Eve of the Birthday Of the Sun God December 24th

The Eve of the Day

Tomorrow is the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti – the birth of the Invincible Sun.  In some calendars, such as the Celtic & the Anglo Saxon, the day begins at dusk.  So Christmas Eve is not the evening before Christmas Day. It is the beginning of Christmas Day itself.

So some countries celebrate the eve as much or more than the day.  The Church would have encouraged this to accommodate former pagan belief into newly converted societies. (the most obvious example is Halloween see my post here).

But the Church also suggests celebration of the Eve derives from the Jewish tradition of the beginning of the day at dusk.  In Genesis are the words;

‘And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.’

Christian tradition holds that Jesus was born on the holy night and thus is celebrated by the midnight mass.

When does the day begin?

This seems a silly question.  In our society, the day officially begins at midnight.  But it clearly begins at dawn. This was the normal start of day for Ancient Egypt,
Republican Romans, and Western Europe till the coming of clocks in about 1400. We have already seen there are calendars that start the day at Sunset: Muslim, Jews, Celts, and the
Saxons. In Britain, astronomers started the day at midday until an Act of Parliament reset it to midnight as recently as 1925.

Dawn seems the obvious choice, it’s called daybreak after all. But the problem is that the first light is so variable.  It is an opinion when the light arrives and will vary depending on clouds, hills and height above sea level etc. Midnight is halfway between dawn and dusk, and I assume can be determined mathematically and astronomically.  So Julius Caesar changed the Roman start of day to midnight when he reformed the Roman Calendar. (See my post on the Julian Calendar here).

Dusk is a counterintuitive choice, I think. The reasoning is that the Sun has gone down. It is finished for the day.   Sunset is the end of the day. So it is also the start of the next daily cycle. 

The Celts started their year at Halloween for similar reasons.  In autumn, the various harvests have been collected.  Most plants have ended their growing cycle and shed their leaves. Therefore, November 1st (or its eve) is the end of the growing year. On the ground, the seeds are ready and waiting to begin sprouting to bring new life. So, this is the new year.  Sort of makes sense?

Christmas Eve Celebrations

In Britain, among the general population, there are no special customs except for preparing for the arrival of Father Christmas, and perhaps going to Midnight Mass.  In Germany, Heiliger Abend is when Gifts are exchanged.  Afterwards, is a relatively light dinner, often consisting of potato salad and sausages. 

In my experience, Christmas Eve is a relaxing evening in front of the TV while wrapping presents.  (After the children have gone to bed of course). Sometimes in front of the first roaring fire of the winter.

Then the filling of pillow cases or stockings full of presents. Last thing is tip-toeing upstairs placing a plate in the hall upstairs with a mince pie, shot of brandy for Father Christmas and a carrot for the reindeer. Then the crinkle of the wrapping paper as the presents are placed on the children’s bed.  Now, the little darlings are finally fast asleep after an overexcited bedtime. These are the precious moments of family life.

Mothers of God’s Eve

December 24th is a day for Mothers, as tomorrow, the 25th, will be born Jesus, Mithras, Attis, Saturn, Apollo, and the Day of the Birth of the Invincible Sun, Solis Invictus. And so we think of Mary, Isis, Theia, the Three Mother Goddesses and mothers everywhere.

First Published 24th December 2022, Republished 2023,2024,2025