TeddsAdventure - Wow, Wow, Wow

Some of the articles i've written for the Book i'm compiling on "The Hidden History of Holidays":

The Reason For The Season
Exposure Magazine Nov/Dec 1998
(c)1998 All Rites Reversed
By Tédd St. Rain

Just how Christian is Christmas? As is the case with many other holidays, Christmas can trace it origins back to ancient Pagan traditions. Although it was named after the Cristes maesse, or Mass of Christ, and is thus primarily associated with Jesus and Christianity, its origin predates their existence by thousands of years.

Similar solstice celebrations have taken place throughout recorded history. Ancient people celebrated the victory of light over darkness from Asia to Africa and from Europe to the Americas. The festival of Christmas is actually an amalgam of Babylonian, Christian, Greek, Jewish, Mithraic, Pagan, Roman, and Zoroastrian religious traditions. In fact, the celebration of nearly all the solar saviors has historically occurred at this time; including the worship of Adonis, Apollo, Attis, Baal, Baldur, Dionysus, Frey, Jesus, Mithras, Osiris, Tammuz, amongst others.

As with nearly everything else in our modern society, the origin of Christmas has its foundations in Babylon with an ancient festival known as Sacaea. It represented the Twelve Days of Chaos, when the new year would rule over the old, summer over winter, good over evil, and order over chaos. The festival itself was only five days and was based on a king-sacrifice concept; whereas, a slave was clothed as the head of each household and a clown would take the part of the king. There was also a human scapegoat who would be given all indulgences until the end of the festival, when he was sacrificed. It is also associated with the Hebrew celebration of Purim, which follows the Fast of Esther, representing the deliverance from an imperiled slaughter in Persia.

About four thousand years ago, ancient Egyptians celebrated the rebirth of the sun at this time of year. They set the length of the festival at 12 days, to reflect the 12 divisions in their sun calendar. They decorated with greenery, using palms with 12 shoots as a symbol of the completed year, since a palm was thought to put forth a shoot each month. Christianity correlates the 12 days of Christmas as the time it took the wise men to arrive in Bethlehem.

In what is today Scotland, in the first millennium B.C.E., the ancient Druids celebrated the Winter Solstice with a vast celebration that marked the death of the old season and the rebirth of the new. Eventually the Persian and Egyptian, Persian, and European customs merged in ancient Rome, in a festival to the ancient god Saturn.

In one of its early Christian forms Christmas was known as Saturnalia, named after the Roman god of seed and sowing, Saturn. Like many other Pagan traditions it marked the changing of the seasons, this particular one marking the eve of the shortest day of the year and the return of the coming spring. The solstice marks the entry of the Sun into the Zodiac sign of Capricorn which is ruled by the planet Saturn.

As the most popular holy-day of the Roman year, it was a time of great merriment, with decorative greenery, gift exchanges, burning Yule logs, the abandonment of social customs, children could head the family, people cross-dressed, transvestitism was common, wars were postponed, grudges forgotten, quarrels disbanded, and businesses, courts, and schools were closed. The week-long Saturnalia festival was celebrated from December 17 to December 23. In the cycle of the ages, the period of Saturn was a time of plenty and equality, and thus Saturnalia was a momentary relapse to a happier time. There is no doubt, even today, that overindulgence, even by Roman standards, held a large place in the festival. It was probably this debauchery that lost favor with the church when Christmas was temporarily abolished by 17th Century English Puritans.

For a week during Saturnalia, servants were granted their freedom, reportedly being allowed to eat meals, drink alcohol, and speak freely with their masters. In an ironic twist, the masters were even said to serve their servants. The idea may have been that slaves would become more compliant if relieved from their cradle to grave existence, if only for a brief time each year.

