Do you know where some of your favorite holiday traditions come from? For example, Halloween is derived from the Celtic pagan religious holiday Samhain? Easter from an early pagan celebration of the spring equinox?
What about Christmas traditions like flying reindeer, ornaments on Christmas trees, or Santa coming down a chimney? Well, there's a fascinating theory that mushrooms may be the key to understanding the magic of Christmas!
Throughout history, mushrooms have played a significant role in many cultures. In Northern Europe, shamanic leaders would hang amanita muscaria, the iconic red-and-white mushroom, on trees to dry out, giving the tree a decorated appearance.
They would then collect the mushrooms in a large sack and pass them out door to door to their village.Β
These mushrooms were often dried further by hanging them in socks over the fireplace. And when the snow was too deep to travel, the shaman would enter the yurt through the chimney-like smoke hole at the top.
But perhaps the most fascinating part of this mushroom tale is the role they played in inducing a state of communication with the spiritual world. To do this, the shaman would need to consume amanita muscaria mushrooms, which contain compounds like muscimol and ibotenic acid that can cause severe stomach pain. To avoid this, the shaman would feed the mushrooms to reindeer, who would then filter the mushrooms through their digestive system.
The result? The reindeer would eat the mushrooms and become so lively they would appear to be flying! This, combined with the shaman's spiritual journey, may have contributed to the legend of flying reindeer and the magic of Christmas. We hope you've enjoyed learning about the fascinating history of mushrooms during the holiday season.
