Yule Lore (December 21st)

Yule Lore (December 21st)

Yule, (pronounced EWE-elle) 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.

Also refered to as the Winter Solstice, it is the longest night of the year (shortest day). For thousands of years humans have honored this day as the mark to the winter relenquishing its hold on the land....a sign spring is on its way. Ironically, humans can't witness the exact winter solstice with the naked eye, the change in the lengthening of daylight is most noticable within a few days post the actual solstice....which falls on Christmas day! As the sun is becoming a stronger influence on our lives (as the days get longer) Yule is a time of celebrating the Gods rebirth (since the sun is often thought of as the Gods solar aspect). So at Yule, the God is the Goddess' (mother nature) son, re-born in His solar aspect. (as the Sabbats celebrate the cycle of life - birth, aging, death, re-birth - this High Holy Day is designated to celebrate the birth).

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.

Much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, 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. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were "was sailed" with toasts of spiced cider. The Oak King and Holly King are known as light and dark twins and are celebrated in different aspects through most Sabbats. We re-inact their battles in our circles at the solstices (Litha and Yule) to symbolize not the king's death but the giving up of rulership pf the year to his brother, his "other" self, for the needs and tasks of each half of the year are different. Wiccans believe the Goddess (in her maiden aspect takes the loser away to heal him so he will be strong enough to win the battle at the next solstice). The famous tale of Gwain and the Green Knight is an Arthurian version of the Oak and Holly King battle - Gwain if Oak and the Green Knight is Holly. In otehr stories Robin Hood is associated with a bird, whose red breast symbolizes the sun - with the smoke from the Yule Log Robin rushes up the chimney, and re-appears as Belin (little-known brother of Bran) whom the Sheriff recognizes as the Holly King and hangs. Therefore, some believe the Holly Kins is the orgin of Santa Clause. (1)

In ancient times, 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.

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.

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.

(1) Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Samhain to Ostara by Ashleen O'Gaea
(2) http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/yule.htm
--Adapted by Akasha Ap Emrys For all her friends and those of like mind--