Before you start decorating for Yule, you'll want to get things organized. Christian traditions are so similar to pagan customs should you just partake in them? [44][46] A passage of the Commentary on the prophet Daniel by Hippolytus of Rome, written in about 204, has also been appealed to. as the date of the death of Jesus and having conception and death on the same date signified a divine cycle. It's also easily adaptable to a small group of people. So when Alfred the Great gave free-men 12 days at Yule in the late 9th century, he meant a Christmas vacay. Gifts are often exchanged, and special foods are enjoyed. This ritual can be performed by a solitary practitioner, either male or female. It is generally agreed that Yule celebrations began as a Norse festival called jol, although assessments of the purpose and traditions vary. Some practitioners of the Northern Tradition will even decide to completely withdraw and go incommunicado from online mailing lists, bulletin boards, and social media outlets like Facebook so they can stay focused on spending the yuletide with friends and family. Whoever whatever whenever your tradition is for celebrating natures rhythms, blessings to you! In the story of the birth of the Sun God, you can see why Yuletide represents the return of light after a long winter. The winter solstice is the growing suns season, so gold is used to correspond with the suns power and energy. The Saga of Hakon the Good also speaks that the Yule was to be kept holy. However, green is often considered to be the traditional color of Yule. Most Wiccans celebrate Yule on the day of the Winter Solstice though there are exceptions to that rule. I hope this gives you a great overview of Yule and the Winter Solstice! Yule traditions came later; Yule is technically a twelve-day feast, beginning on the Winter Solstice, which centers around the worship of each traditions major deities. Historically, Yule was celebrated by various Germanic and Scandinavian peoples. If you want, you can also put offerings of fruits and nuts at your altar. If you believe in the dark night of the soul, then there truly is no better day! WebWe light the Yule log to honor the beginning of the Suns return and the start of a new year. You could also have a potluck dinner and ask everyone to bring a dish to share. It was not a festival per se but a marking of the passage of time. The yule log was thought to have the power to ward off misfortune, so it was kept in the home yearlong. You can also bring in some bells to ward off evil spirits and bad energy. Dried oranges are particularly easy to turn into Yule decorations by tying a thread through the hole in the middle. In any case, Yule is only one of eight Wiccan holidays that exist on the Wheel of the Year. At this time, the High Priestess should invite anyone who wishes to make an offering to the Goddess to come do so offerings can be placed on the altar, or if you're outdoors, in a fire. Download some shadow work prompts and dig deep into who you became during the last year, then cleanse yourself thoroughly. [48] The tractate De solstitia et aequinoctia conceptionis et nativitatis Domini nostri Iesu Christi et Iohannis Baptistae falsely attributed to John Chrysostom also argued that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same day of the year and calculated this as 25 March. Focus on this time of new beginnings with your 1121 Main Street | P.O. On this one day, the sun stands still in the sky, and everyone on earth knows that change is coming. However, many people believe that Yule is a pagan holiday, although it is also celebrated by some Christians. The 12 days of Yule may have been based on the 12 days of Christmas. Once you've got the physical stuff done, now it's time to focus on the fun part. For example, the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is thought to have been written in the 1700s. This can be a fun activity to do with your family or friends. Its known as a kissing plant, but its great for protection as well! Bring in a Yule tree and decorate it with dried fruit, cinnamon sticks, strings of popcorn, and other low-cost options. The word Yule comes fromOld Englishgeol, which shares a history with the equivalent word from Old Norse, jl. Schools and businesses were closed so that everyone could celebrate the holiday. Which can be viewed as each month of the preceding year in summary. Wood ashes do indeed have beneficial uses in the garden! If they were to celebrate in December, they would be doing it on what is the longest day in the Southern Hemisphere. WebTo me, 12 nights of Yule is largely feasting, drinking, singing songs and giving offerings to land wights, the Disir (specifically mother's night) and gods to thank them for the past For pagans, Yule is a time to celebrate the god of the sun, while for Christians, it is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Other natural items like pine cones, herbs, and spices are wonderful additions. Later, when Christianity came to the British Isles, Christians adoptedaspects of the pagan festival into a celebration of the birth of Christ. Tonight, light candles in the house to fill the home with light and hope. If your family uses a holiday treeduring the Yule seasonandmany Pagan familiesdoyou might want to consider a blessing ritual for the tree, both at the time you cut it down and again before you've decorated it. While Yule is a great time for setting new things in motion, its also a time to let go of the past. Ultimately, there is no one answer to this question. While you're cleaning the windows, do your mirrors too, using the same mixture as above. Its a day to pull out preferred divination sets and use them for the coming year. The period has been celebrated since before the middle ages but was updated over time to include prominent figures in Christian history. The last day of Yule and the year, bless the house for protection and drive out the last of the wandering Yule spirits. April 12, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. EDT. For example, you could make holly water by soaking holly leaves in spring water