Symbolism of Light and Renewal found in Frankincense & Myrrh
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Winter's shorter days and longer nights have led cultures to embrace symbols of light and renewal, like candles, to signify the return of warmth and light.
Christmas, Winter Solstice, Saturnalia and Yule celebrations each year, share a unique tradition involving decorating and burning evergreen scents of pine, fir, cedar, and juniper for vitality; resins of frankincense and myrrh for spirituality; and warm spices of cinnamon, bay, clove, orange and vanilla for light and celebration.
Frankincense and myrrh have been used since ancient times in midwinter celebrations like Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, Yule, and Christmas services to mark sacred occasions. Learn why these scents carry so much symbolic importance.
How Frankincense & Myrrh Are Used in Winter Celebrations
Frankincense and myrrh appear in midwinter customs because they fit the season’s mood: shorter days, longer nights, and a strong interest in light as a symbol of renewal.
These materials are aromatic resins that release scented smoke when heated, which made them practical for ceremonies long before modern heating or electric lamps. Many societies treated that smoke as more than fragrance. It could signal a shift in atmosphere, mark a threshold between ordinary time and festival time, and set a space apart for reflection.
References to frankincense and myrrh show up across several winter observances. In Winter Solstice settings, the act of lighting resin often aligns with themes of the sun’s return and the steady movement back toward longer days. In accounts of Saturnalia, incense and other scents appear as part of a broader festival environment that emphasized abundance, social reversal, and public ritual.
Later, frankincense and myrrh became familiar in Christmas church services, where incense is used in a formal liturgy to denote sacred space and ceremonial focus in connection with the Gifts of the Magi. The point here is the same materials can carry similar symbolic weight in very different settings and intentions.
Here are common ways frankincense and myrrh appear in winter celebrations:
Heated on charcoal during Winter Solstice rites to frame the return of light
Used as temple or household incense during seasonal feasts, including Saturnalia
Included in Christmas services as liturgical incense to mark a sacred time and gift to humanity
Burned in homes during gatherings to signal welcome, attention, and ritual purification
Outside formal ceremonies, these resins also show up in everyday seasonal practice, especially as incense in stick, cone, or resin form.
The method varies by place and period, but the logic stays consistent. Scent changes perception, and a visible plume makes that change hard to ignore. A room that smells like resin reads as intentional, which is a polite way of saying the space feels “set” for something that matters.
Today, frankincense and myrrh are used as seasonal markers, symbolizing memory, continuity, and renewal.
Frankincense And Myrrh Winter Solstice Traditions
Solstice customs rarely start with a shopping list of symbols. They start with a calendar problem: the year hits its darkest point, and communities want a clear marker that time is still moving. Within that setting, frankincense and myrrh became practical ritual materials because they are stable resins, portable, and easy to portion for repeat use.
Their value also came from distance. Both substances traveled far from their source regions, which gave them a built-in sense of occasion in places where they were not locally produced.
A look at the materials helps explain the tradition. Frankincense is traditional harvested from trees in the Boswellia genus, while myrrh comes from Commiphora species, both found in Ethiopia and Somalia. Frankincense also comes from India and is known as Loban. India's myrrh is known as guggal. Red myrrh known as opopanax comes from Kenya. Collectors cut the bark, allow sap to harden, then gather the dried pieces. When burned each delivers a wonderous and purifying fragrance.
In many historical contexts, those granules were heated on coals in dedicated censer-style burners which were carried throughout rooms and halls by a priest or priestess. The technology was simple, but the effect was not subtle: a visible plume, a persistent scent, and an immediate signal that ordinary household air had been “edited” into ceremonial space.
Solstice rites also tend to favor repeated, timed actions. Fires are lit, words are spoken, food appears, and the group follows a sequence that feels older than any one person in the room. Within that pattern, resin smoke works like punctuation. It can mark the start of a vigil, the moment offerings are made, or the close of a communal meal.
Some practices emphasize a household hearth, others center on outdoor flames, but the resin function stays consistent: it provides a sensory cue that the occasion has moved from a regular winter night to a named observance with a shared purpose.
Burning Frankincense and Myrrh During Saturnalia
Saturnalia was not a quiet candlelit affair. It was a Roman festival built around public cheer, loose rules, and a temporary flip in social norms. Schools and many businesses closed, gifts changed hands, and banquets ran long. The calendar mattered, but the real point was social release, and equality, with no high or low. People did not celebrate in spite of winter’s darkness. They celebrated because of it, and because the turning of the season gave a reason to gather.
Within that festive backdrop, incense fit naturally. Roman religious life already relied on offerings and ritual scent in temples and households, so burning aromatic materials during Saturnalia did not require a new invention. It was a familiar tool used in a louder, more playful context. Some historians claim that the original Saturnalia was observed solely by candlelight.
Frankincense and myrrh carried strong associations with ceremony and value, partly because they came through long-distance trade and were treated as premium materials. Using them during a major public festival signaled that the day was special, the same way a banquet signals a break from routine than a normal meal.
Saturnalia also had a visible side that worked well with smoke. The festival is linked in sources to the wearing of the pileus (a cap associated with freedom), the selection of a mock “king” of misrule in some later accounts, and broader practices of role reversal and joking speech. In that environment, a resin burner on a table did more than scent the room. It added atmosphere, a small ritual accent in a setting that was otherwise all noise, food, and laughter. The scent became part of the sensory memory of the feast, right alongside spiced wine, cooked dishes, and the crowded warmth of shared space.
Modern references to Saturnalia often lean into aesthetics, but the historical thread is still useful. If a person burns frankincense and myrrh today in a Saturnalia-inspired celebration, it works best as a cultural nod rather than a claim to recreate Rome. The resins can act as a simple marker that says, “This is the festival part of the season.” No speeches required.
Saturnalia was known for: social ritual, temporary freedom, and a structured excuse to be a little less serious. In later sections, we can look at how the Roman use of scent connects to later winter traditions and why certain fragrances keep showing up when people decide a date deserves extra meaning.
Bring a Sense of Reflection and Renewal with Incense Sticks from Matchless Gifts
From Saturnalia to Winter Solstice rites and later seasonal services of Yule and Christmas, frankincense and myrrh kept showing up for a reason. Their smoke signals a pause in the usual routine and provides midwinter gatherings a clear sense of occasion. Even now, these scents still read as intentional, ceremonial, and tied to the idea that the year turns gradually again to light, even when the nights feel long.
Across cultures and centuries, Frankincense and Myrrh have marked moments of transition—long nights, shared gatherings, and the quiet turning of the year. If you’d like to bring that same sense of reflection and renewal into your space, explore your Frankincense and Myrrh incense, thoughtfully crafted to honor these timeless traditions. Let scent become a simple way to pause, reflect, and welcome the light ahead.
Questions? Reach us at john@matchlessgifts.com or contact us.
