Holiday Reflections: the twelve days of Christmas.

Transcription

1 Holiday Reflections: the twelve days of Christmas. A SECULAR APPLICATION DR LESLEE BROWN

2 Introduction Welcome to our course and journey into the symbolic and personal meaning of the twelve days of Christmas. My name is Dr Leslee Brown and I will be your guide. I am a psychotherapist and international educator and lecturer. I spent many years as a university professor both in The United States and Europe. teaching psychology courses to doctoral students. Through this experience I realized that we all need an international and universal experience, thus I created a company called Mind Body Passport Inc. Please watch the podcast of this introduction here. How the course works: logistics The course will run for twelve consecutive days from December 25 through January You will receive your first module via on December 25 and then on each consecutive day for The twelve days of Christmas. Your will contain a link for your podcasts and a transcript of the podcast; as well as a daily application exercise to support your growth and to find your personal meaning in the symbols of the twelve days of Christmas. Private forum We have also created a private forum on Facebook for you to post your comments, questions, reflections and experiences of working with the symbols and PG. 2

3 the meaning it has for you. We will send a link to you to join the private page and we are encouraging all of you to participate in the private online group, as this adds another dimension to your personal growth and creates a feeling of community with other like-minded people around the world. How will it work? We all know and have heard the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. countless times. At first glance the song seems whimsical and silly. Yet it is the culmination of thousands and hundreds of years of layered symbolic meaning with ancient pagan customs as well as more modern cultural significance. It is thought to be about someone receiving many presents from his or her true love. As we will discover, there are many hidden and symbolic meanings in this song, with some universal and collective symbols which will guide us to discover our own personal meanings. There are many symbols associated with the holidays, which we will also explore. We suggest that you use a dedicated journal for this journey, as this will enable you to capture (and keep) your reflections, dreams, thoughts and experiences. Our journey begins on Christmas day and ends on the twelfth night, the evening of January 5; or Epiphany. Since the Middle Ages the twelve days of Christmas have been commemorated throughout Europe and have always been a time of great celebration. We will deliver the course material to your inbox for twelve consecutive days, starting on Christmas day and ending on Jan. 5. The material will consist of a short PG. 3

4 podcast and an application, to support you to become more immersed in your own reflections and inner meanings of each of the symbols; including both the ancient Yule and modern day symbols in the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. We will provide you with a link to access the podcast, a transcript of the material presented, an application for you to work with and a forum page to post your comments, thoughts, transference and processes of working with the symbols in relation to your own life. Christmas and the holiday season can be a difficult, as well as joyous time. Let s journey into the symbolism of the twelve days of Christmas and have some fun in addition to exploring the meanings and symbols of our own symbolic life! What is meant by symbolic meaning? Sometimes things are not as they seem or appear to be. In looking at the symbolic nature of things and your own symbolic life, it is important to open oneself up to a symbol and let it marinate and soak for a few days, weeks or even months. Sometimes true symbolic meanings are hidden for various unconscious reasons, but also for very real reasons. By taking symbols at face value and not digging in a little deeper, as well as working towards developing a relationship with a symbol, you may miss the beauty and warmth or darkness and chill; of what lies just below the surface. Carl G Jung believed that we all carry parts of unconscious material called the collective unconscious; and we will tap into this through the symbols represented in the twelve days of Christmas and the holiday season. This will help us access PG. 4

5 the unconscious and hidden parts of ourselves. Many of these symbols and archetypes bridge time as well as cultures and religions, as their stories and meanings are universal, or as Carl Jung says, collective. This is not a religious course and is open to all religions, belief systems and cultures. Christmas symbolism evokes a multitude of varied imagery for many people and is very personal and subjective in nature. We all come from different backgrounds; cultures, religions and belief systems and the symbols carry different meanings for all of us. Yet at the root, symbols are universal, thus uniting all of us in the collective and universal nature of life itself. Every year it seems as if Christmas comes earlier and earlier and this time of year has a deep impact on society as a whole; both for Christians, non-christians and different cultures worldwide. For some it is a joyous time, for others it invokes sadness, stress and a feeling of aloneness; while there are still more who relish the festivities, parties and family gatherings. Where do you lie on the spectrum? What symbolism do you find in your personal sphere? Why does the holiday season hold so much power? The origins of the song The song The twelve days of Christmas is said to have originated much later in the Pagan times in history. There are some conflicting reports, but the song may have been confused with or transformed from a song called A New Dial also known as In Those Twelve Days, which dates back to around In this song each of the twelve days have a religious meaning. It is also said that the song may have been PG. 5

