Christmas in our Galactic Sector
A little bit of spiritual reflection, for the end of Saturnalia; by Shari'ana
You would probably be surprised to discover that you are not the only species which has celebrations at this time of year. But then, if you were to think about it from a psychohistorical perspective, you wouldn’t be surprised at all.
And dare I say you should already know all of this, from your own considerations of comparative mythology. We all live in the same natural worlds, after all.
In fact, any intelligent lifeform which evolved on a planet with an axial tilt – and therefore seasons – will have a midwinter festival. Furthermore, given the nature of this time of year, the specific imagery and customs associated with this festival will also be recognisably similar. This is the time of year, after all, when the sun reaches its lowest point, but then starts to rise again. Thus, it is the darkest hour followed by renewed hope. Or death, followed by rebirth.
Likewise, given that storytelling is ubiquitous for any intelligent lifeform possessing language and a certain degree of free time – which they will, once they’ve mastered control over fire – and that narrative theory universally dictates characterisation, the sun, the protagonist in this story, will be personified in a figure which is very likely slain by the forces of antagonism only to rise up again and deliver a transformational message of new hope and new life.
And of course they would be born on the day the sun starts to rise in the sky again. And be slain by the forces of antagonism at the Spring equinox, only to bloom again a few days later with the Great Flowering, the rejuvenation when the chrysalis breaks open and the butterflies of summer come out to play.
Moreover, that figure would indeed be accompanied by companions – what you might even call disciples – the number of which would reflect the signs of the zodiac. Each would have their own character and personify the same kind of spiritual and evolutionary progression you would recognise. It is likely their number would express the number of archetypes to which that system resonates. Yours, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn, is twelve. This can also, naturally, depend on the orbital period of the planet and, if they have any natural satellites, the length of the lunar months. As for the stars themselves, the simple laws of physics tell you their spacings are rather uniform in whichever spiral arm you prefer. You might also be surprised and delighted to learn that their constellations would not be too dissimilar to yours – especially in our own galactic sector. They would, as I say, personify universal principles. They would have the same stories accompanying them, for sure.
All spacefaring lifeforms start out as you once did, living in harmony with nature in your little social groups, inventing fire and making for yourself the free time to observe and note correspondences and reflect on the spirit and the soul’s evolution. Customs would develop out of this and many of those would surely survive. Not merely out of nostalgia, but out of innate wisdom, learned long ago. They would’ve had the same concerns as you do, the same spectrum of needs, the same mystical thoughts.
None of us are so different after all. You’ve only forgotten.
Taking this further, if we are talking about a planet with vegetation, then the inclusion of a sacred tree should be expected at this time of year. Evergreen, one imagines, to symbolise the persistence of life. Likewise, the sharing of gifts and offerings placed beneath that tree. A prayer, a plea, and a ritual for the renewal of hope and fertility and a fruitful year to come.
Similarly, a certain degree of hedonism is only to be expected, given that intelligent, self-respecting and resourceful lifeforms will invent any excuse to brighten up the mood during the darkest time of the year. If they are carbon-based, then alcohol would be almost obligatory. Then there would be all manner of sweet things, especially for the younglings, since this is also the time of year when such sweet things wouldn’t be fruiting naturally. In the form of sweet preserves, perhaps. They certainly would’ve invented preservation by this time, after all.
Candles, fires, any kind of light in the darkest hour – also to be expected.
Games – certainly. Where there is hedonism and family, there will be games, since all younglings learn through play.
And, yes, storytelling. All intelligent lifeforms see the world through stories.
Because that’s what this all is, in the end. They will have Christmas visidramas too. And they would have just the same themes as yours do.
So, my dearest things, if you were to only look up into the sky at night at this time of year – given you have more time to do such a thing – and if you know enough astronomy to identify some of your closest neighbour systems – and, lastly, given it’s Christmas and Saturnalia and all, meaning you really, really don’t want to come across all speciesist or racist, now, do you, perhaps you might like to open your heart and spare a few moments of contemplation for all those exo-families out there just like you who may well be celebrating their own midwinter festivals.
Then you might realise that you’re not all so different after all. And perhaps, our galactic sector isn’t so far away, or scary, or vast and beyond comprehension at all.
That in fact, there have always been and always will be others out there who are just the same as you.
Incompatibility, really, is actually something of a rarity, at least in my own exo-experience.
So now there’s a lovely and hopeful thought for you at this time of year.
Merry Midwinter, my dearest things. Merry Midwinter…
I love this Evelyn. "Christmas everywhere" - and logically it probably is! happy last day at work made happier. Thank you for your incontrovertible logic and space opera scale imagination (for the whole year long)