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Traditions and Symbols of Yule
Note: This is an updated version of our very popular post about Yule traditions, “Traditions and Symbols of Yule”. We have spared the original title. Photos and information herein have been updated for educational purposes. Happy Yule and enjoy your holiday!
Yule is a traditional holiday holding roots in various northern European traditions, particularly that of the pre-Christian Germanic peoples. When the days grew colder and the nights grew longer, people of ancient times would light candles and gather round fires to lure back the sun. They would bring out their stores of food and enjoy feasting and festivities. Dances were danced and songs were sung and all would delight in decorating their homes. Such were the Yule traditions of those times—traditions similar to what we call Christmas (Yule eventually underwent Christianised reformulation).
Evergreens for Yule: Symbols of Renewal
Evergreens were cut and brought indoors to symbolize life, rebirth and renewal. They were thought to have power over death because their green never faded, and they were used to defeat winter demons and hold back death and destruction. Because of their strength and tenacity, they were also believed to encourage the Sun’s return.
Yule Symbol of Hope: Holly
Holly, which represents the masculine element, was often used to decorate doors, windows and fireplaces. Because of its prickliness it was thought to capture or ward off evil spirits before they could enter a home and cause harm. The holly leaves, symbolic of the Holly King, represent hope, while the red berries represent potency.
Yule Traditions: Mistletoe
Mistletoe, which represents the female element, also holds much importance as it was used by Druid priests in special ceremonies during the Winter Solstice. They believed that its green leaves represented the fertility of the Mother Goddess, and its white berries, the seed of the Forest God or Oak King. Druids would harvest the mistletoe from sacred oak trees with golden scythes and maidens would gather underneath the trees to catch the falling branches, preventing them from falling to the ground; for if this happened, it was believed that all sacred energy in the plant would pour back into the earth. The branches and sprigs were then divided and distributed to be hung over doorways as protection against thunder, lightning and other evils. Mistletoe was also worn as an amulet for fertility, or hung above the headboard.
Yule Tree: An Important Pagan Symbol
The Yule Tree was also another important symbol in pagan tradition. Originally, it represented the Tree of Life or the World Tree among early pagans. In ancient times it was decorated with gifts people wanted to receive from the gods. It was adorned with natural ornaments such as pinecones, berries and other fruit, as well as symbols sacred to the gods and goddess. In some holiday traditions, garlands of popcorn and berries were strung around the tree so that visiting birds could feed off the tree as well.
To Honour and Protect: The Yule Log
The custom of burning the Yule Log began with the ancient Scandinavians who burned a huge log, felled from and Ash tree, to honour their god Thor. In the Celtic tradition, a continual hearth fire was kept to prevent spirits from entering the home. In order for the fire to keep burning, a large Oak tree was felled and brought into the home where the tree was placed trunk first into the hearth, with the last remnants set aside to burn with next year’s fire. It was also believed that the longer the Yule log burned, the faster the sun would come to warm the earth.
Other Yule Traditions and Symbols
Candles were another way to have an eternal flame within the home. They symbolized the light and warmth of the sun and were used to chase away evils and lure back the returning sun/son.
Wreaths were also traditional in ancient times for they symbolized the wheel of the year and the completion of another cycle. They were made of evergreens and adorned with cones and berries and hung as decoration throughout the home. They were also given as gifts to symbolize the infinity of goodwill, friendship and joyfulness.
Bells were often rung during the Winter Solstice to drive away demons that surfaced during the dark time of the year. They were rung in the morning as everyone began to wake to chase away the dark days and herald in the warmer, brighter days following the solstice.
Elves first became associated with Yule because the ancients knew that the Spirits that created the Sun inhabited the land of Elves. By including elves in the Yule celebrations, the ancients believed they were assuring the elves assistance in the coercion of the Sun to return.
Gingerbread was considered to be a specialty bread during this time since ginger had not been available until the Crusaders brought it back in the 11th century. There were strict laws regarding specialty breads in that time, so gingerbread was only allowed to be produced during the holidays and thus, it became associated with winter and Yule.
Wassail derives from the Old English words waes hael, which means “be well”, “be hale” or “good health”. It is a strong drink, usually a mixture of ale, honey and spices or mulled apple cider. When pagans went into the forest to fell the great oak for the Yule log, they would anoint the tree with wassail and bedeck them with wassail-soaked cakes, thus the ritual of wassailing was born. At home, the wassail would be poured into a large bowl during feast time and the host, when greeting his or her guests, would lift a drink and wish them “waes hael”, to which they would reply “drinc hael”, which meant “drink and be well”.
Carolling was also a popular Yule tradition when young children honoured the Winter Solstice with song. They would go through the villages, singing door to door. The villagers, in return, would reward them with tokens and sweets and small gifts which symbolized the food and prosperity given by the Mother Goddess to all her Earthly children.
Nature Symbols of Yule: Holly, Oak, Mistletoe, Ivy, Evergreens, Laurel, Bayberry, Blessed Thistle, Frankincense, Pine, Sage, Yellow Cedar.
