December

Legends and Lore for December

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December, the twelfth and final month of the current Gregorian calendar and the first month Winter, derives its name from decem, the Latin word meaning "ten," as December was the tenth month of the old Roman calendar.
The traditional birthstone amulets of December are the blue zircon and turquoise; and holly, mistletoe, and poinsettia are the month's traditional flowers.
December is shared by the astrological signs of Sagittarius the Centaur-Archer and Capricorn the Goat, and is sacred to the following Pagan deities: Attis, Dionysus, Frey, Freya (or Freyja), Kriss Kringle (the Pagan god of Yule), Lucina, Woden, and the Wiccan Horned God (consort of the Wiccan Goddess).
During the month of December, the Great Solar Wheel of the Year is turned to the Winter Solstice, one of the four Lesser Sabbats celebrated each year by Wiccans and modern Witches throughout the world.

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December 1
In some parts of the world, the first day of December is the traditional time for young girls to perform the ancient art of cromniomancy (divination by onion sprouts) to find out the name of their future husband.
To find out who your future husband will be, take some onions and upon each one carve or write a different man's name. Place the onions near a fire and the man whose name is on the onion that sprouts first will be the one.

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December 2
In what is now known as Bodh Gaya, India, the world's oldest and most sacred tree (planted in the year 282 B.C. and believed to be an offshoot of the Bodhi or Bo-tree that the Buddha sat under when he achieved enlightenment) is honored annually on this date by Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims with prayers, chants,
and brightly colored flags.
On this day, an annual women's festival called Hari Kugo (Broken Needles) takes place in the city of Tokyo. It commemorates women's crafts and is dedicated to all patron goddesses of Japanese craftswomen.

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December 3
In ancient Rome, secret women's rites were performed annually on this date in honor of Bona Dea, the Good Goddess. All males were barred from the ceremonies, which were conducted by vestal virgins.
In ancient Greece, this day was sacred to the goddess Cybele and also to Rhea, the Great Mother of the Earth.

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December 4
On this date in ancient Rome, the goddess Minerva was honored with an annual festival. Minerva (the Roman counterpart of the Greek Athena) is a goddess of battle and also a patroness of the arts and wisdom.
In West Africa, this day is sacred to the Yoruban god Chango. He is a god of lightning bolts, and the son of the deities Yemaya and Orungan.

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December 5
In ancient Greece, an annual seaside festival (the Poseidea) was celebrated annually on this date to honor the sea-god Poseidon, consort of the Mother Goddess.
In Italy, the First Feast of Saint Lucia is held on this date each year. Before being Christianized into a Saint, she was originally worshiped as Lucina, a Pagan goddess of light who also presided over childbirth.

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December 6
On this day in the year 1890, famous occultists and ritual magician Dion Fortune was born in Wales. Although Ms. Fortune never proclaimed herself to be a Witch, her numerous writings are popular among (and inspiring to) many modern Witches, Wiccans, and Neo-Pagans around the world. She died from leukemia
on January 8, 1946.

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December 7
On this date in ancient Greece, an annual rite called the Haloia of Demeter was performed. According to mythology, each year the goddess Demeter wanders the earth in search of her stolen daughter Persephone. The goddess' sorrow brings Winter to the world and all trees and flowers cease to bloom; however, Spring returns when Persephone is allowed to temporarily leave the darkness of the Underworld and Demeter once again rejoices.

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December 8
On this day, the birth of the ancient and powerful goddess of the sun (Amaterasu) is celebrated annually at Shinto temples throughout Japan.
In Egypt, the Festival of Neith is celebrated annually on this date to honor the Earth-Goddess of the Delta.

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December 9
The ninth day of the last month of the year (along with the sixth and seventh days) is considered to be an extremely unlucky time, according to Grafton in his Manuel (a sixteenth-century book of unlucky days as determined by professional star-gazers).
In Mexico, the healing virgin-goddess Tonantzin is honored on this day with an annual festival called the Fiesta of the Mother of Health.

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December 10
On this night (approximately), Inuit hunters in the far north begin an annual five-day series of purification rites, followed by a propitiation ceremony under the full moon, for the souls of the animals they had hunted in the last year. The December Moon ceremony has been performed in the Arctic coastal regions of North America
for hundreds of years.

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December 11
Day of Bruma. On this date, the ancient Roman goddess of the winter season was honored by Pagans in Italy with an annual festival.
This day is also sacred to Arianrhod, the Snow Queen goddess,
and Yuki Onne.

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December 12
The victories of good over evil and light over darkness are celebrated annually at sunset on this date (approximately) with the Zoroastrian fire festival of Sada.
In Mexico, the annual Our Lady of Guadalupe religious festival takes place on this day. It is a sacred day to the goddesses Coatlique, Tonantzin,
and the Black Madonna.

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December 13
Saint Lucia's Day. On this day, a candlelight festival is celebrated throughout Sweden. The first-born daughter of each family wears a flowing white gown and a crown of candles around her head, obviously in reference to the ancient Pagan symbols of fire and life-giving light. The daughter traditionally serves her mother and father breakfast in bed.

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December 14
On this date in the year 1503, the famous French prophet and astrologer Michel de Nostradamus was born in Saint Remy de Provence. He experienced many psychic visions during his childhood, and he later studied the Holy Qabalah, astrology, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics. The first collection of his uncannily accurate visions, written in the form of rhymed quatrains, was published in the year 1555. Three years later, a second and larger collection of his prophecies--reaching into the year 3979--was published. Nostradamus died on July 1, 1566.

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December 15
Halcyon Days. According to ancient legend, the seven days before the winter solstice and the seven days following it are a special time of tranquility and calm, due to the magickal powers of the halcyon (a fabled bird who nested on the sea and calmed the wind and the waves during the winter solstice).
In Puerto Rico, the Yule Child is honored by a religious festival called Navidades, which begins annually on this day. It is celebrated until the sixth of January.

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December 16
In Mexico, the Yule Child is honored by a religious festival called Posadas, which begins annually on this day. It is celebrated until the twenty-fourth of December.
This day is sacred to the Pagan wisdom-goddesses Athena, Kista, Maat, Minerva, the Shekinah, and Sophia.
The Soyal ceremony is celebrated annually on this date (approximately) by the Native American tribe of the Hopi in the southwestern United States. The rites of the Soyal celebrate the return of the sun (Life) and commemorate the creation and rebirth of the Spider Woman and Hawk Maiden.