While many people shun winter weddings in favor of warmer weather, Christmas time is actually a very meaningful time to get engaged or to marry — especially if you plan on exchanging Celtic wedding rings at your wedding, since Christmas is so rich with Celtic meaning and tradition. It’s also a great time to give Celtic jewelry as a gift.
Christianity is a religion that is built on other religions, so although Christmas isn’t itself a Celtic holiday, the priests intentionally aligned it with other pagan holidays, in order to ease the transition of converting people to Christianity. One pagan holiday that Christmas was built on was the Celtic holiday of Alban Arthuan, or Yule, a celebration of the winter solstice — the shortest day of the year, which marked the return of the sun.
There are many similarities between Yule and Christmas. In fact, the word “Yule” will be familiar to you, as it is often heard in Christmas songs and traditions. For example, one of the ways that the Celts celebrated Christmas was by burning a Yule Log. Although this tradition is now associated with Christmas cheer, it was at the time of the Celts intertwined with the celebration of the winter solstice. Every year a log was burned for 12 hours with the remains of the previous year’s log, symbolizing the continuing cycle of the sun from year to year. At the end of 12 hours, the remainder of the current year’s log was saved for the next year. Even the ashes were saved, to be sown with the seeds in the springtime — symbolizing the power of the sun and helping the seeds to grow.
Christmas trees stem from Celtic tradition, as well. The Celts would decorate a Yule tree for the winter solstice, with ornaments that represented the sun, moon, and stars — objects of the heavens. Gifts were also hung on the tree for the Celtic gods and goddesses, and this tradition may have evolved into the gift-giving tradition we know today.
Even modern beliefs surrounding mistletoe stem from Celtic Yule traditions. Today, tradition says that if you and a person of the opposite sex are caught standing under mistletoe, it means you have to kiss. This probably stems from the immense respect the Celts had for the plant, which they considered to be sacred, not to mention protection from evil spirits, witchcraft, diseases, and poison. In Celtic tradition, enemies who met under the plant had to make peace until the next day. Priests also distributed sprigs of mistletoe to all the people before the winter solstice.
All of these rich Celtic traditions make Christmas a wonderful time to celebrate your love for another person, either with Celtic jewelry or a Celtic-themed wedding. If you are shopping for Celtic engagement rings, or if you plan on exchanging Celtic wedding rings, consider incorporating your plans into your celebration of a Celtic Christmas!