In the 4th Century, Constantine moved Christ's birthday to December 25, thus merging the traditional festivals of Dies Natalis Sol Invictus (Day of the Birth of the Undefeated Sun) and Saturnalia into Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ. Even the timing of Saturnalia varied throughout the history of Rome. It began as feast days for Saturn, the god of Agriculture (earlier merged with the Greek Cronos) on December 17 and Ops, the Goddess of Plenty, mother of the Earth (and partner to Saturn and Consus) on December 19. With the advent of the Julian calendar, Saturnalia was held on December 17-18 and Opalia on December 19-20. During later times it was extended to a week from December 17-23. It was also associated with Dies Juvenalis (from Juventas, Goddess of Young Manhood who's related to the Greek Hebe of Youthful Beauty), the Coming of Age for Young Men in mid-December; Consualia (named after Consus, the God of Harvested Grain), the end of sowing season festival on December 15; the Feast of Sol Invicta, set in 274 C.E. on December 25; Brumalia, Winter Solstice of the pre-Julian calendar on December 25; Janus Day (from the God of Beginnings and Gates) and the Beginning of Calendar Year set in 153 B.C.E. and again in 45 B.C.E. on January 1; and Compitalia, the blessing of the fields festival on January 3-5.

It would seem that the holiday functioned as a safety valve for society, a time when people were allowed to blow off steam within the setting of an annual festival. In many respects the analogy of today's holiday season or annual office party to this ancient festival is uncanny. Many of the religious artifacts and rituals that have become associated with Christmas also have a narrative worth mentioning.

Saint Nicholas was said to have been born in Asia Minor in 326 C.E. and has been known for millennia as the patron saint of children. It is claimed that he was fond of giving them surprise gifts. St. Nick's festival was on December 6, but the practice of gift giving followed the Paganistic tradition and was later moved to Christmas. The custom of descending the chimney originates from his being a mystical person who must never touch the ground, thus leaving a pathway to the open sky. Part of the 'Father Christmas' story may date back to the Norse god Odin/Woden who would also give to the poor, and who used to ride across the sky on his sleigh pulled by reindeer. Another Norse deity, Freya, for twelve days after the winter solstice, was said to drive a chariot pulled by stags while giving out presents to the good. Eventually these different traditions were joined into a single entity that we know as Santa Claus.

Santa Claus himself was a Dutch corruption of 'San Nicolaas' when settlers brought the holiday with them to America. In 1822, Clement C. Moore was the first to describe him in modern detail in a poem as a present to his children. Up until that time he took on various descriptions including a skinny elf or Cernunnos dressed in green. In 1931, the Coca Cola company commissioned an artist to draw a jolly old Santa in red and white as their corporate logo. It is probably no coincidence that a powerful red and white hallucinogenic mushroom from northern Europe is the favorite food of reindeer. It was even used in pre-Christian sacraments and was said to emerge from the bits of spittle and blood that fell from the mouth of Odin/Woden's horse as he flew on the Winter Solstice. In the Norse tradition, the reindeer also represented an ancient horned god.

The Christmas Tree was introduced to European culture as the fir of Odin/Woden or the pine of Attis. The pine tree under which the god Attis had been killed was made into a shrine by devotees and was decorated with gold and silver bells and ornaments, hanged with streamers, and consecrated with gifts. Candles or lights on the tree symbolized the Sun, Moon, stars, and the souls of those departed. Christianity adopted the gifts as those of the three Magi and the lights as the symbol of Christ as the Light of the World.

Wreaths were common before the appearance of the Christmas tree. These Kissing Boughs were bound together in a globe or wreath, hung from the ceiling, and adorned with apples, ribbons, and presents. Gift Giving is reminiscient of the earlier Norse traditions associated with the Christmas tree and the devotional gifts to the gods. Of course, these customs were also a large part of the Roman Saturnalia festival.

Christmas Carols were once banned in Cromwellian England where they were thought of as wanton licentious behavior. Fortunately, they were brought back at the Restoration and with the 19th-Century renaissance of music became seasonal hymns at churches worldwide. Of course, nearly all of the traditional carols are of Pagan origin. Holly was associated with the old Pagan Holly King, and with the god Saturn, and not a crown of thorns, as many Christians have been taught to believe. Nor did the berries represent the blood of Christ. One long standing tradition asserts that holly was the wood of the cross, hence the magical power of Hollywood.

Mistletoe is an ancient Druid fertility symbol and, rest assured, was analogous with more than just kissing. Decorative greenery also expressed the Celtic belief that life had not died out in winter. The Yule in northern Europe was named after the Norse god of winter, Ullr. This dates to an old Scandinavian custom, where an oak or pine log was kept burning for 12 days before the midwinter celebration. It was festooned with evergreens (mostly ivy) and bright ribbons as it was brought home ritualistically. Tradition dictated that a piece of the Yule Log was saved to light the following year's log. The ashes of the Yule fire were sometimes strewn in the fields and gardens to promote fertility and the rejuvenative power of fire. In Greece, the season was celebrated by their 12-day festival with alcohol and merrymaking which was oversaw by the god of wine and revelry, Dionysus.

