The Roots of Shrooms in Christmas
When one thinks about Christmas, images of a Christmas tree, Santa Claus, and flying reindeer probably come to mind, among other things, but magic mushrooms would not be one of them.
However, there’s many Christmas icons and traditions are actually rooted in psychedelic mushrooms and the ceremonies surrounding them. In an article from 2020, Robert Gordon Wasson (an ethnomycologist) and John A. Rush (an anthropologist) explain how the Amanita muscaria mushroom was an influence on some common Christmas icons and traditions.
Santa Claus
With his bright red coat and fluffy white beard, Santa Claus (or some version of him) has been a symbol of Christmas for centuries around the globe. Santa is believed to be based on Saint Nicholas from European folklore, who delivered presents for children around Christmastime.
Later in 1931, The Coca-Cola company commissioned illustrator Haddon Sundblom to create the fat, bearded, jolly man we know today. However, inspiration for Santa Claus can be traced back further to ancestral communities of the Artic and North Pole, where Santa Claus is said to reside.
In these ancient communities, the winter solstice (December 21st) was a festive and ceremonial event, similar to Christmas Eve. On this day, Shamans conducted rituals using Amanita muscaria mushrooms (also called fly agaric) which have powerful hallucinogenic properties. The shamans would collect, dry, and then give the mushrooms as a gift for the winter solstice. It’s believed that this ritual is what inspired Santa Claus flying through the sky in his sleigh, delivering gifts to children around the world. In addition, much like Santa’s suit, Amanita muscaria are colored red with white dots.
Magical Reindeer
As previously mentioned, the Shamans’ psychedelic mushroom “trips” are what inspired the idea of Santa flying through the sky with his reindeer. However, actual reindeer were involved in these psychotropic rituals. Because the mushrooms were so toxic, shamans would feed them to reindeer and then drink the reindeer’s urine afterwards, since all its harmful components were filtered out, while still allowing the shaman to feel its psychotropic effects. In addition, Rudolph’s red nose may also have been inspired by the red Amanita shrooms.
The Christmas Tree
Finally, another interesting connection between Christmas and mushrooms is the traditional Christmas tree. Traditionally, gifts are wrapped and placed under the tree prior to Christmas. Similarly, mushrooms tend to grow at or near the base of trees to feed off decaying organic matter. This may explain the tradition of placing presents (often wrapped in red and white) under the tree. much like the Amanita muscaria mushrooms are found growing at the base of trees.
While we may not ever know definitively if the Amanita mushrooms and the ancient rituals surrounding them were the inspiration for some, if not all of the Christmas images and traditions mentioned in this article, there are certainly some compelling similarities, whether it be the Christmas tree, flying reindeer, or Santa himself. More important though, wasn’t the shrooms themselves, but the rituals surrounding them that emphasized the spirit and generosity of gift giving that comes with the Christmas holiday. That said, have merry, shroom-inspired Christmas everyone!
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