HERE IS A THREAD FOR YALL ON WHY YULE/CHRISTMAS REALLY ACTUALLY FINDS ITS ORIGINS IN THIS HALLUCINOGENIC MUSHROOM:

the mushroom in the photo is called a fly argaric! The Sámi have a very interesting custom of feeding Fly Agaric to reindeer and then collecting the urine for consumption.

When under the hallucinatory effects, it was a common belief the reindeer would be flying through the the sky. It probably didn’t help that the deer themselves were high and often jumping so high that they looked like they were flying even to a sober eye!

Siberian shamans (and others) were known to live in structures that were made of reindeer skin with a roof supported by a birch pole and a smokehole at the top, called Yurts.

At midwinter festivals, the shaman would gather Fly Agaric from under sacred trees. Whilst harvesting them, the shaman would wear special attire. This attire usually consisted of red and white fur-trimmed coats or a red coat with white spots and a pair of long black boots.

The shaman would often also distribute some of the mushrooms to the other people celebrating the winter solstice. They did this by going yurt to yurt. With snow usually blocking the doorway, the only other option to reach the people inside was to climb down the smoke hole.

Once inside, they would perform their ceremonies and share the Fly Agaric and other gifts with those gathered inside.