals carried out around the solstice are about pausing and reflecting on how the year has been. It is a time to turn our attention inward and honour the natural cycle of our part of the world and the darkness that comes with it. It is important to give thanks for the light in our lives, the things that bring us joy and to reflect, if you have the strength to do so, on the darkness we’ve seen in the world this year and the many atrocities committed against innocent people.

Just before dusk on the solstice, I will be lighting candles at my altar not only to honour the sun and give thanks for the light in my life but also for those who have lost their lives in genocidal wars, domestic violence and other horrors. I will be sending high-vibrational thoughts of love to the people trying to survive in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, Lebanon and Ukraine. If you celebrate the solstice, I encourage you to offer your thoughts and prayers and to light candles for our fellow brothers and sisters.

Of course, much of these pagan rites were glossed over by the Church, which saw practices such as the burning of yule logs as heathen. The story of Christ does coincide with the winter solstice, give and take a few days which is no accident. Our winter solstice pagan rites have influenced much of the Christian traditions of Christmas that are celebrated by many people around the world. The Holly King has become Father Christmas or Santa, pagan feasts have become Christmas dinner. Old Christmas cards from the turn of the 19th century, had images of Santa looking very similar to the personification of the Holly King, wearing a crown of holly.

Whatever you do this winter solstice, I wish you warmth and beautiful light that fills your life. Have a magical solstice!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1843)

https://archive.org/details/christmascarolin20dick/page/78/mode/2up

Winter Solstice Celebration, Mary Kate Hagan, The Furrow, Vol. 61, No. 3 (March 2010), pp. 185-188 (4 pages)

https://www.jstor.org/stable/27809015

The Winter Solstice Ceremony at Walpi, J. Walter Fewkes, American Anthropologist, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Mar., 1898), pp. 65-87 (24 pages)

https://www.jstor.org/stable/658389

Cassandra Eason, A Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magick Spells, (2001)

Doreen Valiente, Natural Magic, (2007)

Anna Franklin, The Sacred Circle Tarot, A Celtic Pagan Journey