Tomorrow, the 21st December is the shortest day of the year. It was marked by our Celtic ancestors as the death of the Old Year and the rebirth of the Sun - and a new dawn for our people. I still celebrate Yule as opposed to Christmas, as it is the true festival of our British forebears - and to the growth of our Movement and our Cause in the coming year as we once more do battle with the Global Dominators!
Yule: Winter Solstice - Dec 21st/22nd
The origin of the word Yule, has several suggested origins from the
Old English word, geõla, the Old Norse word jõl, a pagan festival
celebrated at the winter solstice, or the Anglo-Saxon word for the
festival of the Winter Solstice, 'Iul' meaning 'wheel'. In old almanacs
Yule was represented by the symbol of a wheel, conveying the idea of the
year turning like a wheel, The Great Wheel of the Zodiac, The Wheel of
Life. The spokes of the wheel, were the old festivals of the year, the
solstices and equinoxes.
The winter solstice, the rebirth of the Sun, is an important turning
point, as it marks the shortest day, when the hours of daylight are at
their least. It also the start of the increase in the hours of daylight,
until the Summer Solstice, when darkness becomes ascendant once more.
Cycle of the Year
Yule is deeply rooted in the cycle of the year, it is the seed time
of year, the longest night and the shortest day, where the Goddess once
again becomes the Great Mother and gives birth to the new Sun King. In a
poetic sense it is on this the longest night of the winter, 'the dark
night of our souls', that there springs the new spark of hope, the
Sacred Fire, the Light of the World, the Coel Coeth.
Fire festivals, celebrating the rebirth of the Sun, held on the
Winter's Solstice can be found throughout the ancient world. The Roman
festival of Saturnalia was held on the winter solstice, boughs of
evergreen trees and bushes would decorate the house, gifts where
exchanged and normal business was suspended. The Persian Mithraists held
December 25th as sacred to the birth of their Sun God, Mithras, and
celebrated it as a victory of light over darkness. In Sweden, December
13th was sacred to the Goddess Lucina, Shining One, and was a
celebration of the return of the light. On Yule itself, around the 21st,
bonfires were lit to honor Odin and Thor.
The festival was already closely associated with the birth of older
Pagan gods like Oedipus, Theseus, Hercules, Perseus, Jason, Dionysus,
Apollo, Mithra, Horus and even Arthur with a cycle of birth, death and
resurrection that is also very close to that of Jesus. It can hardly be a
coincidence that the Christians, also used this time of year for the
birth of Christ, mystically linking him with the Sun.
That Yule is another fire festival, should come as no surprise,
however unlike the more public outdoor festival of the summer solstice,
Yule lends itself to a more private and domestic celebration. Yet like
its midsummer counterpart, is strongly associated with fertility and the
continuation of life. Here the Goddess is in her dark aspect, as 'She
Who Cuts The Thread' or 'Our Lady in Darkness', calling back the Sun
God. Yet, at the same time, she is in the process of giving birth to
Son-Lover who will refertilise her and the earth, bringing back light
and warmth to the world.
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