6 a response to teaching religious doctrines at a time when religious beliefs had to be hidden, as they were outlawed. The twelve gifts from the song may have been code for the teachings of the religion, or they may have been a way to teach the children in a song, so they remembered the tenets of their religion. In Medieval times the church frowned on these early pagan practices and in the 16 th century the Reformers further suppressed religious and pagan practices. So it has been said that The twelve days of Christmas are about practicing in secret. The song was written around the 16 th century and it is said to be English in origin, but there are some who believe it could be French in origin. The first publication of the song dates back to around 1780, but it is believed to be much older. It is a cumulative song where each verse builds on another. The history of Christmas Very little has been written on Christmas from a psychological point of view. Let us begin to explore the historical and symbolic nature of Christmas and its personal meaning for each of us. Jung claimed that the history of the human race is intrinsically at hand in every individual psyche. His theory has an evolutionary tone. Jung (2002, 42) writes, [...] the contents of the collective unconscious have never been in consciousness, and therefore have never been individually acquired, but owe their existence exclusively to heredity. He continues, In addition to our immediate consciousness [...], there exists a second psychic system of a collective, universal, and impersonal nature which is identical in all PG. 6

7 individuals Christmas through the lens of a personal and collective depth perspective in relating the symbols associated with the holidays to our own personal spheres and lives. (Jung 2002, 43). This course will address the historical development of the twelve days of Christmas and the holiday season and explore some of its sacred and secular symbols and customs. Our main focus will be working with the power of the twelve days of Christmas through the lens of a personal and collective depth perspective in relating the symbols associated with the holidays to our own personal spheres and lives. Let us begin with some of the history on the origins of the twelve days of Christmas. It is a song that we all know - it has been sung by various artist and many renditions have been released throughout history. Most of us know, at least, the first verse, On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me Traditionally the twelve days have been celebrated as a feast, each dedicated to a specific saint. However, The twelve days of Christmas originated way before Pagan holidays and rituals were celebrated in medieval times. The research is complicated and looks to Pagan tradition and holidays, the Catholic Church, numerology, cosmology and collective unconscious themes of all our ancestors. As Carl Jung states, the collective is in all of us and thus universal. The twelve days relates to the winter solstice, calendars, church traditions and the way different cultures have observed this period in the four seasons and the calendar. We know that the winter solstice occurs on December 21. This marks the PG. 7

8 beginning of winter and the shortest day of the year. The solstices had twelve-day commemorations and festivities and have held significance in ancient cultures throughout time and around the world. Dating as far back as 5200 years ago or 3200BC. There is evidence of a Stone Age (Neolithic) monument in the Boyne Valley, County Meath, in Ireland's Ancient East called Newgrange. Ancient farmers built a community here and it is now a UNESCO world heritage site. Archaeologists classify this site as a passage tomb, but have also referred to it as an ancient temple. It is said to have been a place of great importance on an astrological, spiritual, ceremonial and religious level. This is also a place where the highest ranking of important people were buried. Archaeologists believe that this monument and its Neolithic stones were set in astrological positions aligned with the winter solstice. Newgrange is famous for its association with the winter solstice, a time of special significance for the ancient people who built it. The winter solstice is a very significant time for ancient cultures and the farming of food, as it marks a new beginning, the death of the old, the days growing longer and the birth of new life. It has symbolic significance when looking at the death of the sun (when the day is the shortest of the year) and the new year is born. Historically this relates to the twelve days of Christmas when this concept and belief was celebrated. Most Pagan festivals were celebrated in connection to the cycles of nature, through rituals or ceremonies of various kinds. Even pre-dating Yule is Hipparchus (190BC 120BC) a Greek Astronomer and Mathematician. Through his writings we learn that the solstice was a known event not just in his time, but before that as well. This tradition of celebrating the winter PG. 8

