I wrote this last year. I came up with it on the spot during ritual, and wrote it down.
(Disclaimer: There's no actual evidence that Dionysus birthday was ever celebrated on or around the winter solstice. Trust me, I checked. But I am choosing to celebrate his birthday on the winter solstice anyway.)
Ritual setup: An altar laid out with the Toys of Dionysus, statues of him, candles, fake ivy, grape agate, and a chalice of wine. I also had a thyrsus on hand.
Toys of Dionysus: A top, a ball, a bullroarer (noisemaker), astragaloi (dice or jacks are fine), a pinecone, an apple (ideally gold), and a mirror.
(The pink tube thing is my bullhorn. You spin it and it makes a whistling sound.)
Last year I began this ritual with Aristides' Oration. This year I might begin with Jack Grayle's invocation to Dionysus from The Hekataeon. Pick your favorite invocation!
Liturgy below:
Hear how Dionysus was born. On this, the longest night of the year, when the khthonic daimons reign without fear of the sun. Hear how Zeus Khthonios, lord of the heavens and the Underworld, Lord of the Universe, came to Persephone in a cave. Dread Persephone, dark Persephone, queen of those below. Queen of dark places. Hear how he came to hear in the form of a dragon, great and terrible, sensuous and scaled, how he coiled around her like a vine.
Hear how Dionysus was born on this longest night. In this subterranean place, he was born: the dark gods, the dread god, the baby Lord of the Universe, with the horns of a bull. Like the bull who took Europa to Crete. Like the bull that crosses the starry night sky, the bull in the center of the Labyrinth, the bull that pulls the moon. A crown grows out his head, proclaiming his divinity and sovereignty.
Hear how Zeus brought his son to Olympus, how he brought Zagreus from the deepest pit to the highest heaven. How he placed him on the throne of Heaven and gave him thunderbolts to play with as trifling toys. The great spears of heaven, in the hands of a child, energy coursing through his body.
Hear how the Queen of Heaven was angry to see this khthonic prince on the throne of Heaven. So she called the beasts of the earth, the nameless Titans, to destroy him. Hear how they distracted him with shiny toys, much more appealing than thunderbolts:
The Top: The top, that whirls and spins like the ecstatic mystic in a trance, until it collapses from exhaustion. The top, that is lashed as it spins. The top, that marks the boundary between waking and dreaming. [Yes, this is an Inception reference. Ariadne is literally in it, and she's played by a trans man. How Dionysian is that?]
The Bullhorn: The sound of the ritual cry. (No more words, just swishing and spinning it.)
The Apple: The apple of immortality, of the Hesperides; drink of it and never die. Eat of it and know the secrets of the gods, the things they endeavor to keep hidden, the difference between you and them.
The Astragaloi: The astragaloi, that determine the fates of men. The astragaloi, of games of chance.
The Pinecone: The pinecone, the source of life. The fruit of winter. The pinecone, that drips with honey, like a phallus.
The Sphere: The sphere of the earth, the sphere of the universe. The Platonic sphere of the One, the spheres of reality that extend in every direction. Dionysus chooses to be in our sphere with us.
The Mirror: The mirror, in which you contemplate yourself. No one knows me better than I know myself. I know myself. Nothing about me is hidden from me. Look into the mirror and see your own divinity, like light in your eyes. I am Dionysus. I AM DIONYSUS!
Hear how, when the baby god was distracted by the mirror, the Titans rent him apart and ate him. Consumed him. Imbibed him. Took him into themselves.
But even in pieces, gods do not die. When Zeus blasted the Titans to ash with his thunderbolt, Dionysus returned, in a lesser state, but still there. He returned in pieces. Eight billion pieces. We are all pieces of Dionysus.
It's commonly asserted that Christmas has pagan origins. This idea, although popular on the internet and on the History Channel, the reality is that when you actually dig into the origin of these supposed pagan roots they really start to fall apart.
A Roman festival in honor of Dionysus. Though originally the month-long prelude to Saturnalia, many now celebrate it on the Solstice. One can drink mulled wine, decorate with pine branches, take solstice baths, and rewrite Holiday carols in honor of our god!
Keep Bromios in Brumalia!
Information quoted directly from the Hellenion calendar event:
I'm including that reddit since I find it also helpful. Not enough spoons to make a proper post to better enjoy my own season so, have fun doing your own research for this one.
Here's my old quick post for Saturnalia as well. I've since researched it a lot and just have to sit down with it all when I have some time to make a proper post.
Also wanted to share this amazing album I found after losing. (My favs are the Dance of the Bacchantes and The Invocation.)
Happy brumalia to anyone that celebrates! May dionysos brung you all good times this new year
If you are interested in celebrating with someone, me and a few of my mods in my discord server will be hosting an event for brumalia today at 12pm EST. Feel free to stop by and join as we pray, do offerings and libation, and watch hercules!
“De Colores Sensitivos” by Peruvian band Brumalia. Brumalia desribes themselves as “a project that combines noise, gothic, enveloping guitars and a female lyrical voice.“
