Ever since Luke recounted in his gospel how the archangel Gabriel told Mary that the Holy Spirit would conceive Jesus in her womb and the three magi followed a star to Bethlehem to pay homage to the infant, the nativity story has been intrinsically associated with magic and miracles. Today, of course, this concept is largely used as a metaphor. We might talk about “the magic of Christmas” when the faces of children light up sitting on Santa’s lap or when we feel a certain giddiness opening a special gift.
Likewise, miracles tend to be seen almost everywhere during the holiday period. Reader’s Digest, for example, has a collection of 18 True Christmas Miracles, including stories such as parents finding just enough money to buy Christmas gifts for their children or stranded drivers receiving desperately needed roadside assistance from strangers during snowstorms.
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But while we might use the word “magical” these days as a synonym for “delightful” or the word “miracle” as shorthand for “a stroke of luck,” there was a time when these concepts were taken quite literally. Rather than being a metaphor, for thousands of years, magic – the practice of beliefs and rituals to manipulate natural and supernatural forces – was considered a very real phenomenon. Priestly classes such as the druids and the magi were renowned for magical abilities, both feared and respected for their skills.
Deriving from the Greek magos, the word magi basically means “skilled magicians, astrologers,” and in Old Persian is simply translated as “magician.” They were Zoroastrian priests who worshipped the supreme god, Ahura Mazda. Tasked with performing ceremonies and rituals, some magi were known as daevayasna, or devil worshippers, and were widely seen as sorcerers and witches.
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It is not entirely clear in the biblical accounts how the magi were able to pinpoint the location of the infant Jesus, but presumably they interpreted some sort of astronomical event using astrology. The gifts they brought were considered luxury items that were known to have magical properties. Frankincense and myrrh were important ingredients for incense, used to ward off evil spirits and enable contact with gods and goddesses. Frankincense is also found in a Greek magical spell along with other ingredients such as “the dung of a dog-faced baboon” and “two eggs of an ibex.” Myrrh was considered a miraculous substance that could extend life beyond death.
The allusions to magic in the nativity story, and particularly the nature of the magi who came bearing magical gifts, have been downplayed over the centuries, as magic is frowned upon in the Bible and the magi’s possible association with sorcerers and devil worshippers was problematic to the early Church. Numerous biblical passages warn against divination, necromancy (the conjuring of spirits), fortune-telling, and sorcery. John 4:1 advises that people should be careful when communicating with spirits, as “many false prophets have gone out into the world,” and in Deuteronomy, practitioners of magic are called an abomination.
With the nativity story incorporating elements of magic, however, and particularly the magi’s use of astrology to lead them to their destination, Church leaders had to come up with an explanation to ease the concerns of Christian believers. So, the faithful were reassured that any demonic powers that the magi may have possessed were dispelled by the sacred purpose of their journey, and attempts were made to rebrand them. Early Church leader Tertullian attempted to link the magi to Old Testament prophecies about kings worshipping the Lord and bearing gifts, and perhaps troubled by the term magi’s implications of magic, he chose to call them “kings” instead – and hence the story of the “three kings” was born.
The unspecified number of gift-bearing magi evolved over time into the “Three Kings.” Courtesy of the Rijks Museum.
It wasn’t until 1374 that magic was officially declared heresy by Pope Gregory XI based on the belief that it was performed with the aid of demons, but long before that, religious leaders sought to draw distinctions between magic (said to be performed by witches and pagan sorcerers) and miracles (said to be performed by saints or, simply, by God). The distinction, however, was always tenuous, and popular belief often blurred the lines between religion, superstition, magic, and miracles.
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In an effort to demonstrate the difference between magic and miracles, as part of his campaign to convert pagan Ireland to Christianity in the mid- to late-400s, St. Patrick is said to have used divine intervention to show that the power of Christ was stronger than the power of Celtic magicians. He understood that the pagans would not accept Christianity based on theological doctrines alone, and that to win them over it would be necessary to demonstrate Christianity’s supernatural side. So rather than try to convince them to surrender their beliefs in magic, he attempted to exploit their fears by recasting their deities as demons and to prove that Christian miracles were more powerful.
The stories of Patrick’s fantastical duels with the druids – filled with spells that manipulate the weather, infernos being summoned, and the destruction of sacred texts – were told throughout the Middle Ages, and it was in this context that miracle plays developed as a genre. Developing from church services during the 10th and 11th centuries to enhance calendar festivals, over time the miracle plays came to be associated with Christmas because they focused largely on the Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas.
Magic of Christmas
Despite the admonitions against magic in the Bible, it was a common practice to consult magicians well into the Christian era in Europe. Popular magicians provided many services, ranging from healing the sick and finding lost items to fortune-telling, and these services came to hold particular relevance during the midwinter period.
