Well, I am well recovered from the mono that I had last Yule, and I am greatly looking forward to this year's festivities. This will be my boyfriend's and my first Yule together. I hope to be updating this page soon. For the moment, here is some basic information, as well as links where you can go to find more ind depth coverage. Enjoy!
The wheel of the year has reached a turning point, with the longest night of the year. This is the point of the solar year where there is greatest darkness, and we seek within ourselves to comprehend our true nature.
In almost all pagan traditions, this is the night that the Mother Goddess gives birth to the baby sun God, and from this day forward, the days begin to lengthen, light is waxing. The ancient Pagans lit candles or fires to welcome the sun's returning light and the onset of nature and the Earth beginning to awaken, although the Goddess was believed to be resting after her delivery since this is the shortest day of the year. Yule is the remnant of early rituals celebrated to hurry the end of winter and the bounty of spring, when food was once again readily available. Modern Pagans celebrate Yule as a reminder that the ultimate product of death is a rebirth, a comforting thought in these days of unrest.
The Christian religion adopted this theme as the birthday of Jesus, calling it Christmas. The alternative fixed calendar date of December 25th (called Old Yule by some covens) occurs because before various calendar changes, that was the day of the solstice.
Also called: Yule, Jul, Saturnalia, Christmas, solar/secular New Year
Dates: around December 21
Colors: red, green, white
Tools: mistletoe, evergreen wreath, lights, gifts, holly, Yule log, Yule tree
Energy: regeneration & renewal
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Goddesses: Great Mother, Isis, Mary, Tonazin, Lucina, Bona Dea
Gods: Sun Child, Horus, Jesus, Mithras, Santa/Odin, Saturn, Holly King
Rituals: personal renewal, world peace, honoring family & friends
Traditional Foods: Pears, apples, oranges, ginger tea, cider and pork.
Herbs and Flowers: Holly, mistletoe, ivy, cedar, bay, juniper, rosemary and pine.
Incense: Lilac, bayberry, cedar, pine and rosemary
Woods and Herbs burned: Cedar, rosemary and pine
Sacred Gemstone: Topaz
Special Activities: Create a Yule tree. This is a living tree which is potted and will later be planted outside. Make decorations of fragrant spices, garlands, strings of dried popcorn, dried rosebuds, cinnamon sticks and crystals hung from thread. Try to use only natural products which celebrate the beauty of the earth around us. Also, this time of the year is appropriate for wreaths, lights, gift-giving, singing, feasting, and resolutions.
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