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Yuletide Greetings, pining for Apollo

Posted in Apollo, Francois Boucher, Nicholas Poussin, Thor, Tiepolo, YuleGoats!! on December 20, 2010 by babylonbaroque

As the 21st is the Winter Solstice which is to occur 6:38 pm EST, I thought a post ostensibly about the sun appropriate.

Appropriate as Los Angeles is being flooded by rains, the sun so very far away.

Appropriate as I can unearth some images of dear Apollo; my readership seems to spike when I offer images of male pulchritude.

Apollo and the Continents

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

1752-53

The Feast of Saturnalia, traditionally celebrated on the 17th of December, is part of a long tradition of deep winter festivities.

Saturnalia

Antoine-François Callet

18th century

Musée de Louvre

The Roman feast devoted to Sol Invictus, a collective of sun deities, was held on the 25th of December providing a happy “bait and switch” for the early Church.

The image of halos behind Christian saints stems from the solar rays of Sol Invictus.

The winter solstice has provided many an excuse worldwide to celebrate; the winter festivities of Yule a colorful example.

I have only just begun to understand the symbolism of the Yule tradition, but the Yule goat, familiar to any IKEA shopper this time of year stems from this winter celebration.

Santa and the Yule Goat

As I am mad for goats, I was interested to know that the Yule Goat tradition stems from the pair of goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr who were responsible for dragging the god Thor about town.

Thor’s battle with the Ertins