Yule & the winter solstice

Samhain, which marks the Gaelic beginning of winter and new year, has passed, the days continue to get shorter, water starts to freeze and the landscape sheds its warm yellow and red tones for a cool colour palette, covered with a layer of frosty glitter. The winter solstice is approaching - the longest night of the year.

The darker days mean observing the Aurora borealis becomes more likely.

The winter solstice occurs, in the northern hemisphere, around the 21st or 22nd of December and many cultures have celebrated this time of the year, welcoming the “return of the sun” and the longer days ahead. Historically, and especially at higher latitudes, the winter is a harsh, cold and dark period. Crops no longer grow and many animals hibernate, including people in a way. It is a time of rest.

The snow reveals creatures that usually keep hidden during the cold. Small prints with a line hint that small mice are running around.

Elk and other deer tracks can be distinguished by there two-toed hoof print.

We were very excited to see what looked like a lynx‘s paw print in the snow!

There are reacurring themes in the celebrations of different people around this time of year. Because of my family I specifically like to look at Germanic, Celtic and Slavic celebrations. Because of the overlapping themes and my personal ancestry, I believe a mixing of these celebrations into something like the wheel of the year (like some modern pagans do) can be a meaningful way of reflecting on the natural cycles.

Yule, is the name of the festival around the winter solstice is Germanic traditions. It is associated with a Yuletide period of 12 days, starting from the solstice and ending at the new year. Interestingly, Christian celebrations also include a 12 days of Chistmas between the 25th December and the 6th January (Epiphany).

Kolęda is a midwinter festival celebrated in Poland, as well as other Slavic countries. The “Kalends” is the first day of every month in the Roman calendar. The Kalends of January, the Roman new year and another midwinter festival, is thought to have influenced the naming of the Slavic festivals.

Some of the reaccuring themes around Yule and the winter solstice include renewal/rebirth, transitions and the battle of light over dark. Some rituals include feasting with family and friends (even setting spare places at the table in case there is someone who would otherwise be alone), fire rituals (such as burning of a Yule log, lighting of candles, St Lucia processions and bonfires), gift-giving, ancestor worship, story-telling and the use of natural motifs such as evergreens, holly, mistletoe and pine cones as decorations.

Sustainable harvest of trees for firewood is important for keeping warm when the temperatures drop.

A Yule log is decorated and put aside to burn over the Yuletide period.

The evergreen trees can represent life‘s resilience through the cold, dark winter.

Making decorations from the natural environment is the perfect way to celebrate the season. A wreath made from the surrounding evergreens, rowan berries, pine cones and some dried oranges is an easy way to bring a festive spirit to the home.

The times leading up to Yule and the end of Yule (the new solar year) also play symbolic parts in the overall midwinter celebrations. The time of Advent, which is mostly associated with the Christian period leading up to the celebration of Christ‘s birth (another theme of rebirth of light/sun), is also celebrated as a countdown to the solstice or Yule.

After Yule, the new solar year is also a time to celebrate renewal, with many using the transition as a symbolic time to meditate and reflect on the past and the coming year. Similarly, Årsgång (“year walk”) is a Swedish folk tradition involving a ritual walk that an individual takes through the woods to gain foreknowledge about the coming year.

A handmade Swedish Yule goat decoration.