The true origin of Christmas???

I came across a marvellous piece of research recently, for a short story I was writing, about the shamans of Siberia. I learned that like most shamans, they are not adverse to using psychotropic substances, in their case magic mushrooms, namely the Amanita Muscaria variety.

Amanita Muscaria are the beautiful red shiny variety with white spots. The sort you see in children’s fairytales. They grow in abundance in Siberia and are used in Shamanic rituals to visit the spirit world. The shamans would then return to their tribe and share the gifts of wisdom gleaned from their trip.

These beautiful mushrooms grow under pine trees (oh yes) and part of the gathering and preserving process was to pick the mushrooms and hang them on the pine trees to dry out. The trees would look as if they were festooned with decorations (that’s right).

And to honour the mushrooms, during their rituals the shamans would dress in red and white, (fancy that).

Now these mushrooms are extremely toxic and it is very hard to get the correct dosage, but those shamans were extremely clever. Apparently, these mushrooms were a favourite treat for reindeer (hmmm). The shaman would spot reindeer flying high on mushrooms, and follow them… to collect their urine. The reindeer’s metabolism detoxifies the mushrooms enough for the shamans to be able to drink the urine and experience the bliss of the mushroom! 

So there you have it –  decorated pine trees, flying reindeer, the red and white costume and the sharing of gifts with the tribe.

A completely different take on the Christmas tradition? What do you think?

I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Christmas. Ho ho ho!