The Christmas Mushroom

Morgan bought her and Jake advent calendars when she was home for Thanksgiving. She decided to rush the last week of chocolates and before she came home from school and found that the chocolate for the 23rd of December was a mushroom. She was perplexed! A mushroom what does that have to do with Christmas? I told her that mushrooms were magical and kind of laughed it off. I since decided to "google" the words Christmas mushroom. Quite a few sites came up. I went to the first one titled "Psychedelic Secrets of Santa". So I read about some of Santa's Secrets. Turns out Santa likes to partake of the psychedelic type of mushrooms.


Modern Christmas traditions are based on ancient mushroom-using shamans.

Although most people see Christmas as a Christian holiday, most of the symbols and icons we associate with Christmas celebrations are actually derived from the shamanistic traditions of the tribal peoples of pre-Christian Northern Europe.



The sacred mushroom of these people was the red and white amanita muscaria mushroom, also known as "fly agaric." These mushrooms are now commonly seen in books of fairy tales, and are usually associated with magic and fairies. This is because they contain potent hallucinogenic compounds, and were used by ancient peoples for insight and transcendental experiences.

Most of the major elements of the modern Christmas celebration, such as Santa Claus, Christmas trees, magical reindeer and the giving of gifts, are originally based upon the traditions surrounding the harvest and consumption of these most sacred mushrooms.

Although the modern image of Santa Claus was created at least in part by the advertising department of Coca-Cola, in truth his appearance, clothing, mannerisms and companions all mark him as the reincarnation of these ancient mushroom-gathering shamans.

One of the side effects of eating amanita mushrooms is that the skin and facial features take on a flushed, ruddy glow. This is why Santa is always shown with glowing red cheeks and nose. Even Santa's jolly "Ho, ho, ho!" is the euphoric laugh of one who has indulged in the magic fungus.

Santa also dresses like a mushroom gatherer. When it was time to go out and harvest the magical mushrooms, the ancient shamans would dress much like Santa, wearing red and white fur-trimmed coats and long black boots.

These peoples lived in dwellings made of birch and reindeer hide, called "yurts." Somewhat similar to a teepee, the yurt's central smokehole is often also used as an entrance. After gathering the mushrooms from under the sacred trees where they appeared, the shamans would fill their sacks and return home. Climbing down the chimney-entrances, they would share out the mushroom's gifts with those within.



It is even possible that the tradition of putting up stockings had to do with drying mushrooms over the fireplace.

The amanita muscaria mushrooms grow only under certain types of trees, mostly firs and evergreens. The mushroom caps are the fruit of the larger mycelium beneath the soil which exists in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of the tree. To ancient people, these mushrooms were literally "the fruit of the tree."

Ancient peoples were amazed at how these magical mushrooms sprang from the earth without any visible seed. They considered this "virgin birth" to have been the result of the morning dew, which was seen as the semen of the deity. The silver tinsel we drape onto our modern Christmas tree represents this divine fluid.

The effects of the amanita mushroom usually include sensations of size distortion and flying. The feeling of flying could account for the legends of flying reindeer, and legends of shamanic journeys included stories of winged reindeer, transporting their riders up to the highest branches of the World Tree.

Interesting stuff huh?
Another article I read about Christmas mushrooms explains things a little more scientific. There is a relationship between the fungi and the trees especially spruce and fir trees. They help each other. The mushrooms fight off parasites and make poor soil more favorable for the trees. The mushrooms also aid in water absorption. More water absorption enables the Christmas trees to grow taller. And the mushroom receives sugars and carbons and other essential organic substances from the trees.

So its fun to find odd chocolates in our advent calendars. And its fun to find answers to some of Santa's Secrets!