As mentioned above, Christmas was never a celebration of Christ's birth until the middle of the 4th Century when the Church fixed it's date. Instead, it became a way of twisting Paganistic beliefs to Christianity's benefit, converting more disciples for the new religion on the block. Old customs die hard, however, and it is still practiced today in its ancient traditional form in many cultures and Wiccan groups around the world.

SOURCES: The Aquarian Dictionary of Festivals (1990) by J.C. Cooper · Calendar of the Roman Republic (1967) by A. K. Michels · Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (1981) by H. H. Scullard · Macrobius: The Saturnalia (1969) translated by Percival Vaughan Davies · The Pagan Book of Days (1992) by Nigel Pennick · The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic (1899) by W. Warde Fowler · Sacred and Legendary Art (1891) by Anna Jameson · Saturnalia: Winter Solstice in Pagan Rome (1993) by Selena Fox.

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Don't Be My Valentine
By Tédd St. Rain.
(c) Feb 2000 - All Rites Reversed


Modern-day Valentine's Day customs include sending greeting cards known as valentines to loved ones. School rooms are often decorated with lace and paper hearts. Gifts of candy and flowers are also common.

Everyone knows that St. Valentine's Day probably originated from some sort of festival of love and happiness. But few people realize its true origins as a christianized amalgamation of the traditions of northern-Europe and Rome. The origins of Valentine's Day are uncertain, but many experts believe that it originated with Lupercalia, a Roman celebration honoring the wolves Romulus and Remus. Folklore also tells of the ancient belief that birds (particularly lovebirds) began to mate on February 14th.

Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14th as a festival of love and romance. While it is named after two Christian martyrs named Valentine, the celebration is actually patterned after a Roman pagan festival called Lupercalia. Lupercalia took place on February 15th to honor Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and Pan, god of nature. Young men and women chose partners for the festival by drawing names randomly from a box. These partners exchanged gifts as a signof affection, and often married.

Some of its preliminary history dates back to early Roman times. Back then, it actually started February 13th at sunset, the original Ancient Roman festival of the dead, Parentalia; and continued to the Feralia on the 21st. Although rather dated by today's standards, it was considered an unlucky month, in that was associated with the dead, and thus no marriages took place.

Lupercalia was originally an Ancient Roman spring fertility festival held on March 15th. It was said by Cicero to be so ancient in origin as to have been "instituted before civilization and law existed." People assembled at the cave called the Lupercal, where Romulus and Remus, the eponymous founders of Rome; suckled their wolf foster-mother. In the early days of Rome, fierce wolves roamed the woods nearby. The Romans called upon one of their gods, Lupercus, to keep the wolves away. Their calender was different at that time, with February falling in early springtime. And thus Lupercalia became connected with the legendary she-wolf (Latin lupus=wolf). In fact, the term "wolf" was a synonym in Rome for a sexually available woman, so the day became connected with Venus, goddess of sexual love. Venus' son Cupid also played an important part in this love feast.

One of the customs of the young people was name-drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars or bags. Each young man drew a slip. The names were drawn during the mid-February festivities and presents were exchanged; the couples would then remain together throughout the duration of the festival, or possibly longer.

Now this is where it gets a little gross. Goats and dogs were sacrificed and the youth had their heads smeared with the blood. The youths were naked except for animal skins. A throng was also made from animal skin and used to lash at the women as they went rushing around the scene. The men struck the women with a goatskin hide called a februa (where we get the word February). Receiving the blows was thought to make women more fertile and to ease childbirth. The women put themselves in the way of the lash as a sort of purification ritual of fertility magic. The youths were called the Lupercai. This purification ritual became, under Christianity, in the 6th Century, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In fact, Christianity simply attached many of the festivals traditions to a Saint, modified the date a little bit, and viola, another pagan holiday for the new religion.

The name of this well-known lover's holiday was thought to have come from at least two different men named Valentine. Both were priests in Rome at the time Christianity was the new religion on the block. The first was a bishop of Terni, about 60 miles from Rome. He was persecuted for converting a Roman family to Christianity, and was beheaded in Rome.

