Merry Christmas, but not necessarily this Christmas which, according to the old pagan tradition, is celebrated on December 25, i.e. on the day of the holiday Natalis Invicti appointed for that day by the Roman emperor Aurelian in honour of a deity called Sol Invictus or the Invincible Sun, and which have recently been completely commercialized, unfortunately also in Poland. I would also like to remind you that this holiday is celebrated on the winter solstice day, which is the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and the longest on the southern. It is the day when the sun dominates at the zenith on the tropic of Capricorn. It is currently taking place on December 21 or 22 (this year 22, last and next 21). In the ancient Rome, Saturnalia were celebrated at that time (a feast in honour of the agriculture god Saturn), in Persia - the birth of Mithra (deity of the Sun), among the Germanic peoples it was Jul, and in the Slavs - Święto Godowe (Koliada) holiday, celebrating the winter solstice and preceded by a Szczodry Wieczór (Generous Evening). The victory of light over darkness symbolizes the time when the day begins to arrive and the night decreases - thus bringing hope, optimism and joy to people. In Slavs, the Szczodre (Generous) Festivities mark the beginning of a new solar and ritual year and last even several days. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, this holiday is known as Krachun, in Russia Koljada-Kolęda (in different versions of the name) and in Poland - Kolęda. The period of Generous Festivities was also accompanied by the custom of carolling, which was originally associated with joyful New Year songs and Turoń, which is derived from the Slavic tradition, which symbolized the revival of the earth. On the Generous Evening, the children received small gifts and nuts, apples and special pies called szczodraki in shape of animals or dolls. In the Slavs, the winter solstice was also devoted to the souls of deceased ancestors. To allow the souls of the dead to warm up, bonfires were burned in cemeteries and ritual feasts were organized, which they later were moved to homes. An additional cover for the ghosts of ancestors at the Christmas Eve table also echoed this custom. Because at the beginning of our era this solstice fell on December 25, according to the Julian calendar, so after Christmas displaced the traditional beliefs of Slavs, the Roman church still celebrates Christmas on December 25, but the Orthodox church celebrates it as the Rożdiestwo Christowo (Рождество Христово) in January - this “church” year it will be January 7, as the Orthodox Christians have a different liturgical calendar than the Western Christians.
