Dec 16, 20228 min read

Exploring Yule

Updated: Mar 16, 2023

'Tis the season and the Winter Solstice is approaching fast! Below, I will cover:

A Brief Summary
History & Background
Celebrating
Resources & Further Reading

Let's begin!

A Brief Summary

Names: Yule, Winter Solstice, Midwinter, Christmas

Date(s): One day falling between December 20th and the 23rd, or for those who celebrate the 12 Days of Yule, it is observed from about December 21st to January 1st. In the Southern Hemisphere, this day usually lands between June 20th and the 23rd.

Observances: Yule marks the start of winter and is the shortest day and longest night of the year. This day is celebrated as the return/rebirth of light/the sun because after this point, the days will start getting longer until they peak at the Summer Solstice. This is viewed as a time of renewal, goodwill, and beginnings.

History & Background

It probably goes without saying that much of the ancient traditions surrounding the time of the Winter Solstice eventually became a part of the present-day, religious Christian holiday of Christmas. However, given Christmas's origins and its rebirth in the 19th century (which had very little to do with the birth of Jesus), I personally view Christmas as a secular holiday that celebrates family, friends, and the spirit of giving.

Just fyi, I'm going to skip the origins of Santa Claus as that is a lengthy topic deserving of its own article. I will also be avoiding capitalism's role in making Christmas what is it today. I do this for two reasons: 1. For the purpose of keeping this article jolly and festive. 2. While it's interesting, I would much rather focus on ancient Pagan traditions, thee evolution of said traditions, and how we observe today.

We often can't talk about the history of the sabbats without discussing the Christian crossovers, but when it comes to Yule, that is pretty much impossible if we are truly going to sink our teeth into the history of this sabbat. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, Christmas was a mostly forgotten holiday. This is due to the fact that English Puritans recognized Christmas's Pagan roots and they were not having it, so Christmas as we know it today wasn't actually popularized until the 19th century thanks to Queen Victoria, imagery of Santa Claus, the poem "The Night Before Christmas", and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. (Oh, and...capitalism...)

Christmas, as we know it today, still holds up many ancient traditions--Pagan and otherwise, religious and secular--that were practiced at this time of year by various cultures. While some Pagans prefer to keep all Christian-related elements out of their practice, many of us are okay dealing with the overlap that exists, but that is an entirely personal choice. Things became so intermingled, so slowly over time that not only is there no definitive line and no exact answer from historians, but there is a lot of meaning that resonates with Pagans no matter the true origin.

While some refuse to celebrate Christmas at all, some Pagans remove the Christian aspects and celebrate Christmas interchangeably with Yule in the way I mentioned before as a secular holiday that celebrates family, friends, and the spirit of giving. Others celebrate them as two separate holidays with no overlap. As always, it is entirely up to you how you choose to celebrate this sabbat and time of year.

Additionally, Yule can be viewed/celebrated as either or both a single day or a series of days. Yule is ultimately the observation of the first day of winter and some people choose to celebrate that one day. This is the shortest day and longest night of the year. From here on out, the days will get progressively longer and the nights shorter until the two are again of about equal length on the Spring Equinox.

The contemporary timing of Yule, Christmas, and New Year's is based on the ancient 12-day celebration of the winter solstice. Or rather "Yule," which was the name of the ancient Norse holiday, during which they did celebrate all 12 days. On most years, the timing will line up with the first day of winter landing on December 21st and this celebration can cover 12 days as it runs right through New Year's Day. Before you ask, yes, this is the inspiration for the modern "12 Days of Christmas", although Christians reassigned this by claiming the 12 days covers the time from when Jesus was born, up to the arrival of the Three Wise Men.

As usual, we don't know exactly how the ancient Norse celebrated this time period, but we do know that they sacrificed an animal that was then used for their feast, they exchanged gifts, held much drinking and feasting, and they also celebrated ancestor veneration because they believed that, just like at Samhain, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was thin.

The Norse also lit fires and candles to represent the sun, which brings me to the origin of the Yule Log. Unlike today, Norse families would bring an entire tree into their homes to burn in what I can only imagine were massive fireplaces. The ancients began the ritual on the night of the Winter Solstice and burned a bit of the log each night over the next 12 nights. The last bit was kept in the home to protect against foul weather and then used to ignite the following year's Yule Log fire.

By the time that region was Christianized and some Norse people started referring to Yule as Christmas, very little about the actual holiday activities changed.

I already mentioned the days getting longer and nights shorter after the day of Yule, and this observance is viewed as symbolic for the rebirth of the sun. Dating back to ancient Pagans, candles, fires, and lights (once electricity was a thing), are used to represent and welcome back the sun. Sometimes, depending on beliefs and traditions, the sun is personified into a deity who is either born or reborn on or near the Winter Solstice. For ancient Egyptians, this was Horus. For ancient Celts, it was Bel. For the Norse, it was Baldr. There are many more that I'm leaving out, but the point that I'm getting at is that the observation of the birth of Jesus at this time was nothing new by the time Christmas came about.

