Santa was a Shaman

I’ve mentioned in a previous article that Santa Claus origin is that of a shaman. (Read it in Swedish here). Christmas is indeed a complex holiday season with a wide array of origins. In fact, our modern celebration is a mess of post-modernist interpretations and traditions from all over the place.

photo cred: unsplash

Is Christmas rooted in paganism?

Yes, Christmas is rooted in pagan traditions. If we see the winter solstice as pagan that is. Most of our modern Christmas customs, symbols and rites are actually Yule traditions (such as the spruce tree, gift bringing, lights and candles). However, the Yule traditions stem from the ancient indigenous traditions. And in particular, from the northern shamanic traditions.

Christianity has, during their years of colonialism and eradication of indigenous cultures all over the world, adopted various holidays and adapted them to their own. 

Since humans walked this earth, we’ve looked to the stars, planets, moon and the sun to acknowledge the change in cycles; weather as well as time. Winter Solstice occurring December 20-23 every year is an astrological event where the night is at its longest. 

Winter Solstice also marks an important ceremony for indigenous cultures all over the globe. This is a time when the Sun is reborn. In fact, this ceremony is one of, if not the most, important ceremonies of the entire year for many cultures. At the winter solstice ceremony, we honor the darkness inside us, travel deep to our underworld to reflect, heal and prepare for the new solar year to come. We simulate the same journey to darkness, and the underworld, as the sun takes. Doing our introspective practice, to be born again as new Light. 

No wonder, this time makes a perfect time to celebrate the Son (read sun), Jesus himself! Jesus is also a symbol, in fact an embodiment of light itself. He brings light since he brings divine infinite unconditional love. 

Is Santa Claus German?

No. Santa Claus is a modern term for Saint Nicholas (referring to the Turkish gift-giving bishop). Santa means saint and Claus is a German nickname for Nicholas. This is why many believe that Santa Claus is German. 

But really, how likely is it that Santa is German, lives at the North Pole (where no-one except polar bears can live) all while he’s driving a reindeer sleigh with reindeers that only live in Lapland?! 

Where did Santa Claus origin from?

Santa Claus origin is from Lapland, a region that reaches the very northern parts of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia. 

Is Santa Claus Pagan origin?

No. Santa Claus origin is from the indigenous cultures in the North. In other words, from the Sami peoples in Lapland. 

So what on earth has this got to do with Christmas?! 

The spiritual leader, or shaman, of the Sami people is called a Nåjd in Swedish and Noaidi in Sami. The Sami are nomadic reindeer herders and make everything they need from the reindeer meat, bone, hide and horns. They’re also well known for the magical, colorful and most amazing embroidered clothing and artwork! (Notice the connection to Santa’s outfit here!).

Just as any shaman, and anyone living the shamanic path, the Sami people know how everything has a spirit, a soul. Animals, trees, plants, rocks, wind, the water, everything is connected and everything has a soul. We connect with these spirits, and to Mother Earth herself when we conduct ceremonies. During ceremonies, we bring offerings to the earth, plants, rocks, winds, waters or to whatever our prayer and intention is for that precise ceremony. The same goes for the Winter Solstice Ceremony. 

As you might know, Christmas is also a time for gifts and offerings. 

So, as with any shamanic ceremony, the shaman holds space for and conducts the winter solstice ceremony also in the Sami tradition. The Nåjd is a medicine man, world traveler, priest, healer and everything in between. Just as shamans in the Amazons work with plant medicine, so too do indigenous cultures in the north and all over the globe. The shaman becomes the bridge to the spirit underworld as he conducts the ceremony together with Amanita muscaria - the magic mushroom. 

This ceremonial mushroom is red with white dots and is harvested in the fall, to be put to dry on spruce trees; today our interpretation of this is to put red glass bubbles on the branches of our Christmas tree. 

So let’s wrap up and connect the dots, as there are many more symbols to go through, but that would be for another storytime. 

I write about the Winter Solstice every year, so if you’ve been following my Moon Letters for a while you’ll have a big pile of stories by now! If you want to join in, subscribe here!

Santa Claus origin from the Sami Shaman

A ceremony with Amanita muscaria gives the sensation of flying. Both reindeers and the shaman eat the mushroom. And so the rumor of a flying Santa from house to house during the Winter Solstice is pretty much true as the shaman (nåjd) and his herd of reindeers fly with their plant ally. 

The shaman visits the family to conduct the ceremony. He eats the mushroom, beats his drum and starts chanting. When the medicine from the mushroom hits, the shaman goes into a trance and receives visions. At times, of course as with any shamanic journey, the ride can be rough and turn out as stomach ache, weakness, having nightmares or speaking with the dead to mention a few examples. As any shaman, there’s also a possibility that the medicine guides him to release his spirit from his body. 

Read my shamanic birth story here. 

When the shaman returns to his body, the family supports him to get well and grounded. As soon as he feels fit again, he’ll deliver the messages from the spirit worlds to them: 

Visions for the year ahead, 

Wisdoms from the ancestors and 

any other revelations that the spirit world brought in the journey. 

From these messages, the family make offerings to nature to restore balance and pray for the coming year. Of course, the shaman would also get paid with gifts such as food and goods. 

Ancient Traditions and Stories are not part of Modern Holidays

I recently read a book where I learned the term “spiritual bleaching”. The term explains the process to sanitize ancient wisdom for modern consumption. There are numerous examples of how we today, all over the world, see ancient ceremonies as a business where the stories and traditions are lost. 

When we forget the old traditions, and stop listening to the stories of the elders, we’ve cleansed out the spiritual in every ritual and ceremony. Which is precisely why I grew up hating Swedish customs, traditions and Yule in particular. I couldn't feel their soul.

So what happened to the Sami Shaman? 

In the 19th century, the church targeted the Sami shamans, accusing them of witchcraft. Like with most other indigenous cultures across the planet, the Sami had to submit to the stronger powers. The church burned the drums of the Nåjds and prohibited their ceremonies. Just as in many other places, we see how the sacred traditions of the Sami disappeared. 

The time came to an end of ceremonies with the shamans to journey to the underworld and back over the Winter Solstice. Instead, Jesus and St. Nicholas took the place of the gift bringers, slowly growing into a holiday for consumption. And that marks the modern holiday that is called Christmas. 

In Love, Gratitude and deep Respect for the origin of all traditions,

Magic Magie

Acknowledgment 

A huge thank you to Tero and Juho for bringing me the final and missing details to a story that I’ve so far only channeled myself! 

The world needs all of us storytellers to again bring healing and soul to our earth and rituals. Thank you for sharing yours.