Yule
The feast of the Winter Solstice was is called Yule and is celebrated around December 21st; it marks the longest and darkest night of the year. Hot apple cider and sweetened cakes filled with dried fruits are favorites at Yule, and homes are decorated with holly and pines boughs (fertility) , mistletoe (sacred to the Great Mother, kissing is a mild token of her fertility rites), and the tree... An ancient Yule custom, and still practiced today by.. everyone.. the tree represents life amidst death, it is evergreen, representing everlasting life and lasting friendships. The tree may be decorated with appropriate offerings, fruit, decorated pine cones, jewelry, symbols of the sun, symbols of fertility, birds, animals, images of what we wish to receive in the coming year, charms to draw love, nuts for fertility, coins to ensure wealth and prosperity. A Yule log is burned and a portion of it saved to be used for protection of the home during the next year and in the lighting of the next year's Yule log. Some Wiccans drill three holes in the Yule log and fill them with either three white candles, or one white, one red, and one black candle to symbolize the Triple Goddess (Maiden, Mother, and Crone). The Yule logs are then decorated with holly and evergreens to symbolize the intertwining of the God and the Goddess who have been reunited on this day. Bayberry candles are burned to ensure wealth and happiness in the coming year.
And from the darkness comes the light!
A little bit of history : In pagan Scandinavia, they celebrated by burning the hearth fires of the magickally significant Yule log.
In the Celtic Druid culture, they celebrated by hanging sacred mistletoe over a doorway or in a room to offer goodwill to visitors.
Germanic tribes decorated a pine or fir tree with candles and tokens.
The Inca held midwinter ceremonies at temples that served as astronomical observatories like Machu Pichu.
Romans celebrated this event with Saturnalia, a festival of merrymaking, and decorating their homes and temples with holly and evergreens.
Because the exact date of the birth for Jesus Christ-the King of Light to all Christians- is unknown, the Church assigned it to this time, a date already sacred to ancient peoples. In the fourth century AD, Christian authorities in Rome attempted to eliminate the pagan festivities by adopting December 25th as Christ"s birthday. The effort was never completely successful, and eventually many Winter Solstice customs were incorporated into Christmas observances.
Yule was a celebration of waxing solar light, and in honor of the divine Sun child an Oaken Yule log decorated with holly was burned. The old Holly King gave up his Life to make way for the reborn Sun Child: Yule celebrated the sleep of death of the old King, and the womb-sleep & birth of his newest incarnation. The waxing sun finally overcomes the waning sun and from this day on, the days will once again grow longer as we head toward spring and the rebirth of fertility once again. The God represents the sun which "returns" after this night to bring warmth and fertility to the land. Yule is a turning point, a point of change, where the tides of the year turn and begin to flow in the opposite direction. It is the darkest time of the year, the time of the longest night, but there is the promise of the return of light.
Decoration: holly, Yule logs, mistletoes, wreaths, boughs of evergreen, candles, poinsettias, evergreen trees decorated with lights.
Food: cider, fruit, pork, turkey, nuts, eggnog, teas, cookies and wassail.
Herbs: bayberry, frankincense, holly, blessed thistle, oak, sage and pine.
Colors: red, green, white, silver, gold and yellow.
Stones: bloodstone, ruby and garnet.
Taboos: extinguishing fire and travel.
Activities: decorating tree and story telling.
Other things to try: Empower mistletoe for healing and prosperity. Empower cards with loving energy. Recognize that Yule is a time of closure...let go! Begin a new tradition.
Recipes:
Yule log cake
1 pkg. chocolate cake 2 cans of chocolate frosting
toothpicks decorating frosting (red, green and white)
Line a jelly roll pan with wax paper, pour mix no more than 1/4' thick. Cook at 300 for 7 minutes, check to see if done. Coat with frosting and roll. Let cool and decorate.
Crafts:
Solstice dream pillow
1-4 ozs each of 5 herbs : dried chamomile, mugwort, catnip, hops, lavender, whole oranges and lemons, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries.
Scraps of lightweight fabric lace and/or small beads
As the night passes, eat the lemons and oranges. Use a spoon to scrape as much of the white as you can from the peels without damaging them. Scatter them on a cookie sheet and dry in oven at 200. Remove them and cool. Crumble peels and break cinnamon sticks. Put everything into bags (3 by 6' for small bags). Sew shut.
To use: slip one into your pillowcase.