Christmas, as the Christians of the 4th century celebrated it, was a continuation of the Roman Saturnalia and the Kalents of January. Saturnalia started around December 17th and lasted approximately three to five days. They celebrated abundance, decorated with holly and ivy, held gift exchanges, feasted, and drank.

During this time, no matter a person's social station or economic status, everyone was considered an equal. This started a longstanding tradition of playfully overthrowing social norms during Saturnalia. One custom that went hand-in-hand with that tradition was wassailing. Wassailing is similar to our present day caroling and has a lot in common with trick-or-treating. The word "wassailing" has its roots in an Anglo-Saxon greeting meaning "be in good health."

The poor visited the homes of the rich and would demand food and drink by putting on plays and singing songs. If they were denied, the begging group would play pranks and commit some minor vandalism of the property.

Another long-held Yuletide tradition is mistletoe, which is believed to have been sacred to the Druids. In Norse mythology, Loki used it to kill Baldr and the Romans used it decorate their winter celebrations. However, it was actually the Christians in the 18th century who began the practice of hanging mistletoe--often combined with fruits, holly, and other evergreens--and they would use it to instigate kissing as we do now.

The Christmas tree, however, is an interesting custom to examine because as far as we can tell, bringing an entire tree into the home (that wasn't for burning) and decorating it, seems to be a Christian tradition with Pagan inspiration as the Greeks, Romans, and ancient Pagans in what is now Poland did decorate their spaces with sprigs and branches of evergreens.

In Christian Germany, wooden frames were decorated with evergreen branches, fruits, and gifts, and then in the early 1520s is when the very first full Christmas tree was recorded. It became a widespread Christmas decoration in the 19th century when Queen Victoria's German-born husband, Prince Albert, brought his Christmas traditions with him to England.

Finally, I want to talk some more about gift-giving. For a moment, please set aside what it has turned into nowadays for many people. Humor me and ignore the marketing, consumerism, commercialism, and corporate greed for just one, tiny second.

Long before the birth of Jesus and the gifts given to him by the Three Wise Men, as I already mentioned, the Romans and the Norse did practice gift-giving as a part of their celebrations. Additionally, for a long time, it was common to give presents on New Year's Day, which would have also been the final day of the 12 Days of Yule. But in the 19th century, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were THE trendsetters. It's thanks to them that gift exchanges on Christmas day became the norm.

As always, I am only providing a brief overview of the history of this sabbat. To learn more, check out the resources listed at the bottom of this article.

Celebrating

Here is a jumping-off point for forming your celebrations. Please keep in mind that these lists are here to help but they are not definitive! You should absolutely put your own spin on how to decorate and celebrate based on how this sabbat works into your life and spirituality.

Decorations

Colors: Green, red, gold, white, silver
Flora: Evergreens (as symbol of everlasting life) such as spruce, pine, fir, yew, mistletoe, and holly as well as ivy, pinecones, nuts, berries, poinsettia, cinnamon, star anise, and clove
Other: Lights (classically, string lights) and candles are put out to symbolize the return of the sun
Yule/Christmas Tree: Personally, I'm not a fan of using a new live tree every year. It seems wasteful (and messy), so I have a faux fir that has already lasted me half a dozen Decembers and it doesn't look like it's breaking down any time soon. However, if you really want a real tree, consider purchasing one that can be replanted or from a sustainable farm and then recycling it afterward as opposed to putting it out with the trash. You may also want to consider the evergreen tree-shaped rosemary plants many stores sell this time of year. You can also decorate an outdoor tree in your yard! String up some lights and in place of ornaments, decorate it with bird feeders and homemade wildlife treats made from fruits, nuts, peanut butter, and seed (just be careful of the type of string and other crafting material you use to avoid animals ingesting, choking, or tangling themselves).
Santa decor: As Santa Claus is based on various ancient Pagan gods and spirits from all over the world, it is easy to accept him as a benevolent spirit of the season--a personification of giving, goodwill, charity, and selflessness. With that, I would argue that despite the Christian crossover, keeping depictions of Santa in your decor is not only acceptable but encouraged!

Activities

Burn a Yule Log - Whether you choose to burn it over 12 nights or all in one go is completely up to you, but this is a fun Pagan tradition to carry on. You can even use twine to wrap the log and fasten it with herbs and slips of paper where you've written down your wishes and intentions for the year.
Bake a Yule Log - Whether instead of burning a real log or in addition to it, this holiday treat can serve as both a dessert and kitchen witchery.
Perform a Yule Giving Spell for someone else - You can find it here!
Make a wreath
Give out handmade and/or nature-based gifts - Great examples would be seed packets, beeswax candles, plants, and baked goods.
Go caroling
Write your own Yule carol or poem
Donate time or money to charity
Have a feast

Rituals, Spellwork, & Magick

Meditate in absolute darkness or right before sunrise - This is in observance of what has been and what is to come
Make a witch ball for protection - The clear, plastic craft ornaments sold at this time of year work great for this purpose!
Rituals to welcome in the sun
Intentions: Peace, general positivity (especially for others), luck, protection, family, home & hearth, beginning, rebirth/renewal, and light