When it came time for me to decide which of the Olympians should be assigned to which month of our calendar, I tried to incorporate a number of ideas:
1) keeping with modern traditions - example - February for Aphrodite because of Valentine's Day; June for Hera because the month most weddings happen, (and the Roman name for Hera was Juno - bonus)
2) corresponding to natural phenomenon in Manitoba - Artemis as goddess of assisting in Birth and the wild places, so she was placed in the spring; Ares took August for the heat; September is the beginning of wine making hence Dionysos took September.
3) hopes of furthering associations - Hephaistos takes December
And this is what I want to discuss, why Hephaistos took December.
According to the Ancient Athenian Calendar (because every major polis had their own calendar, although we have the most information on the Athenian one, hence it is the one to follow), the month of our modern December falls in line with two ancient months: Hespereon and Poseideon. This is because the ancient Greeks used a lunar calendar instead of the solar one we use.
It is the month of Poseideon that lands towards the end of December, named after the festival of Poseidea, a celebration to Poseidon. Because in today's culture we are so tied into this idea of big end of year celebrations (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Yule), many modern Hellenics have taken to celebrating Poseidea on or near the Winter Solstice. Some groups have even made a big celebration out of honouring Herakles' birth at this time of year.
For me, in the hopes of furthering associations between the Theoi and our modern lives, I choose to place Hephaistos over Poseidon for December.
While there is no doubt in my mind that the ancient celebration of honouring the God of the Sea had intense meaning at this time of year for a country that's a peninsula, it does not have much meaning for us, a province in the middle of the continent. While the sea may not play a big role for us at this time of year, the cold and snow does. And so I thought about the cold, the snow, and how it feels to be stuck outside in minus 40 degree weather. Naturally when thinking of December my mind went to Christmas and while I tried to stay away from those associations, something kept coming back - the fireplace.
The fireplace naturally had me thinking of Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, who is honoured everyday in our homes. But as I thought more about December - staying indoors, knitting or building things to keep our selves busy, creating things with our hands - it lead me quickly to the God of Smith Work - Hephaistos.
The fireplace is a great representation of Hephaistos' forges, and also a symbolic representation of stoking the solar fire (the Sun) for it's return to power. December is a great month as a Pagan to hunker down and prepare yourself for the new year. The winter months are the right time to replenish supplies, create new tools, do reading a research. All great things to do since the frigid temperatures prevent us from doing many outdoor rituals or celebrations in general.
Honouring Hephaistos is a month long observance. HoM does our monthly libations to the Theos on the first Sunday of December, and the rest of the month is for further contemplation, study, relationship building with Hephaistos. Members of HoM are encouraged to celebrate the winter solstice, however as of yet, the HoM does not have a set celebration for that period.
