Tomorrow, it will be the Deanic/Filianic celebration of Nativity. This is the celebration of the birth of the Daughter. In the Filianist Mythos, we hear how before the dawn of time our souls danced and laughed with the Mother who created us. We were tempted by the Snake to ask the Mother for Darkness and to embrace it so that we could rest.
After we turned from Her, a chasm opened between the Mother and our souls, a gap She bridged by giving birth to the Daughter, who could be our Light in the Darkness. On Nativity we celebrate the birth of the Daughter.
Do Filianists believe this to be a factual, literal recording of history for which we can dig up physical artifacts? No, of course not. Filianists believe that historical fact is the lowest form of knowledge, as the material world is much lower than the spiritual realms. This Mythos is at a much Higher Level of knowledge than that. We believe that this Mythos is a description of Truth that is beyond space and time and is one way of understanding Truth. Are there other stories and Myths that describe Truth? Of course, there are. While we believe that there is only One Truth, we also believe that the Truth may be described and taught in many ways.
Nativity is celebrated near the Winter Solstice, the darkest time of the year, when Light starts to reassert itself, as the Daughter was born to re-Light our Path back to the Mother. This is also the time of the year when Christians celebrate Christmas. Many Filianist traditions surrounding Nativity are similar to Christmas traditions, such as the date, the Nativity tree, and the symbolism of candles and light. These Christmas traditions were taken from older traditions surrounding Midwinter.
In the West, there is a tendency towards controversy on many matters, and the controversies around Christmas can be particularly intense. These controversies often center around religious symbolism as opposed to secular symbolism. There are also controversies about traditional symbolism being of a “pagan” nature. I have nothing to say about these controversies, except to say that they do not arise in Deanism/Filianism. We do not have the same separation between the “religious” and the “secular,” nor do we have any notion that our way of seeing the Truth is the only way or that our forms of worship and celebration are the only right ways to celebrate.
When I listen to Christmas music and see Christian religious symbolism, I can see this as another form of the Truth, with a clear conscience. I can see this as a re-enactment of the Nativity in time and space without any contradiction to the Mythos of the Daughter. If I see a Christian Nativity scene when outside, I can give honor to it, even if it no longer my tradition. I am speaking for myself in this. I am not saying how anyone else should view these matters, but the differences between these celebrations need not really concern us, I think.
This is a time of return to Light after a time of Darkness, and is a joyous one! So, for all of my readers….
Happy Nativity!
Merry Christmas!
Gud Yul!
Happy Solstice!
Happy Midwinter!
Enjoy the season, and rejoice in the return of Light!
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