Firstly, I know this is a bit early, but Merry Christmas everyone
I’ve been thinking about how to incorporate a Kemetic festival with Christmas time recently and I’ve worked out a connection that I think will work for me.
I’ve discovered that the ancient Temple of Mut in Karnak seemed to have a lot going on in December/Shefbedet including the festival of the Sailing of Mut, Lady of Isheru at the end of December.
Mut was known as the consort of Amun-Re and the mother of Khonsu. This Theban triad is celebrated at the Opet festival in September. I think a celebration of this triad will work well considering the themes celebrated at this time of year.
Do you celebrate a Kemetic festival in December and if so, what kind? Or do you simply celebrate Kemetic themes around Christmas?
Most of my family celebrates Christmas the usual way, but my mother and I give each other Ancient Egyptian themed gifts.
This year I’m writing her a simple spell/invocation for her favorite goddess. (There may be some mild grammatical errors because Middle Egyptian is haaaard - feel free to offer corrections ).
Moomas is basically the modern, more joyful celebration related to the Establishment of the Celestial Cow, and people’s desire to have a reason in their own religious tradition to link up with the Western social tradition of Christmas. I kinda. Dislike it for that. I feel if people want to celebrate the Establishment, they can and should, but I don’t want Christianity seeping into my Kemetic practice, which is what is happening with so much of Moomas stuff.
In case y’all can’t tell, I don’t have an interest in linking up Kemetic themes to Christmas I link my Kemetic themes to Kemetic festivals and seasons. In December, the big one for me is Return of the Wandering Eye/She Is Led Back.
I like to celebrate Christmas because it brings my family together and it’s fun to celebrate an event with others. I also like celebrating my Kemetic path. I’m happy to look at common themes between both Christian and Kemetic traditions where there are common areas. I base my rituals on Kemetic ones, not Christian ones, but I sometimes find it easier to connect to the Netjeru if I’m surrounded by other people celebrating festivals of a similar nature.
I’m not 100% sure if you were just noting your interest or asking, but for those curious:
I am KO as well as independent, and in KO each Kemetic year they divine for a God (or Gods) who is “over” that year. This year it is Shu, in his form of Anhur (“One Who Leads Back the Distant One”), and it is a very powerful year for me because of my relationship to Hethert, who can be the distant one.
So, for me, both in general as someone with a deep relationship to Hethert, and as KO, in this year of Shu-as-Anhur, the Return of the Wandering Eye festival is huge because of the emotional impact. The solar meaning exists, but also the great joy at Hethert (or whoever your Eye may be in the myth) being convinced to return to Kemet to great celebration. Wonderful stuff! Way better than the Establishment of the Celestial Cow IMO
I mean the celebration isn’t a KO one. I was just providing context for why this particular festival has crept up the “Big Festival” rankings for some Kemetics this year. I suspect it will stay quite high for me regardless just b/c of my relationship to Hethert.
I don’t personally link Christmas to any Kemetic festival. I do have a strong interest in Heathenry so I tend to remove a lot of the Christianity from the winter holidays and revert back to Yule. Evergreens, roaring fires, and snowy nights make my Scandi DNA sing!
I’m the only Kemetic in my family! I do have a friend who’s exploring Wicca/looking into being a kitchen witch and I bought her a couldron mug for Christmas.
I think my brother is into a bit of astrology. He was into crystals previously, but we haven’t talked about it much.
).
I link my Kemetic themes to Kemetic festivals and seasons. In December, the big one for me is Return of the Wandering Eye/She Is Led Back.
, so it doesn’t really cramp my style with heavy Christian vibes.