Witch Willows WanderingsGet Your Yule On
December 22nd 2006 02:59
Today is the Wiccan holiday of Yule or Winter Solstice. So what is the technical function of Winter Solstice anyway? Well, for all of us in the northern hemisphere, it means that the sun appeared at its lowest point in the southern sky near sunset. Today was actually the shortest day of the year. The sun was directly over the Tropic of Capricorn also. So what does that all mean? It means the sun is returning and this is the return toward summer.
Of course there are far more things that have developed from the celebration of Winter Solstice. Sometime in the 4th century, the early Christian leaders decided amongst themselves to have the celebration of the birth of Jesus to fall within days of Yule. Oddly enough though, it’s not just the Pagans and Christians that have major celebrations in the month of December which tend to fall around the day of the Winter Solstice. All of them lay claim to the month of December and depending on your beliefs, you may side with one or many. But does it really matter? Not really. All that really matters is that you are celebrating because of what you know in your heart, not what the media or your neighbor tells you to celebrate. This is supposed to be the “season of giving”, but normally it ends up the season of taking…taking away the rights of other religions and their beliefs because you think your opinion trumps all others. So before I get back to the topic of Yule, wake up and stop fooling yourself! Your opinion is good when expressed but please stop force feeding the rest of us…it’s the holidays for Goddess sake…take the month off.
So anyway, today was the Winter Solstice and the celebration of Yule. So how did you celebrate? Do you know how some Wiccans and Pagans celebrate Yule? Well of course you know I am going to tell you. Some tend to meet in Covens or Unitarian churches and perform rituals to say goodbye to the darkness and welcome the sun God back. In general, if your home is not decorated yet, some will decorate with the colors of red, green, and white. I actually decorate my house with red and silver. There can also be the use of pine cones, holly and various evergreens. Depending on the Pagan’s view, they may wait until “Christmas Day” and exchange gifts (if it has always been a family tradition) and other decide to celebrate and exchange presents over a number of days. I think I like the 2nd way…more gifts are good gifts (hahaha). Santa can be a feature in the season as well, especially if children are present. As with all Pagan holidays, the Goddess should be honored. Some tend to place images of the Goddess around their home. Use of candles to represent the re-birth of light is also found, as well as possibly singing or chanting.
So what kind of candles, herbs, and food would you find in a Pagan’s house during Yule? Well, that depends but I can tell you what the average would be. Red, green, white, gold (and I also use silver) candles, herbs and aromatics such as bay, pine, ginger, myrrh, valerian, cinnamon, nutmeg, oak, and orange. I like to take a min potpourri pot that is heated by candle and add water, cinnamon, nutmeg, a dash of myrrh oil or cinnamon oil, and orange rind. Of course there is also the Yule log. In this day and age the Yule log tends to be a confection that you eat, but if you have a fireplace or firepit you can also burn a traditional Yule log.
What kind of food is used for celebrations? Gingerbread cookies, eggnog, chestnut stuffing, pork roast, stolen (a sweat German bread), wassail (hot mulled apple cider). I like to make all kinds of cookies and yummy treats, including rum balls. Even though all of what I make isn’t focused around Yule per say, I like to take what I like and add it to the celebration. A lot of people do this now, no matter what religion you are. Taking your own thoughts and combining them with a religious following to make it your own is becoming a bigger trend…probably to make religions more easy to swallow.
So no matter what your belief and what you are doing or not doing to celebrate the season, I say happy holidays and merry Christmas. Now, the rum balls are calling my name and I must bend to their will. Have a great holiday with your friends and family and I will be back to blog about all of the crazy things the nutjob Christians did during baby Jesus’ birthday celebration.
Blessed Be
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