Megan's Nature Nook
Nature Notes, Phenology, Photography, Fun Facts, Trips, Maybe Even a Bad Joke or Two... and More!
When you think of Christmas the familiar story of St. Nicholas probably comes to mind. That isn’t the only story though of how Santa came to be. I was listening to a podcast about mushrooms (Mycology (MUSHROOMS) with Tom Volk on Ologies with Alie Ward) and heard about how the story of Santa may have come about because of something a little different – magic mushrooms. I had never heard of this story before so had to do a little research and found all sorts of parallels between the Santa story we all know with St. Nick and the psychedelic mushroom story.
The main character, besides Santa, is the Amanita muscaria mushroom also known as the “most sacred” and “holy mushroom.” This mushroom is a psychedelic mushroom, or magic mushroom, and can be poisonous. It is the iconic looking mushroom with a red cap that has white spots. This story of Santa is from many years ago. Shaman (medicine men, magicians, or sorcerers) in Siberian and Artic regions who wore red robes with white ropes around the waist would give out gifts of dried mushrooms, usually psychedelic mushrooms. They would deliver these gifts around the time of the Winter Solstice. This time of year, there would often be snow blocking the door, so the Shaman would go through openings in the roof to deliver their gifts. Are parts of this story starting to sound familiar? A man from the Artic dressed in red and white clothing, bringing gifts near Christmas time, and dropping in through the roof... These aren’t the only parallels of the Santa story. The Amanita mushroom is found growing under pine trees, which is symbolized as the presents we put under the Christmas tree. The Shaman would dry the mushrooms by hanging them on tree branches, like how we hang ornaments on a tree. Now let’s talk about the reindeer, they’re a big part of the Santa story. Reindeer in the wild have a liking to the Amanita mushroom and seek it out. When people eat the Amanita they get a sensation of flying. So, the question is, do the reindeer also get this sensation, or is it that people see the reindeer when they’re tripping and think the reindeer are flying? And Rudolph, the most well-known reindeer has a red nose, which some say looks like the Amanita mushroom on his nose. Now this last point is a bit far-fetched, but some say that elves are the spirits that a Shaman encountered during a trip. Some think this connection between magic mushrooms and Santa is a bunch of hoopla, while others see a lot of merit to the story. While I was doing my research, I found a lot of information from professors and historians about Shaman and their traditions. There is even a professor at Harvard who gathers his students each year for the Winter Solstice and discusses the magic mushroom Santa story. So now that you’ve heard the story, you’ll have to decide for yourself – is it St. Nick or Santa of the psychedelics? Either way, this is an entertaining story to tell at the Christmas dinner table. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
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