The Turkish roots (no pun intended) of Xmas tree.
Mavi Boncuk |
TR akçam ağacı, Hardy to -30°F EN Turkish fir (Abies bornmulleriana) a type of silver fir (Abies alba).
Nardoqan or Nardugan[*] (Turkish: Nardoğan or Nardugan, Azerbaijanese: Narduqan) was a Turkic holiday concept that originated from Sumerian tradition. Nowadays, it is most commonly used to refer to the winter solstice in many Central Asia languages. It is also used as an equivalent name for the Christian holiday Christmas. The root of the word is not clear. But associated with following words; Mongolian: Нар (Nar) - The Sun| Oirat: Нарн (Narn) - The Sun | Arabic: نار (Nar) - The Fire and Turkic verb Doğmak (that means to born or to rise) merged and combined with this root. Also it means the "Newborn Sun". Nardoqan or Narduğan was a Sumerian holiday, referred to the winter solstice. It was celebrated by Sumerians and later Turkic traditions on December 21, the longest night of the year and the night of the winter solstice. On this night, symbolizing old sun, becomes smaller as the days become shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, and dies on December 22, the winter solstice. It is said to be defeated by the dark and evil powers. On December 23 becomes the new sun. White pine was accepted as life tree even before shaman period for us in central asia. Sun was very important and people believed 21-22 December dates actually were the fight between night and day . And daylight was the winner. To celebrate this Turks used to decorate pine tree and give some gifts and makes wishes while praying for Tengri Ulgen with shamanic wors such as “ulaşılmaz mavi gök|unreachable blue sky”, “erişilmez ak gök|unreachable white sky” “dönen yıldızlı gök|circling starry sky” the three natures as sky, spritual sky and cosmos.
[*]The Russians call it 'kolyadki'.
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Yggdrasil
(pictured This large tree in the Viking Age Överhogdal tapestries may be Yggdrasil with Gullinkambi on top. )
From 1916 translation by ARTHUR GILCHRIST BRODEUR of Snorri Sturluson's The Prose Edda, a text on Old Norse Poetics, written about 1200.
“Near the earth's centre was made that goodliest of homes and haunts that ever have been, which is called Troy, even that which we call Turkland...There he established chieftains in the fashion which had prevailed in Troy; he set up also twelve head-men to be doomsmen over the people and to judge the laws of the land; and he ordained also all laws as, there had been before, in Troy, and according to the customs of the Turks.”
Possibly Yggdrasil to Yggd Yurd Urd Erde Earth[1] SOURCE
Hilda Ellis Davidson notes parallels between Yggdrasil and shamanic lore in northern Eurasia: The conception of the tree rising through a number of worlds is found in northern Eurasia and forms part of the shamanic lore shared by many peoples of this region. This seems to be a very ancient conception, perhaps based on the Pole Star, the centre of the heavens, and the image of the central tree in Scandinavia may have been influenced by it.... Among Siberian shamans, a central tree may be used as a ladder to ascend the heavens. Davidson says that the notion of an eagle atop a tree and the world serpent coiled around the roots of the tree has parallels in other cosmologies from Asia. She goes on to say that Norse cosmology may have been influenced by these Asiatic cosmologies from a northern location. Davidson adds, on the other hand, that it is attested that the Germanic peoples worshiped their deities in open forest clearings and that a sky god was particularly connected with the oak tree, and therefore "a central tree was a natural symbol for them also".
[1] earth (n.) Look up earth at Dictionary.com Old English eorþe "ground, soil, dry land," also used (along with middangeard) for "the (material) world" (as opposed to the heavens or the underworld), from Proto-Germanic*ertho (cf. Old Frisian erthe "earth," Old Saxon ertha, Old Norse jörð, Middle Dutch eerde, Dutch aarde, Old High German erda, German Erde, Gothic airþa), from PIE root *er-(2) "earth, ground" (cf. Middle Irish -ert "earth"). The earth considered as a planet was so called from c.1400.
