MidWinter Rituals at ibiblio in years past

20 years ago — December 1994 in Doctor Fun

Santa runs a tight ship

Frosty tales

The Persians used to celebrate a festival of fire called Sada or Saza at the winter solstice. On the longest night of the year they kindled bonfires everywhere, and kings and princes tied dry grass to the feet of birds and animals, set fire to the grass, and then let the birds and beasts fly or run blazing through the air or over the fields and mountains, so that the whole air and earth appeared to be on fire

From Part VII: Balder the Beautiful: The Fire-Festivals of Europe and the Doctrine of the External Soul.The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion by James George Frazer, D.C.L., LL.D., Litt.D., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, Professor of Social Anthropology in the University of Liverpool. 1919 edition.