For this reason, pagan and druid communities actually celebrate the first sunrise after the winter solstice ... would cut mistletoe that grew on oak trees and give it as a blessing.

Now, the winter solstice ... practices we associate with Christmas today came from pagan celebrations of the solstice, such as Christmas trees and wreaths, which originated from the celebration ...

Many of these Christmas symbols have humble beginnings that go back to the very origins of Christmas and its associations ...

Dressed in pagan folk costumes ... But these colourful revellers celebrating the winter solstice have not come to decorate a tree, but to burn one.

Drowning of  Marzanna  (Morana) in the Opole region in Poland. Photo: Mariusz Przygoda-FORUM-0436350188 Morana and Gaik: The Intertwined Pagan and Christian Traditions of the Spring Solstice in Poland ...

On the winter solstice, visitors traditionally enter the towering, mysterious stone circle for a sunrise ceremony run by local pagan and druid groups. Winter solstice marks the shortest day of ...