Yule - The Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice, called Yule, is the longest night of the year. It is the start of winter, when the earth sleeps. We celebrate the rebirth of the Sun and the knowledge that spring will come again. It is also a celebration of the end of the years labors. All the harvesting and preserving is finished. In pre-industrial times, this might be the only time of the year that most people had meat as part of their diet.

As this is the darkest time of the year, many traditions involve light, especially fire. The Yule Log and lights decorating trees and houses are both modern examples of this ancient tradition. While the dates shifts slightly year to year, generally falling on or near December 21. Exact Dates for the next few years are available here. Other names for this holiday include Saturnalia, Yuletide, Feill Fionnain, Alban Arthan, and Soualaivul.

The Celebration

Yule is often the most secular of the Sabbats. Although there is a great deal of spiritual significance to Winter Solstice, it is primarily a holiday in the modern sense of the word. It is a day to celebrate that you have finished your labors of the year, and to prepare yourself to face the upcoming year.

Many of the oldest pagan celebrations of Yule have survived into today. Decorating evergreen trees with lights, making and hanging wreaths, decorating with holly and mistletoe, yule logs and gift giving are all holdovers from early pagan celebrations. Even Santa Claus is a barely disguised Pagan God - Emerald Rose wrote a wonderful song about it.

For me, Yule is celebrated in almost the same way as the secular holiday of Christmas. My wife and I decorate a tree with lights and ornaments, hang a new wreath of the door, and give each other presents before we settle in in form of our yule fire. The main difference between us and most of the rest of America is that we understand the significance of these activities.

Traditional Practices and Decorations

Trees and Wreaths

In the depths of winter, with most trees lose their leaves, becoming bare and seeming dead. At this time, evergreen, holly and mistletoe show us the promise of continued life. These plants are thus associated with this time of year. Wreaths made of evergreen are symbolic of both the cycle of life and the Wheel of the Year. As a symbol of the continuity of life, evergreen trees are decorated with lights to help the sun regain its power. Pagans also place decoration representing things they would like to occur in the coming year. Decorations of bells are often used to ward off evil spirits and to announce the rising of the sun after winter solstice. In addition, the colors red and gold, representing the sun, are used heavily on this holiday.

The Yule Log

The Yule log is a tradition that can likely trace its ancestry back to the earliest tribal cultures. There is something visceral about the look and feel of a fire burning on a cold dark night. It only makes sense that the fire which burns through the longest night will be more significant than others. The keeping of a single partly burned log from the Yule fire in the home throughout the year is a common Pagan practice.

An alternative to fires especially appropriate to apartment dwellers is a log with candles on top of it. The log can be made at home relatively easily. Instruction on how to do this will be available soon.

Candle Making and Burning

The making and burning of candles is one of the most common images associated with Pagans. Pagans often burn candles throughout the winter, but it is particularly appropriate on this day. Scented candles, sometimes made from beeswax or soy wax, are readily available. Bayberry, sacred to Apollo (Greek god of the Sun) is popular at Winter Solstice. Also popular are fire aspected scents like cinnamon and nutmeg. You can also make candle yourself at home. More information on this will be available soon.

Gifting

Gift giving is traditional in many winter celebrations. This might have originated in times that were far less stable than our own. When someone might not survive the winter without more supplies than they had, it only made sense that other in the community would pitch in to help.

Storytelling & Guided Meditation

Storytelling at Winter Solstice is a very old tradition. Among other reasons, severe winter weather drove early people into small spaces. Without radio or TV, and with limited literacy, storytelling was the entertainment of choice in most cultures. Modern pagans have adapted this practice into guided meditation intended to increase individual understanding of the season and religion.

Traditional Foods

Roasted Meats

Roasted Meats, especially pork, beef and chicken, are traditional at this time of year. This is simply due to the fact that most animals were slaughtered at this time of year. Many times this was due to the difficulties of feeding these animals through the winter. Prior to refrigeration, this was also the only time of year meat could be preserved without salting and drying it. As I said earlier, many people would not have meat any other time of the year.

Apples

Apples are traditional Symbols of the Goddess. A late harvest fruit, apples are traditionally associated with fall and winter. Red & Golden apples are especially appropriate for winter, as these colors represent the Sun. Apples are most often baked into pies or casseroles at this time of year. The most common spices for this (cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice) are also symbols of the newly reborn Sun.

Beans

Beans, especially Black Eye Peas, are often eaten at Winter Solstice or on New Year's Eve (for some Pagans, essentially the same thing). This helps to reawaken the Earth's fertility. It also brings good fortune in the new year for whoever eats them.

Trinket Cakes

The Trinket Cake was a common tradition until relatively recently. Small trinkets representing various events that would occur during the coming year were baked into a holiday cake (or some other similar food). The person who received each trinket was said to have that event happen to them in the coming year.

Return from Yule - Winter Solstice to Pagan Sabbats

Return to The Urban Pagan Homepage