Mavi Boncuk |
TR akçam ağacı, Hardy to -30°F EN Turkish fir (Abies bornmulleriana) a type of silver fir (Abies alba).
Nardoqan or Nardugan[*] (Turkish: Nardoğan or Nardugan, Azerbaijanese: Narduqan) was a Turkic holiday concept that originated from Sumerian tradition. Nowadays, it is most commonly used to refer to the winter solstice in many Central Asia languages. It is also used as an equivalent name for the Christian holiday Christmas. The root of the word is not clear. But associated with following words; Mongolian: Нар (Nar) - The Sun| Oirat: Нарн (Narn) - The Sun | Arabic: نار (Nar) - The Fire and Turkic verb Doğmak (that means to born or to rise) merged and combined with this root. Also it means the "Newborn Sun". Nardoqan or Narduğan was a Sumerian holiday, referred to the winter solstice. It was celebrated by Sumerians and later Turkic traditions on December 21, the longest night of the year and the night of the winter solstice. On this night, symbolizing old sun, becomes smaller as the days become shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, and dies on December 22, the winter solstice. It is said to be defeated by the dark and evil powers. On December 23 becomes the new sun. White pine was accepted as life tree even before shaman period for us in central asia. Sun was very important and people believed 21-22 December dates actually were the fight between night and day . And daylight was the winner. To celebrate this Turks used to decorate pine tree and give some gifts and makes wishes while praying for Tengri Ulgen with shamanic wors such as “ulaşılmaz mavi gök|unreachable blue sky”, “erişilmez ak gök|unreachable white sky” “dönen yıldızlı gök|circling starry sky” the three natures as sky, spritual sky and cosmos.
[*]The Russians call it 'kolyadki'.
(pictured This large tree in the Viking Age Överhogdal tapestries may be Yggdrasil with Gullinkambi on top. )
From 1916 translation by ARTHUR GILCHRIST BRODEUR of Snorri Sturluson's The Prose Edda, a text on Old Norse Poetics, written about 1200.
“Near the earth's centre was made that goodliest of homes and haunts that ever have been, which is called Troy, even that which we call Turkland...There he established chieftains in the fashion which had prevailed in Troy; he set up also twelve head-men to be doomsmen over the people and to judge the laws of the land; and he ordained also all laws as, there had been before, in Troy, and according to the customs of the Turks.”
Possibly Yggdrasil to Yggd Yurd Urd Erde Earth[1] SOURCE
Hilda Ellis Davidson notes parallels between Yggdrasil and shamanic lore in northern Eurasia: The conception of the tree rising through a number of worlds is found in northern Eurasia and forms part of the shamanic lore shared by many peoples of this region. This seems to be a very ancient conception, perhaps based on the Pole Star, the centre of the heavens, and the image of the central tree in Scandinavia may have been influenced by it.... Among Siberian shamans, a central tree may be used as a ladder to ascend the heavens. Davidson says that the notion of an eagle atop a tree and the world serpent coiled around the roots of the tree has parallels in other cosmologies from Asia. She goes on to say that Norse cosmology may have been influenced by these Asiatic cosmologies from a northern location. Davidson adds, on the other hand, that it is attested that the Germanic peoples worshiped their deities in open forest clearings and that a sky god was particularly connected with the oak tree, and therefore "a central tree was a natural symbol for them also".
[1] earth (n.) Look up earth at Dictionary.com Old English eorþe "ground, soil, dry land," also used (along with middangeard) for "the (material) world" (as opposed to the heavens or the underworld), from Proto-Germanic*ertho (cf. Old Frisian erthe "earth," Old Saxon ertha, Old Norse jörð, Middle Dutch eerde, Dutch aarde, Old High German erda, German Erde, Gothic airþa), from PIE root *er-(2) "earth, ground" (cf. Middle Irish -ert "earth"). The earth considered as a planet was so called from c.1400.