Yule is a traditional winter festival that has been celebrated for centuries. It is considered a time of rebirth and renewal, as the days start to grow longer again after the winter solstice. While the celebration has Christian roots, many of its customs also have ties to pagan traditions. Incorporating these pagan customs into modern yule celebrations can add depth and meaning to the holiday. One such pagan custom is the use of evergreen trees and holly wreaths. These symbols of eternal life and fertility have been used in winter rituals long before the advent of Christianity.
My native American wife and I will be celebrating.
Thank you for the the information we shall light a bonfire, look up at the stars, look forward to the warmer evenings and be grateful for all we have in this beautiful world. High Priest Kalu and High Preistess Syleena Call The Corners, a small ritual where a candle is lit at each direction of the Earth as the elements of each direction is called upon.
These symbols of eternal life and fertility have been used in winter rituals long before the advent of Christianity. Decorating a tree or hanging a wreath can be a way to honor the ancient pagan beliefs and connect with nature. Another pagan tradition that can be incorporated into yule celebrations is the lighting of candles and bonfires.
Incorporating pagan customs into yule celebrations
Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year, which has been celebrated for thousands of years all over the world. Have you ever wondered how modern witches like to celebrate?
By Bailey Josie • December 21, 2022 11:00 amHigh Priest Kalu and High Preistess Syleena “Call The Corners,” a small ritual where a candle is lit at each direction of the Earth as the elements of each direction is called upon. Here they call on the guardian of the watchtower of the South, represented by red which symbolizes fire. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
You know the usual winter holidays — Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve. There’s also Saint Lucia Day, Boxing Day, and a little something called the Winter Solstice.
For the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, usually Dec. 21, which harkens to the return of the sun as each day afterwards grows longer. It also goes by a name that you may have heard in some of your favorite Christmas songs or when tuned into a crackling fireplace on Netflix — Yule.
Yule comes from the Old Norse Winter Solstice “jōl” and for many modern Wiccans, witches and pagans, it’s a very important holiday.
“More than just a synonym for Christmas, Yule has reclaimed its place at the holiday table as a distinct and valuable religious and spiritual tradition,” wrote Jason Mankey in “Llewllyn’s Little Book of Yule.”
“It’s celebrated by Witches, Pagans, and Heathens, and for many secularists and atheists, the Winter Solstice has become a viable alternative to Christmas,” Mankey continued.
At the the wellness center of 4 Sisters Holistic Remedies in Renton, the High Priest and High Preistess of the Triple Goddess Coven held their Yule ritual the weekend before Dec. 21.
The Triple Goddess Coven is a British Traditional Wicca order which Syleena, the coven’s High Priestess, says is not eclectic but more traditional and “church-like.”
“The four solar holidays have been revered for thousands of years,” Syleena said, referring to the equinoxes in spring and fall and solstices in summer in winter. “What we do in Wicca, we just keep that old way alive.”
Every year, the coven does a different mythos of the solstice from around the world. “For this year, we’re doing traditional Celtic view on it with the death of the Holly King and then the re-birth of the Oak King,” said Syleena.
In the form of a skit, coven volunteers Julia Sayn played Mother Earth, or Gaia, and Noah Tassie of Tacoma played the Holly and Oak King, whose death marks the end of long, dark nights and whose re-birth marks the eventual return of the sun. As Syleena said at the end of the skit, “the sun is reborn and the waxing year begins!”
The ritual, which took about an hour, also included a guided meditation, energy work, gingerbread snacks and spiced wine or tea. As Syleena said at the beginning of the Yule ritual, Wicca does not have dogma and everyone attending the ritual is there of their own free will. Several guests to the ritual were dressed in festive gowns and formal-wear, while others chose to wear more casual clothes, which even included a sweater with Santa Claus all over it. “The coven has always been open and welcoming,” said Sayn. During the ritual, guests got to create their own “witch orbs” resembling a Christmas tree ornament that everyone filled with their choice of herbs, glitter and sigils.
