What is Yule aka the Winter Solstice

There has been so much of pagan traditions lost to history. What we do know is clouded by a Christian lens, and we all know how Christianity felt about paganism back in the day. Yule, or the winter solstice, is one of those sabbats that is so old that so much of its history has been lost, and to truly take a deep dive into it would probably have to be a series of posts. Come to think of it, I could do a longform video on it for next year!

So then, what am I going to say about Yule? It has taken me hours to do more research and try to write, but there’s just so much (missing and contradictory) information that it’s hard to write a simple blog post about it. So instead, I am going to split this post in two, talk about my take on the winter solstice, what it means to me, get into some of my ancestors ways of celebrating, and then another post on how I celebrate and observe this sabbat and some other ways you can celebrate. After all, magick is so deeply personal that it’s really taking in information and seeing how it fits for you.

My ancestry comes mainly from Norse and Celtic regions. For quite a while I have only been focusing on one part of my history, trying not to associate myself with certain groups and shying away from certain close family history that makes me feel guilty for being pagan in the first place. So, I’m going to take you on my discovery of my different cultures way of celebrating the winter solstice.

What is the winter solstice in general?

This solstice marks the longest night and the summoning of the sun. The days start to grow longer, the nights shorter, and we are hunkering down for the coldest part of the year…

Unless you’re in Queensland or other similar climates, where our coldest low is 6˚C and you can get away with wearing t-shirts.

Different regions and cultures throughout the world celebrate the winter solstice in a variety of ways, with some interesting similarities across cultures. One thing is common though, bringing loved ones together to bring warmth to the soul and the body.

Celtic winter solstice

The pre-Christian era of the world celebrated and revered nature, the sun and moon, the animals they consumed, and had practices they believed would continue the cycle of the seasons. Due to their proximity to the north pole, the sun appeared to rise and fall so quickly that it seemed to not be moving at all. This lead to the Celtic people to adopt practices that they believed would help resume the suns cycle.

Druidic traditions

Druids were a high order of Celtic societies: teachers, priests, healers. Druids were the ones to cut and bless the mistletoe that grew from oak trees, and Holly trees brought into homes as a symbol of hope and for protection against evil. Druids also started the tradition of the yule log, where you would burn a log for a set number of days (or hours, the number being widely debated) and keep a small piece of it to start the next years yule log.

Norse Yule

The wheel of the year comes from Norsemen, as they saw the sun as a wheel that changed the seasons. When the solstice came, Norsemen believed the wheel was stuck and needed to be turned through rituals and practices. These rituals and practices at the time of the winter solstice is what they called Yule.

Honouring our female ancestors

Mothers Night (or Mōdraniht in Old English), celebrated on the 20th of June (or the 20th of December for northern hemisphere folks) kicks off the winter solstice celebrations. This practice is an Old English tradition where they celebrated goddesses and their female ancestors. These women finally get to take a break from their hard work and wander from home to home. This tradition has been adapted to modern pagan festivities, and although it is not Norse nor Celtic, I have adapted it into my celebrations as another way to honour the women of my family and the world.

So, the winter solstice is a time to celebrate the changing of seasons and lengthening of days, but specifically with your loved ones. Winter can make it hard to get together, so it’s super important to make that time to be with friends and family during these darkest days.

Stay tuned for ways to celebrate!

Althea xx