December 21, 2009

• Merry Yuletide

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  The precise moment of the 2009 solstice will be December 21, 2009 at 9:37 AM EST (Dec. 22, 00:22 UT).

  Yule Lore (December 21st)

  

  Try to imagine yourself in a very cold climate, where the winter nights are very long, indeed. Firewood and food are both becoming very scarce and you have begun to fear for your own survival. As you keep a lonely vigil through this, the Longest Night, you feel as though the Darkness has taken over the Earth and the Light will never come again. Imagine your joy at that first spark of light and your hopes that, someday soon, the snow will melt and you will be warm and well fed! This is the way our ancestors must have felt about this time of celebration.

  

  The celebration of the Winter Solstice, as often as not referred to as Yule, (pronounced EWE-elle) is common to almost every culture. For this reason, although the Christian Church has long since adopted it as the birth date of Jesus, it has retained more of the ancient Pagan tradition then any other holiday or festival. In early times, December 21^st or 22nd (the date now recognized as Christmas, December 25th) was commemorated as the Birth of the Sun God, Mithra, and January 6 (Old Christmas) was a Dionysian festival. In Egypt, a celebration dedicated to Osiris was held at this time.

  

  The word Yule probably derives from the Norse "iul" or the Anglo-Saxon "hweol", both meaning "wheel". According to Webster's Dictionary, however, it originates in "geola" (Old English for "ice"), another name for the month during which it was celebrated. "Modronacht" (Mother's Night) is yet another Name for the Midwinter Festival.

  

  Yule is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, and the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall and winter in her womb. Yule, or the Winter Solstice, is the oldest of the holidays celebrated in December. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider.

  

  Many customs have survived from Pre-Christian times that lend themselves quite nicely to our rituals today. Among them is the ever-popular Yule Log. Traditionally, the Yule Log has been of oak, ash or beech, ritually cut (often at Dawn) and ceremonially carried into the house. It was lit by the head of the family with much ado. Toasts were often drunk with wine, cider or brandy, in those early morning hours, giving the participants a good head-start on the festivities. A lesser known tradition is that of the Yule Clog. The Clog was a knobby block of wood, burnt in the kitchen hearth. Household servants were entitled to ale with their meals for as long as the Clog was kept burning. In many parts of Scandinavia, the object burnt was a fat wax candle, instead of a log. The candle was lit at Dawn and must burn until Midnight, or be considered an ill omen

  

  
  
  Children were escorted from house to house with gifts of clove spiked apples and oranges which were laid in baskets of evergreen boughs and wheat stalks dusted with flour. The apples and oranges represented the sun, the boughs were symbolic of immortality, the wheat stalks portrayed the harvest, and the flour was accomplishment of triumph, light, and life. Holly, mistletoe, and ivy not only decorated the outside, but also the inside of homes. It was to extend invitation to Nature Sprites to come and join the celebration. A sprig of Holly was kept near the door all year long as a constant invitation for good fortune to pay visit to the residents.

  

  
  
  The ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the festival. In accordance to tradition, the log must either have been harvested from the householder's land, or given as a gift... it must never have been bought. Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted with flour before set ablaze be a piece of last years log, (held onto for just this purpose). The log would burn throughout the night, then smolder for 12 days after before being ceremonially put out. Ash is the traditional wood of the Yule log. It is the sacred world tree of the Teutons, known as Yggdrasil. An herb of the Sun, Ash brings light into the hearth at the Solstice.

  

  The Yule Log was said to have many magickal properties Remnants of it, or its ashes, were kept in the house throughout the year for many purposes. Among these were protection from thunderstorms or lightning, protection from hail, preserving humans from chilblains and animals from various diseases. Mixed with fodder, the ashes would make the cows calve and brands were thrown into the soil to keep corn healthy.

  

  
  
  A different type of Yule log, and perhaps one more suitable for modern practitioners would be the type that is used as a base to hold three candles. Find a smaller branch of oak or pine, and flatten one side so it sets upright. Drill three holes in the top side to hold red, green, and white (season), green, gold, and black (the Sun God), or white, red, and black (the Great Goddess). Continue to decorate with greenery, red and gold bows, rosebuds, cloves, and dust with flour.

  

  Wassailing is another happy survival of an old tradition. "Wassail" comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Waes Hael", which has been translated to "Be Well," "Be Whole" or "Be Healthy." The proper response to this toast is "Drink Hael", making it a shared blessing, a mutual well-wishing. Traditionally, carolers went from door to door, singing and bearing their "Wassail Cups", to be rewarded with the drink and fruited breads or other sweets.

  

  Even with the Yule Log and the Wassail Bowl, no Yule celebration would be complete without a decorated tree. This custom is thought to originate in the Roman custom of decorating homes with laurel and evergreen trees at the Kalends of January (the Roman Winter Solstice celebration). It is interesting to note that, as with many other traditions adopted by the Church, the decorated evergreen (now called a "Christmas Tree") was originally condemned by Rome. An early Christian writer, Tertullian, spoke of the practice as follows:

  

  "Let them" (the Pagans) "kindle lamps, they who have no light; let them fix upon their doorposts laurels which shall afterward be burnt, they for whom fire is so close at hand; meet for them are testimonies of darkness and auguries of punishment. But, thou" (the Christians) "art a light of the world and a tree that is ever green. If thou hast renounced temples, make not a temple of thine own house."