During the ritual, Kalu, the coven’s High Priest, said that in Wicca, Yule is simultaneously the end and the beginning of the Wheel of the Year, a calendar that marks the eight holidays — called sabbats — that tie-in with the solstices, equinoxes and other markers of the seasons. Some sabbats coincide with more mainstream holidays like Halloween (Samhain, pronounced “sow-wein”) and Easter (Ostara), which borrow from these older traditions.
While Wicca is a more modern religion (it should be noted that Wiccans are often called witches, but not every witch is Wiccan), many of its traditions come from ancient practices, especially for the Triple Goddess Coven. Ancient Winter Solstice traditions can be found throughout the world, from Scandinavia to China to the Inca Empire of modern Peru (which celebrates its Winter Solstice in June).
“Almost every culture marks the Winter Solstice,” said Karin Olsen, a pagan of Thurston County. “I don’t think there’s any culture that doesn’t celebrate it.” Olsen teaches online classes about Yule, though she says she prefers to say that she celebrates the Winter Solstice.
“I am Scandinavian so Yule could be the way I work with it, but I prefer Winter Solstice in my personal practice,” said Olsen, who has been practicing for over 25 years.
For Olsen, celebrating the Winter Solstice means inviting family and friends over for dinner and a gift exchange. “I like to encourage people to think of how we celebrate other secular holidays like the Fourth of July or secular Easter and often times, people come up with food as a commonality,” she said.
“Because we’re eclectic — my partner is Jewish and my in-laws are Christians — I give the gift of light to everyone who comes to my Winter Solstice. It’s a fun accessible ritual that feels safe to a wide range of people and that’s the goal. I want everyone at my table to be comfortable and I also want to celebrate my spirituality and my framing of the world.”
Octavia McAloon is a forest witch and pagan living in western Washington who also celebrates Yule. She likes to bake, cook, watch the burning Yule log on TV and listen to playlists of the Wheel of The Year (a term for the calendar year that is most associated with Wiccans but is often used by witches and pagans).
McAloon, a professional musician and singer, says she likes to listen to songs about the Winter Solstice over “regular Christmas songs” since they’re something different. “The new Christmas pop stuff, in my opinion, is awful,” she said, though she likes the “old jazzy ones.”
For John B. of Seattle, a solitary practitioner of witchcraft for 18 years, the Winter Solstice and Yule are very important to him. “I like to mix the traditions of different forms of witchcraft into my practice so I often have a Yule log which I like to burn at night,” he said. “But in more recent years, since I don’t have a fireplace, I’ve been ordering Yule log-shaped cakes.”
The tradition of burning a Yule log is believed to have come from Germanic and Scandinavian pagan practices, though it’s often incorporated into Christmas celebrations as well.
Like Olsen and McAloon, John also incorporates food into his celebration of the Winter Solstice, along with gift-giving. These are practices that are also often associated with Christmas, but both traditions can be traced back to the winter holidays of Saturnalia and Kalends.
Pagan celebrations of Yule and the Winter Solstice are, in many ways, precursors to the modern traditions of Christmas.
According to an article from Christianity.com, though Jesus’ birthday is traditionally celebrated on Dec. 25 — around the time of the Winter Solstice — about 37% of Christian denominations put the Nativity story in January and that the exact month and date are difficult to decipher.
In another article from HowStuffWorks.com, the first mention of a date for Christmas wasn’t until over 1,800 years ago and noted that Christmas wasn’t celebrated until about 250-300 C.E.
Modern Christmas can trace its roots back to winter holidays of the Roman Empire, like Saturnalia and Kalends, holidays filled with merriment, decorations and exchanging of gifts. Over the centuries, more and more pagan and folk practices became mainstays of Christmas, like Christmas trees, mistletoe and Christmas carolling, or wassailing.
Despite the similarities in the winter holiday traditions, many witches and pagans like John and McAloon sometimes feel compelled to keep their craft, and by extension, their Winter Solstice practices to themselves.
“I don’t say it explicitly, but I don’t hide it. People have a pre-conceived notion of what a witch means,” said McAloon, who has worked as a professional singer in churches in the past. “I wouldn’t want to mention that around them.”
