Yule: A Season Of Celebration
The season of Yule has come again with its warm drinks, cozy socks, and a faint smell of pine. Now winter truly begins, bringing with it the cold months to come. Bright flashes of color as the birds flit through the bare trees and sing in bright voices, reminding me to fill the bird feeders. The days are short and often encourage me to curl up with a hot cup of tea (Who am I kidding, its a whole kettle) and a good book or my knitting. It is the time of Witches Rest and the urge to hibernate in my own way keeps me longing for my hearth and the warmth of my own home. Life here has changed greatly over the last year and now is a time of planning and moving forward. Families are gathering and even the most dysfunctional may find harmony in this magical time of year. Gifts are bought or made and given with love and joy. Yule is a time when we can all find the wonder and joy we felt as a child.
This is a time that we celebrate the return of the sun as the winter solstice marks the longest night and shortest day of the year. The coming winter may seem dark, however each day the sun will remain a little longer in the sky as the wheel turns back towards spring. The dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half and we feel this change within us. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun will climb just a little higher and stay a little longer in the sky each day. This was the return of hope for our ancestors as the light began to return. For them, the light was life, safety, and warmth.
We put up our yule or holiday trees that for us, are full of symbolism and magic. Spell bags, charms, totems, symbols, and intent hang on my tree every year. A tree that is bolted down so that the cats may climb and enjoy it as well (If you cant beat them, join them and take pictures).
I hand make all of my ornaments with the exception of special pieces given by family. To me, each one has a meaning, purpose, or represents something specific. There is usually one representing each inhabitant in the house, both human and animal. I make new ornaments to add each year in the weeks leading up to yule. I also make spell bags to hang on the tree both in little colored cloth sachets and in clear plastic ornaments (Glass+Cats=Bad Idea). These ornaments are filled with the ingredients of my choosing and set with intention. This year I made one for Harmony, one for Renewal, and one for Love. There are many animal representations on our tree and specific familiars have their own mini sachets with spells for good health including some of their hair, feathers, etc.
We have a Yule Dinner featuring the yule log Lit with candles that will later be burned in the fireplace. Dinner is usually something fairly traditional for us, or as close as you can get when one of you eats meat and the other does not. It is a quiet holiday for us filled with warmth, love, and the spirit of companionship. It some ways it is the true spirit of the holiday season for me and the quiet before the storm of 'Family" Christmas a few days later. Yule is also the signal for me that its time to start 'Winter Cleaning' which is my process to declutter out home and lives in preparation for the coming spring.
There are many other holiday traditions with their roots in paganism that people still practice today. Somehow, knowing this always brings a lightness to my step. They may be called something else, but the traditions of old live on in the present day.
Caroling
Caroling is an old tradition originally called Wassailing or Mumming. The word 'wassail' comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase 'waes hael', which means 'good health'. Inolden days, the wassail was a drink made of mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar. People would gather at parties, sing, and drink wassail. In centuries past, wassailers went from door to door, singing and drinking to the health of their neighbors.
One of the most popular Wassailing Carols went like this:
Here we come a-wassailing Among the leaves so green, Here we come a-wassailing, So fair to be seen:
Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail too, And God bless you and send you, A happy New Year, And God send you, A happy new year.
Sound Familair? I thought so!
Mumming means 'making diversion in disguise'. The tradition was that men and women would swap clothes, put on masks and go visiting their neighbors, singing, dancing or putting on a play. The leader of the mummers was dressed as Father Christmas. Different types of entertainments were done in different parts of the UK In parts of Durham, Yorkshire and Devon a special sword dance was performed. There were also different names for mumming around the UK too. In Scotland it was known as 'Gusards' in Somerset, 'Mumping', in Warwickshire or 'Thomasing' and 'Corning' in Kent.
Mistletoe
Mistletoe has been around for a long time, and has been considered a magical plant by everyone from the Druids to the Vikings. The ancient Romans honored the god Saturn and in doing so, fertility rituals took place under the mistletoe. Today, we don't quite go that far under our mistletoe (at least not usually) but it could explain where the kissing tradition comes from. The Norse Eddas tell of warriors from opposing tribes meeting under mistletoe and laying down their arms, so it’s certainly considered a plant of peace and reconciliation. Also in Norse mythology, mistletoe is associated with Frigga, a goddess of love
Holiday/Christmas Tree
There are many different types of lore surrounding the tradition of decorating your tree. Some traditions brought trees inside so that the spirit of the trees would be protected and bless their homes. In other traditions the trees were brought inside so that the faeries residing in them would be warm through the cold months and hung food on the branches for the wood dwellers. The Vikings decorated evergreen trees with pieces of food and clothes, small statues of the Gods, carved runes, etc., to entice the tree spirits to come back in the spring. Many pagans hand representations of the sun on their trees as we seek to bring back the sun on this, the darkest night of the year.
There are many others traditions with their roots in paganism, including but not limited to:
Christmas/Yule Log
Hanging evergreen boughs
Holly and Ivy
Resurrection Myths
Holiday Lights
Gift Giving
The Date of December 25th
Wishing you all blessings and love this season! See you soon.
-Silver Spring
