Yule
- Winter solstice |
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21st/22nd
December
Yule or the Midwinter
Solstice is the time of year when we experience our shortest day and longest
night
-
the
sun is at its lowest point in the sky at noon. Yule meaning 'wheel'
is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world.
Our ancestors celebrated the rebirth of the Sun god at Yule, and
the expulsion of the evil winter spirits. The winter solstice was considered
a mysterious and powerful time, for it is at this point the sun begins to make
the return journey across our skies. After the longest night of the
year
the
sun
is seen as growing stronger and the return of the warmer season is welcomed -
the
concept
of
rebirth
became strongly associated
with the Winter Solstice.
Three days after Yule many people exchange gifts and
celebrate
Christmas - the birth of Jesus, as our ancestors celebrated the return of light
and the sun
growing in strength. The well-known figure of Father Christmas may have derived
from
the
Pagan god, Herne
the Hunter.
Yule
was celebrated with bonfires to stimulate the ascent of the sun, and lamps illuminated
houses decorated with evergreens to simulate summer.
It
is a time to look on the past year's achievements. The days will now grow longer
up to the mid summer solstice.
The
Yule Log - during medieval
times, the decorated log was ceremoniously carried
into the home on Christmas Eve, and placed
in the fireplace. Traditionally the Yule log was
lit with the saved stump of last year's log, and
then it was burnt over the
twelve days of the winter celebration, and its ashes
and stump were kept until the
following year to sprinkle on the new log, so that
the fortune would be passed on from year to year.
In
France and Germany ashes from
the Yule log were mixed with the cattle feed to ensure
their health and in other regions the ash was sprinkled
around fruit trees to increase their yield of
fruit.
Yule wreaths were
traditionally made of evergreens and holly and ivy.
Holly represents the female and ivy the male and the
wreath's circle symbolizes the wheel of the year. Both holly
and ivy were used as protection in the home against bad spirits making
a Yuletide wreath
solstice
wreath making In
Wiltshire the winter solstice is still celebrated
by the lighting up of the white horse at Alton Barnes. Tea
lights in jars are placed on the chalk, so that the
horse glows with candlelight. |
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Wassailing
New Year's Eve was the traditional time
that this ceremony took place, and was originally
held around the oldest tree in the apple orchard. The first cider
crop was poured on the roots of the apple tree to thank the tree
spirits for the crop of apples, and to ensure a good harvest next
year.
Drumming and bamging sticks would beat away any bad spirits, and
the wassail cup would be passed around. Toast dipped in cider would
then be
hung on the oldest tree, as an offering to the tree dryads.
'Wassail' was Saxon for 'good health'.
In the eleventh-century, the Danish rule over England brought the
Scandinavian term for Christmas - Yule. Christmastide was the time to bring out
the wassail
bowl
or
cup.
The
leader of the celebrations would call 'Wassail', which was Old English for 'your
health',
and the answer was 'Drinkhail', at which the bowl was passed round so everyone
took took a drink and handed it on with a kiss. |
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