The second St. Valentine suffered a similar fate. He lived in Rome during the 200's and was jailed for aiding persecuted Christians. The Roman Emperor Claudius II Gothicus ordered the Roman soldiers NOT to marry or become engaged. Claudius believed that as married men, his soldiers would want to stay home with their families rather than fight his wars. Valentine defied the Emperor's decree and secretly married the young couples. He was eventually arrested, imprisoned, and put to death.

As the legend goes, he was beheaded by the Romans on February 14, 270 AD, the eve of the Roman holiday Lupercalia, on top of Palantine Hill at the site of an ancient altar to Juno. His remains are buried in the church of St. Praxedes in Rome. Valentine was then named a saint. In 496, Pope Gelasius changed the Lupercalia festival to February 14th - Valentine's Day, to give Christian meaning to a pagan festival. Thereafter, February 14th was designated feast day (until 1969, when it was dropped from the Roman Catholic calendar) to honor the two Christian saints.

Valentine's Day's northern-European origins are a little more mellow, by comparasion. They are dedicated to the Norse deity Vali, the archer god, son of Odin (aka Woden, Teutonic deity, where we get Wodin's Day, better known as Wednesday). It's also dedicated to St. Febronia, aka the goddess Juno Februa, (from Febris, fever of love) where we get the name February. And, of course we all know how Caesar Augustus stole a day from her. The holiday become popular in the United States in the 1800's during the Civil War. Now we celebrate the holiday honoring Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus.

SIDE BAR:

Love letters on Valentine's Day and throughout the year are often signed with a string of "X"s to represent kisses. But, why should an "X" be the symbol for a kiss? Our practice of using an "X" for a kiss grew out of the Medieval practice of letting those who could not write mark documents with an "X" to represent their name. This was done in the presence of Witnesses and a kiss was given upon the "X" to show sincerity. The "X" then became synonymous with the kiss in the minds of most people. The reason why the symbol "X" was chosen to represent ones name is found in two possible explanations.

One explanation has it that the "X" shape was original thought of as a cross. This "X" shaped cross or crux decussata was the symbol of St. Andrew (the brother of St. Peter). It may have been that people were making a pledge in the name of the martyred saint. It was only later that people thought of it more as a letter of the English alphabet, rather than a cross. The second explanation is that it might have been a pledge in the name of Christ. The "X", or Chi symbol is also a letter of the Greek alphabet, which has in past church history been used to represent the name "Christ."

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The Hidden History of Halloween
By Tédd St. Rain
©1999 - All Rites Reversed

Happy Samhain (pronounced sow-ain),

The final day of October, Halloween or All Hallow's Eve, and lesser known as November Eve or Samhain's Eve, is probably the most famous ritualistic holiday from our pagan past. You see, 'All Hallows' refers to Samhain (or Samhuinn), November 1st, that marks the beginning of winter, at which time it was customary to slaughter livestock. It is the first day of the month ruled by the goddess Samhain, the Irish name for the month of November. Its eve marked the end of the old year in the Celtic calendar, and its dawn the beginning of the new year. Samhain is thus a time between the years and between the worlds, when the veil between the present and the past, the living and the dead, is thinner than usual. It is the Festival of the Dead, that time of year when we remember our ancestors and hail our descendants. It was also a feast of fairies who ruled the festival but left after it was over and remained away until Beltane; it was a dangerous time for mortals as fairies could 'take' them. In the Christian tradition, November 1st celebrates all of the departed saints, while November 2nd remembers the souls of all the dead not elevated to sainthood (that's you and me folks). Materially, the nature of the festival, as with many other celebrations, is the same in the Pagan and Christian traditions.

The festival of Samhain is celebrated widely on its eve. This is the Christianized festival of All Hallow's Eve, popularly known as Halloween, which is observed after dark on October 31st. The paper masks, rubber bats, plastic skeletons, and mock witches' hats of present-day Halloween parties are a modern expression of the Pagan festival of remembrance of death and the departed. In the natural year, Samhain is the third harvest when in the former days animals were slaughtered and their meat smoked or salted down for winter. The tangible link with the dead at Samhain is present in the custom of making divinations on Halloween. Some Asatru groups remember the dark side of divinity at this festival in the forms of the dragons Fafnir and Hela, who were goddesses of the underworld.