Food and Drink of Yule: Yule Log Cake, Gingerbread, Fruits, Berries, Nuts, Pork dishes, Turkey, Eggnog, Ginger Tea, Spiced Cider, Wassail
Colours of Yule: Red, Green, White, Silver, Gold
Red represents the waning Holly King. Green represents the waxing Oak King. White represents the purity and hope of new Light. Silver represents the Moon. Gold represents the Sun/Son.
Stones of Yule: Rubies, Bloodstones, Garnets, Emeralds, Diamonds
Activities of Yule: Carolling ~ Wassailing the Trees ~ Burning the Yule Log ~ Decorating the Yule Tree ~ Exchanging Gifts ~ Kissing under the Mistletoe
Deities of Yule:
Goddesses: The Great Mother and Earth Goddess, Freyja, Gaia, Diana, Bona-Dea, Isis, Demeter
Gods: Mabon, The Sun God, The Star (Divine) Child, The Oak King, The Holly King, The Green Man, The Red Man, The Horned One, Odin, Lugh, Apollo, Ra
What Yule traditions and symbols still appear in your Holiday celebrations? Did you know the origin of some of these Yule traditions or did they surprise you? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
~ Originally written by Daniela Masaro. Updated/edited by Jacob Lopez Dec, 2020
On the Yule Tree’s Origins
European pagans decorated evergreen trees, symbols of spring and life, in their homes long before Christianity.
November 16, 2017A n evergreen, its color symbolizing hope, is cut and brought inside a home warmed by a fire. Joyous people deck the tree with bright, shiny, sparkling ornaments – a brilliant contrast to the cold, possibly snowy conditions outside in the dead of winter.
But this isn’t yuletide and that’s not a Christmas tree. It’s the winter solstice and pagans of Europe, long before Christianity has reached them, literally and figuratively bring a bit of spring and life (large and green) into their dwellings during the longest, darkest night of the year.
Ancient druids throughout the British Isles and northern Europe adorned their houses and temples with pine, spruce and fir to evoke everlasting life. Scandinavians believed Balder, their sun god, favored evergreens as special plants.
“Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture,” according to History.com. “The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.”
When Roman Emperor Constantine decriminalized Christianity in 313, the religion began to spread throughout Europe. These early Christians adopted and incorporated many pagan rituals (fertility rites of the spring were converted into Easter bunnies and eggs) and the Christmas tree evolved from those winter solstice celebrations.
Martin Luther is often credited with adding candles to a Christmas tree in the 1500s, but the first documented lighting of a yuletide evergreen wasn’t until 1660 in Germany.
The Moravians are believed to be the first to bring the Christmas tree to the United States in the early 1800s, according to Mental Floss. The yule tree took awhile to catch on in our country because of the heavy reach of the Puritans (in England and America) 200 years before. Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell called the Christmas tree and other yuletide celebrations “heathen traditions,” and New England leader William Bradford did his best to eliminate “pagan mockery.”
The Puritans’ influence decreased as Irish, German and Scandinavian immigrants spread across the United States in the 19th century. Queen Victoria openly celebrated Christmas and all its traditions, and Americans of the day, often trying to imitate (and even out-do) the Victorians, hopped on the Christmas tree bandwagon. They haven’t jumped off.
Americans, Oklahomans included, frequently light public Christmas trees the evening of Thanksgiving; Bricktown in Oklahoma City and Utica Square in Tulsa did just that. Others wait a little bit and don’t put up their trees until this month.
But almost all who do have their evergreens lit, tinseled and bedazzled by Dec. 21, the winter solstice, a holy, spiritual time for pagans.
The staff at Magic Nails is highly skilled and trained in the latest nail trends and techniques. In addition to nail services, Magic Nails also offers spa treatments such as facials and massages. This allows customers to pamper themselves and feel relaxed and rejuvenated.
A Santa briefing
Santa Claus has a convoluted, conflated origin. According to Christian Ratsch and Claudia Muller-Eberling in their Pagan Christmas, the jolly old elf’s name came from Sinterklaas, whose feast day, as patron saint of sailors and merchants, was the day before that of Saint Nicholas, the fourth-century Turkish bishop known for his generosity to children and poor people. Early legends of Saint Nicholas include his pagan sidekick, Ruprecht.
“In the end, [Santa] is a compromise figure between Catholic, Protestant and pre-Christian beliefs,” anthropologist Rudiger Vossen writes.
15 Yule Symbols & Traditions to Make your Holiday More Magical
Yule is coming! Yule is the Pagan holiday that is just filled with feelings of warmth, coziness and joy. For many anyways. Myself included.
The scents, energies and excitement surrounding this Sabbat are incredibly infectious.
Yule has a rich and wonderful history of traditions that were around for many many moons prior to when Christmas stepped into the spotlight.
So today we are going to go through 15 of these fun customs and symbols that you can incorporate into your own holiday celebrations this year.
And perhaps some you already do! So let’s get to it.
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