Sacred Goose

The Sacred Goose is an ancient Aztec god. According to legend, it laid magical eggs that were the Sun, Moon, and the stars. To honor this god, every winter and summer solstice 21 gooses were taken to the top of the temple that honors The Sacred Goose. There, the high priest would take a bronze knife and slit the throat of each of the geese as sacrifice. The blood would gush our of their throats and would be poured down the temple's steps to the people below. Now, in the summer solstice, there would be a crowd of people gathered at the bottom of the temple. Once the Goose blood rushed to their feet, they would throw fertilized eggs at the steps in tribute to the Goose. In the winter solstice, plucked goose feathers would be thrown into the air. Because of this, the day of the winter solstice was often called by Aztec citizens "The day of raining feathers" or Å˜yadoxil.

But once the Spanish Conquistadors conquered the Aztecs, most of this tradition was lost. However, some Aztec survivors continued to honor The Celebration of The Sacred Goose. Even though these survivors were forced to convert to Christianity, they continued to sacrifice geese on the Winter and Summer solstices. This tradition survives to this day, as many citizens of Peru and Mexico have Aztec ancestors and they honor them by continuing the sacrifice of geese on the solstices. They formed the sect of the Geese and show their membership in a very unique way: Men part their beards and tie the two ends in a knot behind their head, while women wrap cloth resembling a bandage around all their joints. On the Solstices, they dye their lips bright green using natural dyes. They also burn eggs, a new tradition founded by Rogærti Falosimo in 1653. They do this by spearing the eggs with incense and then lighting it on fire.

The modern Festival of the Goose has also slightly influenced American culture. The children's tale of the Goose that laid golden eggs is believed to have come from the Aztec legend of the Sacred Goose laying an enormous golden egg, the Sun. Also, goose feathers are considered excellent for pillows and sleeping bags because on the day of the summer solstice, all the goose blood and egg yolk was gathered up and put into a sheep's bladder to be used as a pillow for royalty. This is why in pictures of when the Aztec emperor Montezuma died, he is usually seen with a his head resting on a what appears to be a bloody pillow but is in fact a sheep's bladder filled with goose blood and egg yolk.

In Conclusion, the sacred Goose was an important Aztec god that was worshiped with the sacrifice of geese. Although this celebration was lost, a sect of Peruvian and Mexican people continue a similar tradition today on the Winter and Summer Solstice.

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