Growth was at its lowest point and cold increasing, so bonfires were lit to encourage the sun by sympathetic magic. As at Beltane bonfires, people jumped over them and cattle were driven through them and witches burned on them. Going through the fire got rid of evil influences but also acted as fumigation to rid the cattle of parasites. Fires of the festival were called 'Samhnagan.'

Samhain was a time of chaos and the reversal of the normal order, symbolized by such tricks as blocking up chimneys, leading off cattle, or throwing cabbage at notable people. The hearth had to be swept clean and a fire kept burning for the dead. It was also a season for divination and the reading of omens such as placing two nuts in the fires as a test for lovers, burning steadily denoted constancy, popping was for inconstancy: though the rites varied from one region to another.

Apples and nuts associated with Samhain and Hallowe'en were also connected with the ancient Roman festival of Pomona, on November 1st, a feast of the ripening of fruits and a time when the summer stores were opened up for winter consumption. The apple was the Celtic Silver Bough and the fruit of the otherworld, symbolizing love, fertility, wisdom, and divination; the fruit of heaven and of wise men. The hazel was the sacred tree of Celtic groves and, like all nuts, represented hidden wisdom, lovers, and peace. As the Tree of Life it grew in Avalon by the sacred pool.

In Ireland, Samhain, as Oiche Shamhna, was celebrated everywhere; it was also, later, Hallowtide or Hallowe'en, the Pagan and Christian becoming indistinguishable. Again, ghosts and fairies were both active. Food offerings were to be left for both and it was dangerous to travel at night for fear of being led astray by fairies; iron or steel could be carried as apotropaic. After the advent of Christianity 'parshell' crosses were made and fixed to house, byre, and stable doors. Bonfires were lit as the 'Samhain pile' and ashes and burning brands were thrown out. There were also parties of 'guisers' going about collecting apples, nuts, or money and the hobby-horse, or horse's head, figured in the ceremonies. The evil powers were the Formorians and in earlier times human sacrifices; this was not only to propitiate the bowers but also to bring fertility.

In ancient Pagan Ireland, Samhain Day itself, La Samhna, was the middle day of a week's celebration at which the high king would receive representatives of his nation bearing examples of their arts and crafts. This holy week of Samhain has given rise to a number of festival around early November. The celebration of Guy Fawkes Night, when an effigy of a seventeenth-century would-be regicide is burned, is also directly related to the older fire festival. The central focus of Guy Fawkes night is the bon fire, continuing the practice of incinerating effigies that represent the ills and sadness of the year just passed. In Britain, Remembrance Day, November 11th, commemorates the fallen of World War I and is also related to the earlier Celtic festival of the dead. It is held on the festival of the Martinmas, otherwise known Old November Day. The traditional sigil for the festival of Samhain is a knot of protection.

Traces of human sacrifice are also seen in the Welsh 'Black Sow' ceremony in which everyone ran downhill as fast as possible shouting 'the Black Sow take the hindermost,' the last person being the victim. The Black Sow was the spirit of evil, cold, and death. The same significance applied to the victim chosen by the carline cake at Beltane. The wholesale killing of animals was not only for winter food but because there was not enough feed for them in the fields in winter. The slaughter took on a ritual and sacrificial aspect among the Celts and Teutons and bore the marks of an earlier pastoral festival with the emphasis on semi-divine animals. Feasting followed and the dead were also feasted. In Germany and Gaul, boisterous processions took place and men dressed in animal masks and skins, thus gaining contact with the sacred animals and with the deities.

At Samhain, a sheaf of corn, a branch of evergreen or mistletoe, symbolically carried on the dying powers of vegetation. Carrying or decorating with evergreens demonstrates that life as not died. Pliny gives an account of a Druid festival of the cutting of the mistletoe from an oak tree: it was cut with a 'golden' sickle and caught in a white cloak, as it much never touch the ground. Two white bulls were sacrificed and a feast held. Samhain was also a time of truce with no fighting, violence, or divorce allowed, hence it was a time of marriage. Accounts were closed, debts collected, contracts made, and servants hired.

Recent news stories report that "The Farmers Almanac" is lobbying to set Halloween as the last Saturday in October, so that parents will be able to participate with their children, without having to worry about getting up for work in the morning.

