My First Yule

Merry Yule! Here in the northern hemisphere, the snow is falling, houses are decorated with evergreen and candles, and I’m anticipating exchanging gifts with loved ones. Although our mainstream culture associates this festive atmosphere with Christmas, it all makes sense in a Pagan context too: we’re brightening up the darkness as we remind ourselves that even though it’s still the middle of winter, the days are getting longer. Can you believe it’s happening already?

Yule is the winter solstice, which happens around December 21 in the northern hemisphere. (For an explanation of how solstices work, see my post on Litha.) The winter solstice has been and continues to be an important day in many cultures around the world. Many traditional celebrations focus on the sun: the winter solstice marks the turning point when the sun’s power grows as the days once again begin to lengthen. Yule as we know it originates with Germanic peoples, and like the summer solstice, it might have originally comprised a two-month period. Yule can also be called Midwinter; it’s definitely not the middle of winter from a seasonal perspective, but if you consider Samhain the beginning of winter and Imbolc the beginning of spring, the name does make sense.

A lot of the secular trappings we associate with Christmas possibly originated with pagan Yule celebrations and continue to be used in a modern Pagan context: candles, evergreen décor, feasting, gift-giving, and the Yule Log. Modern Pagans observe the winter solstice in diverse ways. Some practice kitchen witchery, taking advantage of the food prep and feasting that often happen at this time of year. Some honor sun Gods and Goddesses, acknowledging them at this time of returning light. Some take inspiration from Renaissance England and appoint a Lord of Misrule who oversees the Yule revel with humor and abandon. Others hearken back to ancient Rome and celebrate Saturnalia at this time of year, honoring the God Saturn with a carnivalesque festival.

Other Pagans prefer to sit with the darkness and quiet: continuing a period of introspection and reflection that began with Samhain, honoring the dead as we traverse the darkest time of the year, or holding an all-night vigil on the Longest Night. Honored ancestors and spooky ghosts may seem to fit better with Samhain, but celebrating them at Yule is traditional: A Christmas Carol and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” make this plain, but the association might actually go back to pagan times.

The modern legend of the Oak King and the Holly King states that the Holly King reaches his full strength at midwinter. The Holly King defeats the Oak King at the autumn equinox and rules the dark half of the year. The Oak King, whose full power is expressed at midsummer, is born again at midwinter and grows in strength until he defeats the Holly King at the spring equinox. I used to dislike this story, but it’s grown on me, especially as I’ve heard about the various creative ways that Pagan groups choose to interpret and perform it. And it’s kind of a cool coincidence that my name is Holly and I was born just one week after the summer solstice; I get asked all the time if I was born in December, but maybe if more people were Pagan, they’d guess correctly that my birthday is in June!

This year I had the unusual experience of celebrating Yule with a bunch of family members, sort of. My in-laws held their entire (wholly secular) Christmas celebration on December 21 so that my brother-in-law (who was spending December 25 with his fiancée’s family) could be there. We decorated a tree, lit candles, recited poetry, ate a special meal, and opened presents right around the Longest Night. It didn’t feel Pagan at all—it felt remarkably like Christmas came four days early—but having family members celebrating (on) a Pagan holiday with me was interesting. It meant that I couldn’t do anything resembling ritual; I was too busy with family stuff. On the other hand, it was easy to muster winter solstice cheer since everyone around me was celebrating, too.

I’m still figuring out how I want to celebrate Yule in the future. I was originally going to have a solstice celebration at home with my partner, but since we ended up traveling to visit family a few days earlier than planned, that didn’t work out. In preparation for Yule 2020 I’m going to need to consider how to make space for the Pagan holiday so it doesn’t get overshadowed by secular and Christian celebrations with family. And yes, there will be a Yule 2020 for me. It’s not time for a Pagan year retrospective yet—not until Imbolc—but it’s safe to say that I’ll be back to talk about my second turn on the Wheel of the Year.