(Dec 21-22)
Yule is the celebration of the light and the return of the sun on the longest night and shortest day of the year, when the days begin to lengthen.
Yule is derived from the Norse word for "wheel" and means "wheel of the year" and many of our customs today for Christmas are derived from the Norse and Celtic Pagan practices.
Yule, or winter solstice, is believed to have been celebrated in cultures around the world for 12,000 years, as a religious holiday, and some claim it dates many millennia earlier.
The observance of winter solstice was very important in anient times and its signifance was obvious to early human civilizations. As the nights grew darker and longer, the days colder and shorter, and the rural folk faced lean times, it was imperative the sun be "lured" back to the earth.
Yule represented the moment when the days
would again become longer, when light
would return to the land, and people had reason to be thankful as spring was on its way, with the birth of new animals, and the softening of the soil for planting.
Long before the world heard of Jesus, pagans had been celebrating Yule by bringing in a Yule log, wishing on it and lighting it with the remains of the previous year's Yule log. Magick and rituals were practiced, wild boars were sacrificed and consumed along with large amounts of ale, fertility rites were practiced as girls stood under mistletoe to be kissed, (and sometimes were subjected to a bit more), corn dollies were carried from house to house while caroling, and divinations were cast for the coming spring. People would celebrate into the night until the first light of dawn when Yule would finally arrive.
Emperor Aorelian established December 25th as the brithday of the "Invincible Sun" or Yule, in the third century as part of the Roman winter solstice celebrations.
Shortly thereafter in somewhere between 273-274, the Christain church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 320 CE, this Roman Solar Feast day was Christianized to coincide with the pagan Solstice Celebration as a way of converting the "heathens" or country dwellers to the Christian way of life.
The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church actually cites May 20th as the date of Christ's birth, according to one
historical source.
David Malone, a pastor of Eliot Presbyterian church in Lowell MA, volunteers that Christ most likey was born in May, and that logic suggests that the "shepard described in the Nativity legends as tending their flocks at night, did so to protect newborn lambs, as most domesticated beasts give birth in the spring."
There was never much pretense that the date the Christian church chose was historically accurate as "shepards dont tend their flocks by night." Knowing this, the eastern half of the church continued to reject December 25th, preferring a movable date, fixed by their astrologers according to the moon.
Thus, despite its shakey start (for over 3 centuries no one knew when Jesus was supposed to have been born) December 25th finally began to catch on as the Christmas holiday. By 529 it was a civic holiday, and all work or public business was prohibited by Emperor Justinian, and in 563 the Council of Braga forbade fasting, and 4 years later the Council
of Fours, proclaimed 12 days from December 25th to Epiphany as the sacred festive season.
Most of the customs, lore, symbols and rituals associated with Christmas are actually linked to Winter Solstice
celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures.
Because of this, the Puritans refused to acknowledge Christmas, let alone celebrate it, because they felt it was more Pagan than
Christian, and it was too closely associated with the birth of the older Pagan God Theros.
It was even made illegal in Boston, and wasn't celebrated until the 1800's in New England!
Listed below are some of the Christmas traditions that originally came from Yule.....
-Yule Log- is a small log of usually oak, with a flattened bottom that is decorated with evergreen and holly, after it is inscribed with symbols that represent wishes and what you want to bring into your life in the coming year. It is than burned on Yule after it is charged, or "wished upon." It is kept in the house all year to protect its inhabitants from illness or any adverse condition, and than it is used on the following year to light the new Yule log. Some Yule logs today are usually the same except for 3 holes drilled down the center, to place candles, as many people today do not have fireplaces.
-Christmas Trees- were originally Yule trees. The Celts believed they stood for the everlasting life because the trees
did not "die" in the winter. They stood for protection, prosperity and were the symbol of renewal and the hope for the sun to make the earth green again. Because of their massive height, they were a symbol of eternity. It was from these beliefs that the decorating of Yule trees, now called Christmas trees by many, evolved. Yule trees were decorated with images they wished the coming year to bring for them: nuts for fertility, love charms for happiness, fruit for a successful harvest, and coins for wealth.
-Lights- on houses and Christmas trees is a modern version of the Pagan custom of lighting candles and fires to "lure back the sun." The Saxons may have been the first to put candles on Yule trees.
-Red candles- symbolize the fire and heat of the returning sun.
Wreaths- signify the "wheel of the year," a circle with no beginning and no end. Pine cones are the male aspect of
fertility, and the fruit signifies the female aspect. They were initially used by Scandinavian Pagans 4,000 years ago.
-Mistletoe- symbolized peace, prosperity, healing, wellness, fertility, protection and rest. It was placed around the fire and helped women to conceive. It was believed to be an aphrodisiac (magickally, not medically, its poison!), and if left hung
up all year, it would bring good luck. It was also dubbed the "golden bough" by the Druids. Kissing under the mistletoe was originally a part of hand fasting, and all legal matters were sealed beneath its boughs. Hence a couple who kissed beneath them, were announcing their intent to get married. Then they would kiss under it again after the official ceremony, to further seal their vows.
-Holly- symbolizes the old solar year, the waning sun, and good luck.
-Jingle bells- were used by the Norse to herald in the dawn after the long dark night. They also used them to ritually frighten away the powers of darkness that they felt reached their peak at Yule.
Christmas caroling- was called "wassailing" by the Saxons, in which they went door to door, singing in expectation of gifts and money....
-Todays Santa- is a fold figure with multi-cultural roots that embodies characteristics of Saturn (Roman Agricultural God), Cronos (Greek God known as Father Time), The Holly King (Celtic God of the dying year), Father Ice/Grandfather Frost
(Russian Winter God), Thor (Norse Sky God, who rides the sky with a chariot drawn by goats), Odin/Wotan (Scandinavian/Teutonic all-father who rides the sky on an 8-legged horse), Frey (Norse Fertility God),
Tomte (a Norse land spirit known for giving gifts to children at this time of year),. Santa's reindeer can be viewed as forms of
Herne (the Celtic Horned God), and Frau Holde (a Goddess from Germany that was believed to ride on the wind in a sleigh on Yule eve and give gifts to her followers.
Gift Giving- seems to originate from the Winter Solstice holiday, Saturnalia (which honored the God Saturn) which was long established by the Romans before they invaded Britain and was celebrated from December 12-17th. It was a time when Masters waited on servants at mealtime, gifts of light were given, particularly candles. Other traditional gifts included coins,
honey, figs, and pastry. Gifts were also given in honor of loved ones who died the previous year. Early Roman explorers carried this tradition throughout Europe.
-Feasting- had several purposes: to acknowledge the return of the season of growth, to give physical expression to the hope for abundance in the year to come, and finally to alleviate boredom and depression. As Christianity gradually usurped Pagan ways of worship, the custom of Advent (a month long fast before Christmas) reflected the times when people had to survive on eating very little. It became custom to feast on the 25th and to mark this day with acts of hospitality and generosity. The rich were expected to open their doors for all, and this could well have been the precursor to the tradition of helping those less fortunate.
-Giving to the Needy- This tradition may have come from the Saxons who had 2 tables at the door of the banquet hall during their feasts. One was for all to take food, and the other was to leave alms for the poor. This meant to symbolize the unity of all human lives and to remind the Saxons that what one gave was returned 3-fold. Even today it is a Christmas custom to give food to the needy and for this act of kindness we can thank the Saxons.....~Tala~ (Robin Paladino)
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"Burn Yule Fire