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Maewyn: The Patron Saint of Ireland
Exposure Magazine - Feb/Mar 1999
By Tédd St. Rain.


St. Patrick's Day is probably the best known of the many popular Saint's days throughout the year. In Ireland it is known as Trefuilnid Treochair, the national day of Ireland; where sports events, parades, wearing of the shamrock, dancing and, of course, drinking are the order of the day.

According to most sources, St. Patrick was born around 385 C.E. under Roman rule. His birthplace has been given as either southern Wales or Somerset, but was most likely near Dumbarton, Scotland. His given name was Maewyn and although born to Christian parents, he was said to have thought of himself as pagan. At about the age of 16 he was kidnapped from his father's farm by Picts and sent to Ireland. Brought to Antrim, he was sold to Meliuc, a local land owner, who put him to work on a mountain as a shepherd.

He escaped from this misery after six years, and was returning to Britain when he was taken captive by a gang of marauders who temporarily returned him to slavery. After a couple months he was able to free himself and spent the next several years traveling in Europe while trying to determine his mission in life. After arriving in Gaul, and assuming his Christian name, Patrick, he studied for awhile at the Lerin Monastery, followed by several years with the bishop of Auxerre, St. Germain. It was during this time that he found his true calling which was to return to Ireland and convert pagans to Christianity. He then returned to Britain, where against the wishes of his friends and relatives, was determined to return to Ireland to carry out his mission. The church authorities sent St. Palladius instead, and it was another two years before Patrick was appointed second bishop to Ireland, in about 432 C.E.

He spent nearly 30 years preaching to pagan tribes, training clergy, baptizing about 100,000 people, and establishing over 300 Christian monasteries throughout Ireland. In fact, so many people turned to God that Ireland became known as the Isle of Saints. The Celtic Druids were not too delighted with his success at attracting converts and he was arrested, but subsequently escaped, several times. He retired in County Down, where he died on 17 March 461 C.E., a date which has ever since been celebrated as the feast of St. Patrick.

Like many holidays, St. Patrick's Day is associated with its fair share of mythical folklore. For example, it is considered foreboding for the day to fall on Palm Sunday. Also, at one point in his career, St. Patrick was said to have delivered a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Not a bad idea, but apparently there have never been snakes in Ireland. He is also said to have raised people from the dead. A more reliable story tells how St. Patrick would use the three-leafed shamrock to illustrate how the holy Trinity could exist as independent portions of the whole. As a result, his followers began putting shamrocks on their lapels for St. Patrick's Day, a custom still seen today. Another tradition involves the blarney stone which can be found at Blarney Castle, near Cork, Ireland. It is said to impart skill in flattery to anyone who kisses it. In America, the newly arriving Irishmen adopted the holiday in 1737 C.E., when it was first celebrated in Boston, and now more than 100 cities hold St. Patrick's Day parades.

It should be no surprise that St. Patrick unwittingly passed away on what used to be a pagan holiday. In more ancient times 17 March ended Dionysia, the 2-day festival of the Greek god Dionysus, the Dying God of Vegetation. Plays were performed and bulls were sacrificed. It was primarily a daytime festival, but as with many other Dionysian festivals, wild nocturnal orgies were common. Dionysus was said to have spent time at Delphi, while Apollo was away, where he was affiliated with the cult of souls, which later became ritualistic festivals for propitiation of the dead, or in our current paradigm, All Soul's Day on 02 November.

In ancient Ireland, 17 March ended the Celtic month of Nuin, or ash; which then commenced the month of Fearn, representing the alder tree. In past times, this day celebrated the feast for the trident-bearing Celtic divinity "the triple bearer of the triple key," whose sacred plant was the shamrock. Eventually this tradition was amalgamated with the St. Patrick we all know and love.

SOURCES: The Aquarian Dictionary of Festivals (1990) by J.C. Cooper o The Celts (1986) by Frank Delaney o The Church Triumphant (1988) by Nate Krupp o Eerdmans' Handbook to the History of Christianity (1977) by Editor Tim Dowley o Encyclopaedia of Religion and Religions (1958) by E. Royston Pike o The Pagan Book of Days (1992) by Nigel Pennick o The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles (1991) by Ronald Hutton o The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic (1899) by W. Warde Fowler o Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (1996) o The World Book Encyclopedia (1988)

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