So once again, I, Ace the Neo Pagan, am wondering what I should do to celebrate Yule, which the rest of you call "Christmas" for some reason. In the past, I've been content to do pagan things like putting a tree in my house and piling gifts under it, but this year I can't help but wonder what it was that the original Pagans were celebrating at this time of year. As I was perusing Wikipedia, it gave an interesting suggestion.
The Wild Hunt.
This was a phenomenon that stretched across all of Western Europe, recognized by the Germanics, Scandinavians and even Gallics. A huge army of hunters with their dogs and horses would be seen or more often heard thundering across the night sky. In some traditions, they are hunting down demons and evil-doers, while in others, they are rounding up the lost souls and ghosts of the dead. And unlucky humans can get pulled along for the ride. Some people are abducted in the dark if travel the roads during Yule, while others might be swept up in their dreams and joint the hunt as astral projections. In Scandinavia, Odin was thought to be the leader of the Wild Hunt, astride the 8 legged Sleipnir, but elsewhere other individuals have been spotted leading the hunt, including women.
It even occurred to me that we have retained a far flung version of this legend in our own American Yuletime celebrations, the flight of Santa Claus. I've long suspected that the jolly old elf was really another one of Odin's disguises, but now it seems concrete. Of course, his image has been ruined by capitalism, along with the rest of the holiday.
So anyways, if you were thinking to yourself, gee, I'd love to do add some more Pagany touches to my Yuletime celebration this year, but I don't know what to do, there you go, solved. Re-enact the Wild Hunt.