While witchcraft and witchy aesthetics have seen a rise in popularity over the last few years — popular movie and television actress Aubrey Plaza has now co-written two children’s books titled “The Christmas Witch” and “The Return of the Christmas Witch” — many witches and pagans consider “coming out of the broom closet” to be a tough thing.
“I don’t often feel the need to tell people around me that I’m a witch on a regular basis and sometimes it’s a little scary to do so because you never know how someone is going to react,” said John B. “There’s a lot of bias in the Western world when it comes to witchcraft. Many people like to assume we sit around worshiping the devil or casting curses all day rather than worshiping nature and trying to better our environment as well as help those around us.”
Guests at the Triple Goddess Coven make their own Witch Orbs to decorate their homes during the holidays. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
High Priestess Syleena anoints a guest before the Yule ritual. Anointment is a part of many different religious rituals, including Wicca and Christianity. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
High Priestess Syleena anoints a guest before the Yule ritual. Anointment is a part of many different religious rituals, including Wicca and Christianity. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
High Priestess Syleena anoints a guest before the Yule ritual. Anointment is a part of many different religious rituals, including Wicca and Christianity. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
High Priestess Syleena anoints a guest before the Yule ritual. Anointment is a part of many different religious rituals, including Wicca and Christianity. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
High Priestess Syleena anoints a guest before the Yule ritual. Anointment is a part of many different religious rituals, including Wicca and Christianity. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
The word ‘wassail’ means ‘good health’ in old english, this is a strong alcoholic drink usually made up of apple cider, ale, cinnamon, honey and other spices. After making the drink, wassailers would offer some back to the trees and sing to them to encourage a good harvest the following year, it is possible this is where the tradition of carolling came from.
The warmth and light provided by these flames are seen as a way to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck for the coming year. Lighting candles and gathering around a bonfire can create a cozy and magical atmosphere during the darkest time of the year. Feasting and sharing food is another important aspect of yule celebrations, and this custom also has pagan origins. In ancient times, the winter solstice was a time of scarcity, and it was crucial to share resources and ensure everyone's survival. Sharing a meal with loved ones is a way to honor this tradition of community and abundance. Lastly, divination and spiritual practices can also be incorporated into yule celebrations. The winter solstice is believed to be a time of heightened spiritual energy, and many pagans use this time for rituals and meditation. Engaging in divination practices, such as tarot card readings or scrying, can provide insight and guidance for the coming year. By incorporating these pagan customs into yule celebrations, we can not only honor the ancient traditions of our ancestors but also create a deeper connection to nature and the cycles of life. These customs can add richness and meaning to the holiday season and help us find joy and renewal in the darkest time of the year..
Reviews for "Embracing the Wild at Yule: Incorporating Pagan Rituals into Winter Solstice Celebrations"
1. Sarah - 2 stars - While I appreciate the effort to learn about different cultures and traditions, I found "Incorporating pagan customs into yule celebrations" to be a bit forced and unnatural. It felt like the author was simply checking off boxes to be inclusive without really understanding the significance of these customs. The book lacked depth and failed to provide meaningful insights into the pagan traditions it aimed to showcase. I was disappointed and would not recommend it to those looking for an authentic exploration of yule celebrations.
2. John - 1 star - "Incorporating pagan customs into yule celebrations" fell short of my expectations. The book read more like a superficial guide than an in-depth exploration. I found it to be poorly researched and lacking in historical accuracy. The author seemed to focus more on surface-level descriptions rather than delving into the deeper meanings and symbolism behind pagan customs. Overall, I was left feeling unsatisfied and would not recommend this book to others who are seeking a more thorough understanding of yule celebrations.
3. Emily - 2 stars - I was initially excited to learn about incorporating pagan customs into yule celebrations, but this book didn't meet my expectations. The writing style was dry and lacked enthusiasm, making it difficult to stay engaged. The author briefly touched on various pagan customs, but failed to provide any practical advice on how to actually incorporate them into modern celebrations. I believe there are better resources out there for anyone interested in exploring pagan traditions during the yule season.