Magical Rites Before New Year's Eve and Christmas: Between Sympathetic Magic and Collective Psychotherapy

Introduction: Ritual as a Bridge Between Worlds and Times

The winter solstice period, surrounded by the holidays of Christmas and New Year's, has been perceived in many cultures as a sacred, "thin" time when the boundary between worlds thins and the future becomes malleable. Magical rites associated with this time are not a random collection of superstitions but form a complex system based on the principles of sympathetic magic (J. Frazer), animistic worldview, and the deep need for renewal. From a scientific perspective, these practices can be considered as collective psychotechniques aimed at reducing anxiety about the future and structuring the life space.

Classification of Rites by Goals and Mechanisms

1. Rites of purification and expulsion of the old.
Before the onset of a new cycle, it was necessary to ritually destroy everything that had outlived its usefulness and was negative.

• Burning the Yule Log: In Scandinavian and Celtic traditions, a huge log (associated with the dying year and the old sun) was solemnly burned in the hearth for 12 nights of Yule. Its ashes were scattered over fields as a symbol of fertility and protection. This is a classic ritual of destruction through fire, transforming old matter into new energy.

• Throwing out old things: In Italy, there is a tradition of cappodanno ("headday"), when old dishes and unnecessary things are thrown out of windows on New Year's Eve. This act symbolizes the freeing up of space for the new. Anthropologists see here an expression of "sympathetic magic": physical cleansing of the home leads to symbolic cleansing of life.

• Caroling as a ritualistic purification: Slavic carolers, walking through houses with songs of blessings, performed the function of ritualistic "cleaners". Their visit and the receipt of gifts (carols) ensured the well-being of the hosts for the coming year, warding off potential evil. This is a collective ritual of mutual "charging" with luck.

2. Rites of attraction and programming well-being.
Desirable goods should be attracted to the cleansed place through symbolic actions.

• Gastronomic magic: Food here acts not as a treat but as a material carrier of desired qualities. Lentils in the Italian tradition (similar to coins) symbolize wealth. A whole pig's head or leg in German and Polish Christmas menus is a symbol of health and abundance (the pig digs forward, unlike, for example, the chicken). 12 dishes at the Slavic Christmas Eve are a reflection of 12 months or 12 apostles, where each dish "answers" for prosperity in a certain sphere.

• The magic of the first guest ("First-Footing" or "First-Footing"): The Scottish and northern English tradition attaches great importance to the first person to step over the threshold of the house after midnight. The ideal "first-foot" is a dark-haired man (a light-haired one was associated with Viking raiders), bringing symbolic gifts: coal (warmth), bread (sufficiency), a coin (wealth), and salt (purification). His visit magically programmed the entire coming year for the family.

• Protective symbols in space: Spreading wreaths of evergreen plants (holly, ivy, pine) on doors is not just decoration. A wreath, as an open circle, symbolizes the cyclicality of life and the sun, and thorny holly was considered a powerful protection against evil spirits. A kiss under the ivy, according to Celtic beliefs, guaranteed fertility and peace in the home.

3. Rites of divination about the future.
It was believed that it was possible to look into the future during "thin" times.

• Lead, tin, or wax casting: A widespread ritual in Central and Northern Europe. Molten metal is poured into water, and the resulting figure is interpreted. The shape of a ship预示ed a journey, a flower — love, an animal — a loyal friend. This method belongs to oracular (experimental) divination, where the future emerges through chaos.

• Slavic table divination: Collective divination with a ring, grain, or objects hidden under an overturned bowl. The ritual was accompanied by special songs, each of which was a program for the future (marriage, wealth, death). The collective form was important, reducing personal responsibility and fear of prediction.

• Observing natural signs: In Bulgarian tradition on Christmas Eve (Bъдни вечер), observed the "Christmas log": if it burned evenly, the year would be peaceful; if it cracked, to disputes. This is a classic example of animistic perception of nature as an oracle.

Scientific interpretations: psychological and social functions

Modern science explains the persistence of these rituals by a number of factors.

• Cognitive psychology: Rites, especially in a state of stress or uncertainty (and the transition to a new year is the quintessence of uncertainty), create an illusion of control in a person. Studies show that performing a ritual before an important event reduces cortisol levels (a stress hormone) and increases subjective confidence. Writing and burning desires works as a visualization technique and mental liberation from anxieties.

• Ritual theory (W. Turner): The New Year's and Christmas period is a liminal phase — a time "between worlds" when the old social order has collapsed and a new one has not yet been established. Rites serve as guides through this dangerous but fertile zone, structuring chaos and setting new cultural programs.

• Social anthropology (E. Durkheim): Collective rites (banquets, caroling, fireworks) serve as "electricity" of social solidarity. They periodically regenerate the group (family, community), strengthening a sense of belonging and common values at the moment of symbolic renewal of time.

Conclusion: Archaic codes in modern packaging

Modern traditions — the chimes of the clock, fireworks, New Year's greetings from leaders, even watching "Irony of Fate" — are secular transformations of ancient magical rituals. They preserve their core function: to provide psychological comfort, create a sense of control over time, and strengthen social ties. Magical practices before Christmas and New Year's demonstrate not the primitiveness of thinking but its deep ecological nature: humans created complex symbolic systems to interact with uncontrollable forces of time, nature, and destiny. These rituals, having moved from sacred groves to urban apartments, still perform the role of a cultural therapist, helping the collective to survive the crisis of the end of the cycle and to enter the new with hope.

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