9 solstice is as ancient as mankind and has been with us since the beginning of time. The symbols associated have strong collective representations. Val in Saturnalia in Rome was a feast where the Romans dedicated a temple to the god Saturn who was the god of agriculture and harvest. Here we also find historical traces of this winter festival. In early times, Saturnus represented our human limitations and restrictions, but was also our inner mentor and teacher. His lessons are manifested only over time, after which we go through inner rebirth and enjoy spiritual growth. Some suggest this is the connection between the ideas of the rebirth of the God during the winter festival. During this festival, all commerce stopped and executions and military operations were postponed. This was a time of goodwill, large festive meals shared with others and the exchange of gifts. During this time of the festival, freedom was given to slaves, and they were permitted to dine at the table and were served by their masters. Currently, the twelve days of Christmas begins on Christmas day and ends on January 6 (an adjustment by the church). We can also trace the twelve days of Christmas to the Scandinavian celebration of Yule. This celebration pre-dates Christmas (or what is thought to be the birth of Christ) by a 1000 years or so. Most of our Christmas traditions find their roots in ancient Yule rituals. PG. 9

10 The Yule twelve-day holiday began on Mother Night and ended twelve days later, on Yule night, and this is also the origin of the symbolism and ritual of the twelve days of Christmas. The celebration revolved around celebrating the crops, the return of the sun, new life or re-birth and thankfulness for the family and livestock. Many customs created around Yule are identified with Christmas today, such as our modern-day decorations like the tree, candles and holly stem these are from powerful symbols used by ancient cultures. These symbols have gathered meanings for thousands and hundreds of years. Symbols can lead us and help us to explore our inner worlds. Your Symbols for Christmas Carl Jung refers to two types of an unconsciousness. The first is your personal unconscious which contains all your individual past memories (what you are unaware of). The second is the collective unconscious. Jung believed this was not part of our own personal unconscious and that in each of us resides symbols, and traces of the collective memory, shared by all people and all cultures. (Jung, 1951a). Jung s thoughts on the collective unconscious are expressed in the following passage of a letter he wrote to a patient: You trust your unconscious as if it were a loving father. But it is nature and cannot be made use of as if it were a reliable human being. It is inhuman and it needs the human mind to function usefully for man s purposes. It always seeks its collective purposes and never your individual destiny. Your destiny is the result of the collaboration between the conscious and the unconscious. (Jung, 1973, p. 283) PG. 10

11 Jung also wrote the following: We are born with a psychological heritage as well as a biological heritage, according to Jung, both are important determinants of behavior and experience: just as the human body represents a whole museum of organs, each with a long evolutionary period behind it, so we should expect to find that the mind is organized in a similar way. It can no more be a product without history than is the body in which it exists (1964, p. 67). During the twelve days of Christmas, the sun, the light and a promise of new beginnings and new life abounds. In the northern hemisphere it marks the days slowly becoming longer, with more sun and light. Ancient people revered the light as a symbol of hope, warmth and flourishing crops. The holiday season is ripe with symbols and meanings. It is our hope that you will tap into your own symbolic world throughout this course and renew or re-awaken your inner illumination through working with the universal symbols of the twelve days of Christmas. Whether we are agnostic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or practice paganism; or if we have any other religious or cultural background, these symbols exist in all of us. The symbols reside in us as traces of our ancestral collective: your personal reflections and connotations in relating to the symbols are what will bring about shifts and changes in all of us. It is a powerful tool for tapping into our inner worlds during this holiday season. According to Jung, the unconscious expresses itself through symbols. The symbol defies ordinary meaning and reason. Jung said that the symbols are the future; he looked at both the personal and collective in symbols derived from dreams and PG. 11

12 created by our own worlds. Symbols may have connotations that are unclear, but when we work with our symbols we can understand and see things in a different light through allowing the many meanings to enter our consciousness. Jung used active imagination to facilitate a dialogue of understanding the self through working with symbols. He encouraged his patients to paint, sculpt, or explore other artistic means to discover their inner worlds. Active imagination attempts to engage the unconscious in a dialogue through symbols. Furthermore, we will explore a variety of creative means to illicit active imagination and initiate dialogue with symbols in this course. Jung, while never considering himself an artist, would paint, sculpt, write, carve and employ different ways of tapping into the unconscious. On December 25 you will receive the first communication of The twelve days of Christmas applications. We will be looking at the symbols and what they mean to you; and start to explore some of the ancient symbols of Yule. Throughout the twelve days, we will continue with the more modern day symbols of the twelve days of Christmas. Enjoy and Happy Holidays! PG. 12