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In pre-Christian times, the 12 days between December 25 and January 6 were known as the “rough nights.” On these days, the veil between our world and the spirit world was at its thinnest, Odin’s Wild Hunt would ride across the northern skies, uncanny spirit beings would fight battles between light and darkness, and the living energies of other planes of existence were ever present. Rituals were used to ward off demonic influences and to ensure the rebirth of the sun after solstice.
This illustration from the late 19th century depicts Odin’s Wild Hunt. Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Many curious customs have been documented related to midwinter magic. Pagans employed magical rituals in observing the winter solstice to repel evil spirits, and similar Christian rites were adapted for use at Christmas time. In practices originally performed by sorcerers and later by Catholic priests, houses and stables would be smudged with healing herbs, and people burned juniper and other aromatic substances to drive out demons.
It was also common to perform rituals to increase the productivity of gardens and orchards. In one such practice, a garden would be thrashed with a flail on Christmas Eve in order to ensure that the grass would grow the following year. Another custom was to beat the trees on Christmas night and in some parts of England the peasants would also salute or sing to the apple trees on Christmas Eve, in what is widely regarded as an ancient precursor to wassailing and caroling. In Germany it was believed that a washcloth hanged on a hedge on Christmas Eve would cause horses to grow fat when they are groomed with it.
The Blessing of the Waters has particular significance in the Orthodox Church, and in Russia has had a function of great magnificence. Following conversion from paganism to Christianity, the ritual was seen as vital in chasing away the gods that the peasants had once worshipped. It was believed that after these gods had been displaced by conversion, they came back during the dark days of December to haunt former pagans as demons. In order to repel these malevolent spirits, people erected a cross constructed of ice, and herded the sprites, fairies and wood nymphs using singing and waving banners. Once collected they were cast into a lake.
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Closely related to this is the concept of the Christmas elf, which is a relic of a time when people widely believed in supernatural and magical beings. Although it has been modernized for a more temporal culture and reimagined as a friendly, hardworking toymaker in Santa’s workshop, the concept actually has its roots in ancient pagan beliefs – dating back to the Norse myths about the álfar. Elves and their various iterations – kobolds in Germany, nisse in Denmark, huldufolk in Iceland, and tomte in Sweden, to name a few – were considered fearsome creatures who demanded respect and if they felt they had been insulted, might take revenge by killing a cow, breaking things, or even abducting a member of the household. To avoid this, steps were taken to keep them mollified, for example by leaving treats for them or performing ritual dances.
This is the oldest known image of a nisse, found in a story by Olaus Magnus from 1555. Public domain.
Magic has also been seen in arcane Christmas customs such as the use of bells and certain plants. Bells have long been used to keep away malevolent spirits and utilized in religious rites. In folklore, bells were considered to possess something like a lifeforce or a soul, and were often attached to clothing, worn as amulets, tied to children and hung from the necks of animals important to a community.
During Europe’s Christianization, and particularly during the medieval period, Churches began to use bells to summon people to worship and to repel demons. With their magical properties, bells came to be associated closely with Christmas, which falls at a time of year that spirits had unusually easy access to our temporal realm. They have been used, for example, by men and boys who dress up as perchten in Austria, and on the Scandinavian Yule goat. In England, mummers used bells in their performances, and in Switzerland, in the Samichlaus processions on St. Nicholas’s Day, boys were known to chase the saint through villages ringing bells. The figures of Knecht Ruprecht, Belsnickel and Krampus also wear bells, and of course, so do Santa’s reindeer.
Plant Magic
Many plants and herbs associated with Christmas also had significance in ancient times as holding magical powers. Evergreens such as holly, ivy and mistletoe, which all bore fruit in winter time and therefore were considered manifestations of abiding life at a time of year when everything is dead, were used by pagans as sacraments to ensure growth and fertility. Mistletoe was also considered by the ancient druids the most sacred plant with both magical attributes and medicinal properties.
Although the druids were suppressed by the Romans, traditions of mistletoe lived on and began to appear in recorded Christmas customs in the 17th century. The poet Robert Herrick, in his poem “Ceremonie upon Candlemas Eve,” described the practice of taking down Christmas decorations on February 1 with the lines: “Down with the Rosemary, and so / Down with the Baies, & mistletoe.” As Richard Mabey writes in Flora Britannica, “Mistletoe traditions are amongst northern Europe’s last surviving remnants of plant magic.”
