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Yule: What this Holiday Means to Me
December 16, 2008 at 12:26 PM by Cafe Kierna - Comments (13)
Who knows when "Happy Holidays" first became the "PC" thing to say at this time of year, but I for one, am glad about it. Although most Americans celebrate Christmas, the winter holiday season actually includes several social and religious traditions. It's lovely to send warm holiday wishes, but it's respectful to consider that not everyone celebrates the same thing, the same way. One of the most important things we can teach our children is tolerance for difference.
In the spirit of sharing, I thought it would be cool to hear from real CafeMom members about each of the many holidays recognized at this time of year--a first-hand look at other people and traditions.
"In my tradition, we give each other gifts at Yule to show our appreciation and love of our family and friends. We always say a little something or write a note telling them why we are glad to have them in our lives. Our gifts are also generally something handmade or useful. Rarely do we give things that cost a lot of money, but something thoughtful and from the heart," says paganpiratemama.
Read on to learn more about what the Yule holiday means to her and her family:
What is Yule and when is it?
Yule is the Winter holiday that most Pagans and Wiccans celebrate. It is the Winter solstice (the shortest day and longest night of the year), and it falls somewhere between December 21st and 23rd, depending on your tradition. In my family we always celebrate on the 21st.
What are some Yule traditions and symbols?
Yule is celebrated with a great feast. Yule celebrations generally involved thanking the God(s) & Goddess(es) for a good harvest and praying for good farming conditions in the coming seasons. Plates were set for both the living as well as the dead (and other spirits) to honor them. We always honor our ancestors and thank the God/dess for the good past seasons and pray for an easy Winter.
The
Celts decorated evergreen trees at Yule (Yule tree) with all the images of the
things they wished the waxing year to bring. Fruits for a successful
harvest, love charms for happiness, nuts for fertility, and coins for
wealth adorned the trees. They chose the evergreens because they were
the only trees that stayed alive in Winter, therefore they held special
powers and/or a closer bond with the God/dess. These decorations were
forerunners to many of the images on today's Christmas trees. Candles
were also put on the trees to encourage the sun's return (we use
electric lights now for obvious safety reasons).
We
decorated our tree this year in red and silver ornaments to symbolize
love and wealth. We're hoping to continue our great loving family
dynamic and who couldn't use stable finances? We also have
ornaments symbolizing good health, safety, protection and each
individual member of our family.
We've all heard of a Yule Log; what are the origins?
This has somehow been turned into a dessert... I have no idea why.
The
Yule Log (usually oak, and cut the evening of the solstice) was
believed to bring beneficial magic and was kept burning for at least
twelve hours (sometimes as long as twelve days!) warming both the house
and those who resided within. When the fire of the Yule Log was finally
quenched, a small fragment of the wood would be saved and used to light
the next year's log. It was also believed that as long as the Yule Log
burned, the house would be protected from bad magic. The ashes that
remained from the sacred Yule Log were scattered over fields to bring
fertility, or cast into wells to purify the water. We
usually burn an oak branch because we have no safe place to burn a log.
We use the ashes in energy work and spells for protection and health
throughout the year.
The Yule Tree is similar to a Christmas tree, so is there a Yule Santa so to speak?
Many Pagans believe that the Oak King rules from Summer to Winter and the Holly King rules from Winter to Summer. The Holly King often appears as a Santa Claus look-alike. He dresses in red, wears a sprig of holly in his hair, and is frequently depicted driving a team of eight stags.
I haven't seen any evidence that he brings presents though ;)
If you want to know even more about Yule, check out the Blessed Yule, Solistice group. Do you or someone you know celebrate Yule?
FILED UNDER: activities, holiday gifts 08
Comments:
Don't forget that they also put out candles in windows and around their houses (now Christmas lights) to light up the longest night of the year, out of superstition back then that it'd help ward off evil spirits or negative energy.
Thanks for this post. It means a lot. Also remember that Paganism has no specific rules, unlike other religions. Everyone's going to celebrate things differently, and choose to recognize different traditions and meanings as well. For my family, the God, Goddess, Oak King and such are merely symbolic - not actual figures.
This is great. I have been trying to learn new things about paganism and this was really helpful.Thank you.
wow, I didnt really know where certain symbolsoriginated from as we know them currently as part of Christmas. It really makes sense with the tree, ornaments, lights ... etc for Yule. And how they evolved into what we use today. I've ALWAYS hated that ppl think of Christmas as a "spending" celebration. Many Christians i know of have not truly known where these ideas/decorations of the celebration comes from.
As a child i was told that the Christmas tree was "everlasting" symbol -long life-, the ornaments represent the gifts given to the baby Jesus.... as a kid you just say "ok". Within the past 4 yrs or so i've wondered what the difference was between Wicca and Christianity was. To my complete surprise I have more Wiccan beliefs! I do believe in God and the stories....its hard to deny some of the coincidence of the things we find in history that reflect.
I have always had strong sense of spiritualism; in fact, I wanted to become a spiritual healer.
Is Pagan and Wiccan similar or the same just different titles ppl go with?
Thanks again for the interesting information
"Is Pagan and Wiccan similar or the same just different titles ppl go with?"
Pagan is a broad term, much like Christian. Wiccan is a specific belief set within Paganism, much like Baptist or Catholic.
All Wiccans are Pagan, but all Pagans are not Wiccan.
It's always cool to learn about someone else's holiday celebrations. Have a very happy Yule!
As part of our Yule celebration, we write down both the things we want to eliminate from our lives, as well as things we want to draw to us, kind of like a New Year's resolution, and then burn the papers to release our wishes to the powers that be.
Didn't know about "Yule", don't know anyone who celebrates it...but the did mention it on The Big Bang Theory" Monday night. Me, I celebrate CHRISTmas and love to spend time with my family and friends.
It was great that it was mentioned on 'the Big Bang Theory" -I bet it shocked alot of people who never heard of it before.
I'm Wiccan and have celebrated Yule for the past 18 years. My family is Christian so I get to celebrate Christmas too. I used to bother me, but now I realize that most of Christmas comes from pagan celebrations, even though they still deny it.
If you dont believe me, dont start a war here...just check out the story about it on the History channel.
Peace and Light to all, Michelle
My family & I celebrate Yule & Christmas. We started celebrating Yule in 2004. My and I read books in our family's collection "Celebrate the Solstic: Honoring the Earth's Seasonal Rhythms through Festival and Ceremony" by Richard Heinberg, 1993; "Yule: A Celebration of Light & Warmth" by Dorothy Morrison, 2000; and "Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions" by Starhawk, Diane Baker, and Anne Hill, 1998. We've opened our gifts to each other on the morning of Yule according to the calendar (this year 2008 it is on the 21st).
We decorated our house and our white artificial tree in blue, white, clear, and silver for winter. Our children's teachers are confused to see our children's Santa Claus replacements in their artwork... Domo Kun this year and Poli Wag (Pokemon) last year... in their art work for the month of December.
I like to hear people say "Happy holidays" because not all people are Christian. It is narrow-minded to think that everyone believes what you believe or that it is wrong to believe differently. I have some Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, Wiccan, and Muslim friends.
Warmth, love, and light to all.
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Thanks for this. It's great to have people recognize that more than Christmas happens this time of year!
NickyJamesMom Dec. 16, 2008 at 2:18 PM