WINTER SOLSTICE

[(deleted)]

A time of magic.
In many cultures, customs practiced at Christmas go back to pre-Christian times. Many involve divination--foretelling the future at a magic time: the season turning of solstice.

In Russia, there's a Christmas divination that involves candles. A girl would sit in a darkened room, with two lighted candles and two mirrors, pointed so that one reflects the candlelight into the other. The viewer would seek the seventh reflection, then look until her future would be seen.

The early Germans built a stone altar to Hertha, or Bertha, goddess of domesticity and the home, during winter solstice. With a fire of fir boughs stoked on the altar, Hertha was able to descend through the smoke and guide those who were wise in Saga lore to foretell the fortunes of those at the feast.

BLESSED BE!!!

In Spain, there's an old custom that is a holdover from Roman days. The urn of fate is a large bowl containing slips of paper on which are written all the names of those at a family get-togehter. The slips of paper are drawn out two at a time. Those whose names are so joined are to be devoted friends for the year. Apparently, there's often a little finagling to help matchmaking along, as well.

In Scandinavia, some families place all their shoes together, as this will cause them to live in harmony throughout the year.

And in many, many cultures, it's considered bad luck for a fire or a candle to go out on Christmas Day. So keep those candles burning!

[merinass (deleted)]

`One celebration is to have a need fire all night long ( I think it's Celtic/British) A need fire does two things. On the longest, darkest night of the year this fire is tended carefully. People decorate their homes with ever greens to remind them that even in the darkest of winter, there is life and fertility and the earth will soon wake back up from her long sleep.
This need fire burns all night to encourage the sun to again start climbing higher and higher and return his light to our mother. Too, celebrants would put some sort of object, or perhaps something written into the fire to aid them in manifesting their needs and desires for the coming year.