These traditions recall the broader context in which the concept of Christmas magic developed, with magical beings, magical charms, and magical plants ubiquitous during the festive season. These customs serve as a reminder that while people in the Western world today generally may not believe in actual magic – as in the use of ritualistic practices to manipulate the natural and supernatural world – Christmas is the one time of the year that this word is commonly used and generally sensible people entertain notions that they would usually reject, like the idea that miracles are possible.
By Nathaniel Parry
Ever since Luke recounted in his gospel how the archangel Gabriel told Mary that the Holy Spirit would conceive Jesus in her womb and the three magi followed a star to Bethlehem to pay homage to the infant, the nativity story has been intrinsically associated with magic and miracles. Today, of course, this concept is largely used as a metaphor. We might talk about “the magic of Christmas” when the faces of children light up sitting on Santa’s lap or when we feel a certain giddiness opening a special gift.
Likewise, miracles tend to be seen almost everywhere during the holiday period. Reader’s Digest, for example, has a collection of 18 True Christmas Miracles, including stories such as parents finding just enough money to buy Christmas gifts for their children or stranded drivers receiving desperately needed roadside assistance from strangers during snowstorms.
But while we might use the word “magical” these days as a synonym for “delightful” or the word “miracle” as shorthand for “a stroke of luck,” there was a time when these concepts were taken quite literally. Rather than being a metaphor, for thousands of years, magic – the practice of beliefs and rituals to manipulate natural and supernatural forces – was considered a very real phenomenon. Priestly classes such as the druids and the magi were renowned for magical abilities, both feared and respected for their skills.
Deriving from the Greek magos, the word magi basically means “skilled magicians, astrologers,” and in Old Persian is simply translated as “magician.” They were Zoroastrian priests who worshipped the supreme god, Ahura Mazda. Tasked with performing ceremonies and rituals, some magi were known as daevayasna, or devil worshippers, and were widely seen as sorcerers and witches.
It is not entirely clear in the biblical accounts how the magi were able to pinpoint the location of the infant Jesus, but presumably they interpreted some sort of astronomical event using astrology. The gifts they brought were considered luxury items that were known to have magical properties. Frankincense and myrrh were important ingredients for incense, used to ward off evil spirits and enable contact with gods and goddesses. Frankincense is also found in a Greek magical spell along with other ingredients such as “the dung of a dog-faced baboon” and “two eggs of an ibex.” Myrrh was considered a miraculous substance that could extend life beyond death.
The allusions to magic in the nativity story, and particularly the nature of the magi who came bearing magical gifts, have been downplayed over the centuries, as magic is frowned upon in the Bible and the magi’s possible association with sorcerers and devil worshippers was problematic to the early Church. Numerous biblical passages warn against divination, necromancy (the conjuring of spirits), fortune-telling, and sorcery. John 4:1 advises that people should be careful when communicating with spirits, as “many false prophets have gone out into the world,” and in Deuteronomy, practitioners of magic are called an abomination.
With the nativity story incorporating elements of magic, however, and particularly the magi’s use of astrology to lead them to their destination, Church leaders had to come up with an explanation to ease the concerns of Christian believers. So, the faithful were reassured that any demonic powers that the magi may have possessed were dispelled by the sacred purpose of their journey, and attempts were made to rebrand them. Early Church leader Tertullian attempted to link the magi to Old Testament prophecies about kings worshipping the Lord and bearing gifts, and perhaps troubled by the term magi’s implications of magic, he chose to call them “kings” instead – and hence the story of the “three kings” was born.
It wasn’t until 1374 that magic was officially declared heresy by Pope Gregory XI based on the belief that it was performed with the aid of demons, but long before that, religious leaders sought to draw distinctions between magic (said to be performed by witches and pagan sorcerers) and miracles (said to be performed by saints or, simply, by God). The distinction, however, was always tenuous, and popular belief often blurred the lines between religion, superstition, magic, and miracles.
In an effort to demonstrate the difference between magic and miracles, as part of his campaign to convert pagan Ireland to Christianity in the mid- to late-400s, St. Patrick is said to have used divine intervention to show that the power of Christ was stronger than the power of Celtic magicians. He understood that the pagans would not accept Christianity based on theological doctrines alone, and that to win them over it would be necessary to demonstrate Christianity’s supernatural side. So rather than try to convince them to surrender their beliefs in magic, he attempted to exploit their fears by recasting their deities as demons and to prove that Christian miracles were more powerful.
The stories of Patrick’s fantastical duels with the druids – filled with spells that manipulate the weather, infernos being summoned, and the destruction of sacred texts – were told throughout the Middle Ages, and it was in this context that miracle plays developed as a genre. Developing from church services during the 10th and 11th centuries to enhance calendar festivals, over time the miracle plays came to be associated with Christmas because they focused largely on the Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas.