under a full moon. Yule is a pagan holiday that goes back thousands of years and was celebrated by the Germanic peoples of Germany and Scandinavia. Yule is typically celebrated around the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year. Recycle the old ones as new ones come in. Updates? After all, that is when the shortest day is on that side of the planet. Here are some great Yule rituals that you can do to celebrate this winter Sabbat, either as part of a group or as a solitary. Once your home is ready for Yuletide festivities, you can look into local Yule celebrations. The Yule season is full of magic, much of it focusing on rebirth and renewal, as the sun makes its way back to the earth. The twelfth day of yule is typically celebrated by eating christmas dinner. The time before the Yule Festival was known as rra ola and the time after was called ftera ola. Winter Solstice rituals almost always center around fire, so this is one element Imake sure to incorporate into my festivities. Blessings ! Throw all their stuff in their basket the next time they go to their room, they can take all their stuff with them to put it away. Yule is a 12 day holiday, it begins on Mothers Night (December 21st) and ends 12 days later on Yule Night (January 1st). This is a great way to cleanse yourself and look ahead to the future. Instead of 5 golden rings, you can give 5 golden doughnut rings and instead of 2 turtledoves, give 2 Dove chocolate bars. In some cases, it may represent new beginnings, growth, and fertility. The 12 days of Christmas are the days between Christmas and Epiphany. Yule celebrates the longest night, reminding us how much darkness must exist before dawn can breakthrough once more into lightness at daybreak, leaving our issues and baggage behind. Its the day to the divination spread of The New Year. Do this ritual to help clear out your physical space in the weeks before Yule arrives. The date varies because our calendars arent exactly aligned with the Sun. The altar should be in the center of the room and should be facing the east. Today, a Yule log is still a Christmas tradition in some cultures; alargelog is traditionally burned in the fireplace on Christmas Eve. What Channel Does Celebrity Big Brother Come On. The most important part about celebrating Christmas in our modern lives is cleaning up before it begins! Since the night hours will only get shorter after that point, Yuletide represents the rebirth of the Sun God. and "Happy Holidays!". Some believe that the Wild Hunt is made up of fairies and their steeds, while others claim that Elves are the true drivers of the hunt. Learn Religions. Like most winter solstice festivals, themes of light, fire, and feasting are common threads. Wigington, Patti. I put candles (in safe places) all over my home and keep our day bright, even though the sky is dark. This can be a fun activity to do with your family or friends. Some simply stay awake until dawn to observe the cycles of nature. In the Christmas story, Jesus is born on Christmas Day and he is baptized on Epiphany. If you find yourself celebrating Yuletide by your lonesome, there are several solitary rituals you can perform. From this point Christmas continued to overtake Yule, although some vestiges of the original celebration remain. I love the YULE LOG,it helps my home to be Peaceful and Joyful this time of year. Lastly, to invoke light and represent traditional Yule colors, get green, red, gold, or white candles. Many people around the world celebrate the Christmas holiday season, and many of those people celebrate for 12 days. On day three, we prepare a large meal together and toast to abundance, our the accomplishments of the past year and we declare our aspirations for the year to come. Families would bring the trunk of the Yule tree inside and stick the big end of it into the fireplace. If you have a mixed group, make adaptations as necessary. Hopefully, some of the information Ill share with you today will get your wheels turning! Basically, its the shortest day of the year when we get the fewest hours of daylight and the longest night. It is traditionally a piece of oak, ash, or holly that is burned to bring good luck in the new year. I really enjoy giving back on this darkest day; it just seems important to me. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yule-festival, celebrating the winter solstice at Stonehenge. There are several cheeky pagan versions of established wintertime classics, such as Dancing in the Wiccan Wonderland. However, rather than having a cycle of courting, impregnation, and birth, the beliefs surrounding the two kings usually center on their battle for dominance. Use your pendulum, scry, or do a Winter Solstice tarot spread. Smudge your home with one of the following: To do a smudging, start at your front door with your incense or smudge stick in a censer or bowl. Ask a participant at each directional point to hold the item. Interestingly, the Yule log was originally an entire tree! A Yule tree or wreath may have red and gold ribbons on it as well as decorative lights. Dogma is antithetical to spiritual living so follow your highest aspiration to recognize divinity! Your article about the yule log repeats a debunked theory about the date of Christmas. Yule is a time to celebrate the hope of returning light and life. Instead of the singular Horned God, they believe in the Holly King and the Oak King, as different divine personalities that rule during the winter and summer seasons. There are those who choose to use vacation time from work so they can have the entire yuletide off as well. Before you hold your Yule ritual, you may want to set up an altar to celebrate the season. Our towns Boy Scout troop drilled holes in birch logs to create special candle holders for Scoutceremonies. Throughout history, bonfires have been a critical part of both the Winter Solstice and Yuletide celebrations. It is said that the Wild Hunt begins on the Winter Solstice and progresses throughout the Yule feasts. The 12 days of Christmas are also a time for reflection. 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