  

  Even as late as the sixth century, Bishop Martin of Braga forbade the "adorning of houses with green trees." So obviously, the Christian adoption of the evergreen tree as a holiday symbol was another case of "If you can't beat'em, join'em!" In Winter, when all is brown and dead, the evergreens symbolize immortality. They are reminders of the survival of life in the plant world, a means of contact with the Spirit of Growth and Fertility, which has been threatened by the absence of Light. Especially good for this purpose are plants like Holly and Mistletoe, which actually bear fruit in Winter. (Mistletoe, the Golden Bough, the All-Healer, is traditional both at Winter and Summer Solstice.)

  

  Music is a very important part of this joyous festival. Many of the "Christmas" carols are just as suited to Yule, with virtually no change. (It's a good guess that some of them were ours to start with!) "Joy to the World" and "Deck the Halls" are quite appropriate as is and you can have a lot of fun creating your own words for some of the others. In some cases, existing old lyrics prove that we are simply "reborrowing" what was "borrowed" from us, such as:

  

  THE YULE DAYS

  traditional

  (to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas")

  
  
  

  The King sent his Lady on the first Yule day
  A papingo-aye. (i.e., parrot or peacock)
  Who learns my carol and carries it away.
  The King sent his lady on the second Yule day
  Two partridges and a papingo-aye
  etc. -------- circa 1870

  Third day - Three plovers
  Fourth day - A goose that was grey
  Fifth day - Three starlings
  Sixth day - Three gold spinks
  Seventh day - A bull that was brown
  Eighth day - Three ducks a-merry laying
  Ninth day - Three swans a-merry swimming
  Tenth day - an Arabian baboon
  Eleventh day - Three hinds a-merry dancing
  Twelfth day - Two maids a-merry dancing
  and Thirteenth day - Three stalks of corn

  Each followed by "Who learns my carol, etc."

  

  Note the thirteen rather than twelve days and the variation of numbers in the verses. This was probably an instructional song , a riddle. We have discovered other references to thirteen days of Yule, as opposed to twelve days of Christmas. It was customary to burn the Yule Log for thirteen nights to promote Fertility. (There is, by the way, a version of "Twelve Days" with the standard lyrics, except that it begins "On the last day of Yule, my beloved sent to me", and ends with "Thirteen Queens a-courting"!

  

  It was thus that our Ancestors greeted the Yule festival. Although spring would not truly arrive for many weeks, they were assured of its arrival. They celebrated, daring to feast upon some of the remaining stored provisions, being certain that soon the Earth would begin to turn green and bear fruit. The traditional feast also contains carryovers from our Pagan ancestors. For example, the roasted pig with an apple in it’s mouth began with the Teutonic custom of sacrificing a pig to Frey at the Winter Solstice, to ensure fertility in the coming year.

  

  So it is that the Log, the Tree, the Carol and the Feast are all parts of the Yule celebration with roots in The Old Ways!
  
  Deities of Yule are all Newborn Gods, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, and Triple Goddesses. The best known would be the Dagda, and Brighid, the daughter of the Dagda. Brighid taught the smiths the arts of fire tending and the secrets of metal work. Brighid's flame, like the flame of the new light, pierces the darkness of the spirit and mind, while the Dagda's cauldron assures that Nature will always provide for all the children.

  

  
  
  Symbolism of Yule:
  Rebirth of the Sun, The longest night of the year, The Winter Solstice, Introspect, Planning for the Future.
  
  Symbols of Yule:
  Yule log, or small Yule log with 3 candles, evergreen boughs or wreaths, holly, mistletoe hung in doorways, gold pillar candles, baskets of clove studded fruit, a simmering pot of wassail, poinsettias, christmas cactus.

  

  
  
  Herbs of Yule:
  Bayberry, blessed thistle, evergreen, frankincense holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage, yellow cedar.
  
  Foods of Yule:
  Cookies and caraway cakes soaked in cider, fruits, nuts, pork dishes, turkey, eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb's wool (ale, sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples).

  

  
  
  Incense of Yule:
  Pine, cedar, bayberry, cinnamon.
  
  Colors of Yule:
  Red, green, gold, white, silver, yellow, orange.
  
  Stones of Yule:
  Rubies, bloodstones, garnets, emeralds, diamonds.

  

  
  
  Activities of Yule:
  Caroling, wassailing the trees, burning the Yule log, decorating the Yule tree, exchanging of presents, kissing under the mistletoe, honoring Kriss Kringle the Germanic Pagan God of Yule

  
  

  

  
  Spellworkings of Yule:
  Peace, harmony, love, and increased happiness.
  
  Deities of Yule:
  Goddesses-Brighid, Isis, Demeter, Gaea, Diana, The Great Mother. Gods-Apollo, Ra, Odin, Lugh, The Oak King, The Horned One, The Green Man, The Divine Child, Mabon

  

  
  
  

  Wishing all the merriest of seasons……….

  
  

  

  
  

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  • 1:09 pm
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