Magic of Christmas
Despite the admonitions against magic in the Bible, it was a common practice to consult magicians well into the Christian era in Europe. Popular magicians provided many services, ranging from healing the sick and finding lost items to fortune-telling, and these services came to hold particular relevance during the midwinter period.
In pre-Christian times, the 12 days between December 25 and January 6 were known as the “rough nights.” On these days, the veil between our world and the spirit world was at its thinnest, Odin’s Wild Hunt would ride across the northern skies, uncanny spirit beings would fight battles between light and darkness, and the living energies of other planes of existence were ever present. Rituals were used to ward off demonic influences and to ensure the rebirth of the sun after solstice.
Many curious customs have been documented related to midwinter magic. Pagans employed magical rituals in observing the winter solstice to repel evil spirits, and similar Christian rites were adapted for use at Christmas time. In practices originally performed by sorcerers and later by Catholic priests, houses and stables would be smudged with healing herbs, and people burned juniper and other aromatic substances to drive out demons.
It was also common to perform rituals to increase the productivity of gardens and orchards. In one such practice, a garden would be thrashed with a flail on Christmas Eve in order to ensure that the grass would grow the following year. Another custom was to beat the trees on Christmas night and in some parts of England the peasants would also salute or sing to the apple trees on Christmas Eve, in what is widely regarded as an ancient precursor to wassailing and caroling. In Germany it was believed that a washcloth hanged on a hedge on Christmas Eve would cause horses to grow fat when they are groomed with it.
The Blessing of the Waters has particular significance in the Orthodox Church, and in Russia has had a function of great magnificence. Following conversion from paganism to Christianity, the ritual was seen as vital in chasing away the gods that the peasants had once worshipped. It was believed that after these gods had been displaced by conversion, they came back during the dark days of December to haunt former pagans as demons. In order to repel these malevolent spirits, people erected a cross constructed of ice, and herded the sprites, fairies and wood nymphs using singing and waving banners. Once collected they were cast into a lake.
Closely related to this is the concept of the Christmas elf, which is a relic of a time when people widely believed in supernatural and magical beings. Although it has been modernized for a more temporal culture and reimagined as a friendly, hardworking toymaker in Santa’s workshop, the concept actually has its roots in ancient pagan beliefs – dating back to the Norse myths about the álfar. Elves and their various iterations – kobolds in Germany, nisse in Denmark, huldufolk in Iceland, and tomte in Sweden, to name a few – were considered fearsome creatures who demanded respect and if they felt they had been insulted, might take revenge by killing a cow, breaking things, or even abducting a member of the household. To avoid this, steps were taken to keep them mollified, for example by leaving treats for them or performing ritual dances.
Magic has also been seen in arcane Christmas customs such as the use of bells and certain plants. Bells have long been used to keep away malevolent spirits and utilized in religious rites. In folklore, bells were considered to possess something like a lifeforce or a soul, and were often attached to clothing, worn as amulets, tied to children and hung from the necks of animals important to a community.
During Europe’s Christianization, and particularly during the medieval period, Churches began to use bells to summon people to worship and to repel demons. With their magical properties, bells came to be associated closely with Christmas, which falls at a time of year that spirits had unusually easy access to our temporal realm. They have been used, for example, by men and boys who dress up as perchten in Austria, and on the Scandinavian Yule goat. In England, mummers used bells in their performances, and in Switzerland, in the Samichlaus processions on St. Nicholas’s Day, boys were known to chase the saint through villages ringing bells. The figures of Knecht Ruprecht, Belsnickel and Krampus also wear bells, and of course, so do Santa’s reindeer.
Plant Magic
Many plants and herbs associated with Christmas also had significance in ancient times as holding magical powers. Evergreens such as holly, ivy and mistletoe, which all bore fruit in winter time and therefore were considered manifestations of abiding life at a time of year when everything is dead, were used by pagans as sacraments to ensure growth and fertility. Mistletoe was also considered by the ancient druids the most sacred plant with both magical attributes and medicinal properties.
Although the druids were suppressed by the Romans, traditions of mistletoe lived on and began to appear in recorded Christmas customs in the 17th century. The poet Robert Herrick, in his poem “Ceremonie upon Candlemas Eve,” described the practice of taking down Christmas decorations on February 1 with the lines: “Down with the Rosemary, and so / Down with the Baies, & mistletoe.” As Richard Mabey writes in Flora Britannica, “Mistletoe traditions are amongst northern Europe’s last surviving remnants of plant magic.”
Nathaniel Parry is the author of the recently published book How Christmas Became Christmas: The Pagan and Christian Origins of the Beloved Holiday, from which this article has been adapted.
Top Image: Adoration of the Magi in British Library MS Yates Thompson 13 fol. 94v
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