Merry Meet and Bright Blessings at Yule
Many have asked about the celebrations and traditions of Yule / Winter Solstice and I will try to answer as generically as possible. I follow a Celtic Path, with a focus on the Goddess, but not exclusively. There will be others that follow different paths – and their celebrations and histories will have variations.
Yule begins on the shortest day and the longest night of the year. This year Solstice begins at 1:35pm est on December 21, 2005. Celebrations in many homes will begin at sunset on Yule.
Yule – Winter Solstice
Typically beginning on December 20 or 21st, Yule spans twelve days ending Yule Night on December 31st. Using the Julian calendar it would occur on December 25th. Yule is the first of the solar festivals and the first Sabbat of the new year. This is also one, if not the holiest of the 8 Sabbats, depending on your Path.
The most accepted of the Celtic tales of Yule begins when the Holly King battles the Oak King in a fight to the death. The Holly King can be associated with many aspects of God. The year that has passed, or Father Time, death, or if you look at the king through nature, he can be associated with the old stallion who must fight for his position as the head of the heard. In the battle, the Holly King loses to the Oak King. Who represents the new year, the young stallion claiming his position over the heard. He is also called the Divine Child. The newborn aspect of God.
As a Pagan celebrant, it is a time for each of us to put to rest the old lessons, battles and issues that need to be released. It is a time to let go of those things that hold you back and move on into the new year with a fresh view and perspective.
For many Pagans that follow the Goddess traditions, it is also a time to honor the Triple Goddess. Celebrating the birth and purity of the Maiden, the life and nurturing of the Mother, and the wise knowledge of the old Crone.
For many traditions or paths this is also a time of celebrating the gifts brought to you by family and friends. These are not the traditional Christmas gifts of material goods. These are the gifts of spiritual growth and understanding, of communication and sharing. As the Oak King is born, the essence of that spirit is also born within ourselves, and honoring that birth is also part of the festival on Yule Night. This is perhaps where the exchange of gifts at Christmas originated from. So decorating the Yule tree and placing presents under it to be opened on Yule, is actually a very pagan event.
Sabbat Symbols
But here’s something you may not know; Yule has a lot more in common with Christmas than most people think. Many of the symbols and underlying meaning of both holidays are very similar, if not actually the same.
What many people associate as Christmas colors, were actually Pagan long before the birth of Christ. Red, White and Green bows, candles, and various other decorations can be placed around your home and alter. Honor the Holly King with holly wreaths, and the Oak King with decorations of a young Stag.
The Yule Tree should be cut at the beginning of the Sabbat and decorated with all the traditional colors and symbols. The tradition of a Christmas tree has its origins in the Pagan Yule celebration. Families would bring a live tree into the home so the wood spirits would have a place to keep warm during the cold winter months. Bells were hung in the limbs so you could tell when a spirit was present. Food and treats were hung on the branches for the spirits to eat and a five-pointed star, the pentagram, symbol of the five elements, was placed atop the tree.
Yule is celebrated by fire and the use of a Yule log. The practice of lighting the Yule Log has a special meaning of the return of the sun and making sure that light is in the home through the darkest night of the year.
If you choose to burn one, select a proper log of oak or pine (never Elder). Carve upon it a figure of the Sun (a rayed disc) or the Horned God (a horned circle). Set it alight in the fireplace at dusk, on Yule. This is a graphic representation of the rebirth of the God within the sacred fire of the Mother Goddess. As the log burns, visualize the Sun shining within it and think of the coming warmer days.
Traditionally, a portion of the Yule Log is saved to be used in lighting next year’s log. This piece is kept throughout the year to protect the home.Many traditions, currently called “eclectic”, mix in Christmas and Solstice. In our house, we keep a part of the prior year Christmas Tree as the Yule Log for the following year. We also have a very large pillar candle – that we scent with some of the holiday traditional herbs / essential oils. This candle is placed in a shallow, decorative pan of water and lit with a traditional solstice ritual. The candle is then placed in safe window or the center of the dining room table and is left to burn all night.
If you want to include the Triple Goddess in your decorations, select three special candles with small candle wreaths. Chooe a white candle with a wreath of spring flowers to represent the spring when all things emerge and grow for the Maiden. Choose a red candle with a wreath of roses or carnations, to represent the mid-life of summer and the Mother. Choose a dark green candle with a wreath of holy and pine, to represent the old Crone and winter season.
We hang Holly with it’s bright red berries and spiked dark green foliage. It is one of the revered plants of Solstice. In Celtic traditions Holly was looked upon as a luck bringer. Holly is also from a very protective tree which, if planted outside the house was believed to avert lightning, fire, and evil spirits.
~ ~ ~
A Yule Ritual
The simplest ritual that I have found is the Continuity of Light. This traditionally involved banking of fires with remnants of the prior Yule Log and then re-igniting the light and warmth with this year’s Yule Log.
Our adaptation for suburban dwelling:
We will have a ritual of candle lighting and the lighting of the Yule Log.. The portion of last year’s pillar candle will be lit, and the flame from that candle will be used to light the ritual candles for this year. The ritual candle flames will be used to light the Yule Log.
The purpose of this ritual is the continuity of light from the darkest night into the renewal of the sun and the birth of the sun God.
~ ~ ~
Whatever the choice of your holiday – I wish you bright blessings this during this beautiful holiday season. My heartfelt love to each of you and to this community of friends from around the world.
May you each find peace and joy in whatever path you walk.
May your beliefs be with you as strength and joy.
May you feel love and give love.
So mote it be!