We know this playbook too well by now to submit to it though, and so many of us showed exactly how we felt. The most inspiring stories I could see were the people who were struck speechless by how many of their neighbors came out in their small home towns- These were places where folks thought they were alone in their beliefs, but in a few short hours found a community with whom to sing and cry and organize. But responding to the terror-based tactics of the U.S. government doesn’t look one way, as we know- we all, depending on our privilege and abilities, have different roles to play and strategies to employ (for example, we can’t all feel safe enough to be at a public protest, but there’s so many other things we can do).

 

And when I look back at the histories of the pagan holidays as they’ve been practiced in England, Scotland and Ireland, I see a strong history of subversion against local and state governments- a history we can draw on for our own modern day tactics. Here’s just a little dip into what the defiant histories of these holidays advise:

 

The holidays of the Wheel of the Year are replete with folk magic and giving-based practices that kept the community protected and cared for. On holidays such as Yule, Samhain, and May Day, many people practiced house visits that included songs and performances that collected money for the poor or for communal institutions like schools. Some holidays like Bealtaine involved jumping over the fire to protect oneself and one’s family, or presenting May Branches to protect a neighbor’s household.  

 

Pagan cultures who were compelled to convert to Christianity (sometimes through earnest interest, sometimes through force) took their deities with them, turning them into folk saints and recognized saints of the church. Some of these are better known, such as St. Brigid of Ireland- who evolved from the deity Bríg- or Saint Modrun of Wales, who has connections to the Welsh mother deity Modron. This practice is a reminder that some of our most resilient traditions and beliefs can survive through storytelling and syncretism, when other means aren’t available to us. 

 

Some of the holidays have a history of turning power structures on their heads, and openly deriding those in power. Going a little further afield than the Anglo-Celtic Isles, some Midsummer Scandinavian revels in the 16th century included songs and dances that satirized the current leaders and the vices that had been committed in the community. And since the late 19th century, the holiday of Bealtaine has also been celebrated at International Workers Day, a day for public organizing for labor rights.

 

Plenty of the pagan holiday traditions have been outlawed over time, but that hasn’t kept folks from enjoying them anyway! We can look back and see how certain practices forbidden in England in the Middle Ages- such as performing divination & magic spells at wells- continued regardless all the way into the 19th century on specific holidays. And even when some traditions had become Christianized, attempts to stamp them out were met with open opposition: for example, when local Protestant leaders at Canterbury wanted to outlaw the Midsummer bonfires in 1561, locals responded by lighting more fires than ever before and holding open processions that included bawdy song singing!

 

Here I’m thinking about the sacred fire of the saint-turned-goddess Brigid, which has been lit, extinguished and relit several times over the last several thousand years. Even in times when the fire was outlawed, such as under the Protestant regime of Henry VIII, public memory of the fire has always brought it back again. More recently, the perpetual flame was relit in 2006, and continues to be tended to this day. We can look to our oral traditions and wisdom keeping to always return to the sacred, animate ways, even if it means we don’t see the result, but our children’s children do. 

 

 

 

The songs here will carry you through the seasons over and over again, and you’re enjoyment of them will be backed up by LOTS of history and folklore about these precious holidays. 

 

Come soothe your heart and spirit with these songs- and bring that soothing energy into your life, your church, your community, your rallies and protests, for the times unfolding before us. 

 

 

Email me any questions you have, and I hope to sing with you soon!