Celebration of Light

The Winter Solstice, also known as Yule (Jul) or Yuletide, Alban Arthan, Gwyl Canol Gaeof (Welsh) (both of these are observed at sundown the eve before), Midwinter, Feill Fionnain falls around December 21st when the Sun enters Capricorn-(21 December 2013 12:11 PM EST). A festival of lights similar to Chanukkah, Saturnalia, Christmas and Kwanzaa, this is the longest night of the year it celebrates the birth of the new Solar year and the beginning of Winter. The Sun drops to it’s lowest point in the Northern Hemisphere, it pauses during this time and within a few days slowly begins to rise a bit higher into the sky each day. For many this is when the Goddess manifests as the Great Mother and the God as the Sun Child, the re-birth of the Sun God. This is a time of new beginnings, growth, abundance, fertility and the return of light. However you celebrate it most everyone acknowledges the similar customs. You can make it several days of merriment as by the secular Christmas the days will begin to grow longer.

"A bayberry candle burned to the socket brings food to the larder and gold to the pocket."

Mistletoe

Sitting under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
One last candle burning low,
All the sleepy dancers gone,
Just one candle burning on,
Shadows lurking everywhere:
Some one came, and kissed me there.

Tired I was; my head would go
Nodding under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
No footsteps came, no voice, but only,
Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,
Stooped in the still and shadowy air
Lips unseen - and kissed me there.

~Walter de la Mare

Decorating

Much of what most think of as Christmas decorations actually have Pagan roots. Ancient peoples brought in green boughs to symbolize the fertility that will soon come again. This greenery eventually evolved into the Yuletide tree of today, if you so choose to have a tree decoration ideas are endless-cranberries and popcorn strung and wrapped about the tree, ornaments made from natural treasures, fruits, cinnamon dough, paper among many others. Ornament and decoration projects can be found here and crafts and activities for the young ones



Colors: golds, reds, yellows, silvers, greens, whites, blues.
Greenery: mistletoe, holly, ivy, evergreens, oak leaves. The Sun is represented in wheels in decoration (wreaths, strung cranberries (round and red-the perfect solar symbol!) kissing balls, suns). To signify the circle of creation and the Wheel of the Year.
More Sun symbols:lions, phoenixes, dragons, eagles, 6- point star.
Winter symbols-icicles & snowflakes, I’ve a cute jack frost ornament that graces my tree each year
Pinecones:plain or painted gold/silver or glued & glittered to hang on the Yule Tree.
Acorns: glue caps on and dip in gold paint and attach with red ribbon or a metallic gold thread. (Be sure to provide wildlife with food if taking acorns for decorations) Candles, fairy lights(in white or all colors), a Yule Log.

Bells-silver and gold-different traditions use these some for representing the Fae folk others for keeping evil away. One craft is to make bundles of three bells to represent the trinity of the God. Ring in Solstice morning to help *wake up* the Sun.

Reindeer figures to represent the Horned God and the Goddess Freyja. And Bacchus head figures featured during the Roman Saturnalia are other ideas for home and tree.

Scents, Herbs & Incense: Acorn, Apple, Arborvitae, Bay, Bayberry, Cedar, Cinnamon, Frankincense, Hazel, Juniper, Myrrh, Nutmeg, Pine, Pumpkin, Rosemary, Sage, Sandalwood.

**Don’t forget to save your evergreens used in decorating to burn at Imbolg to help banish Winter and usher in Spring! Be sure to store them somewhere safe as they will be highly flammable.**

Foods for the feast

This is a time of abundance, celebrating the sun’s return and to bring prosperity and abundance to ones life- (menu and recipes can be found here) oranges, fruitcake, plum pudding, shortbread, eggnog, mulled wine, cider, wassail, orange juice, cranberry juice, golden cheese, red wheels of tomatoes.....cookies.
Traditional foods for Yule: Nuts, fruitcake, plum pudding, wassail, pork, game, poultry dishes.

Yuletide at Mama Moon's

Yule is probably the most planned celebration in our home, the celebration of light, the return of the Sun, family and helping others is our focus. As I was raised Catholic I still have parents who celebrate Christmas, Pixie's father is a non-practising Catholic so we have his family to celebrate "Christmas" with as well. It can be tough so we've broken our celebrations up throughout Yuletide and continue the ancestral connection we focused on in the previous weeks from Samhuinn. Now we look to the return of the light and celebrate in the fashion of our varied ancestors. We begin our celebration of Light with the celebration of St. Nikolaas, a recent addition as Pixie is old enough now to understand more of my ancestry. We celebrate with Sint Nikolaas in early December and then we celebrate Sankta Lucia as an aspect of the Goddess Freyja, a celebration of light for us. While my one and only daughter is too young for a crown of candles on her head we light a fashioned wreath with four candles and serve lussekatter ("Lucia Cats"-very appropriate for Freyja!) at breakfast. We spend these first few weeks of December in a flurry of baking and creating for as the Solstice nears our focus is on giving to others. We do not give gifts to each other on the Solstice, instead we make treats for the wild beasties, donate to those in need and we choose a child from the local community centre, mall or church who is in need of a holiday cheer and we buy gifts for that child. The Christian celebration is spent with our families and sadly Pixie is inundated with a lot of stuff she hardly plays with (and is usually donated away within a few months).

Our activities include ornament crafting, gift crafting, lots of music, candles lit and holiday scents simmering and baking, I bake a collection of thirteen different types of cookies for Yule, which is no mean feat! Below are links to the lists of cookies and candy we made from 2003-2008