Yule, or Winter Solstice, is the spoke in the Wheel of the Year when the waxing Sun overtakes the waning Sun. This was seen in ancient times as a divine struggle between the Holly King--the death aspect of the God--and the Oak King, which is the rebirth aspect, or more commonly, The Divine Child. Such imagery arose from a time when the ancient Pagan folk needed to comfort themselves during long and merciless winters and ensure the continuity of the seasons through worship of the God of Light and his Great Mother Goddess.
It is from the Oak King that the Twelfth Lunation takes its name. The oak tree itself represents The Divine Child who dies to be born anew at Yule. Its sturdy branches and trunk thrive in the world of the living, while its strong roots grasp the soil of the underworld--the realm of the Spirit.
Yule is most often seen as the time of year when the Mother Goddess gives birth to the God of Light. This ancient concept was adopted by the Christian church in 273 C.E. (Common Era) to fit their nativity legend. They chose the month of December because of its many festivals and the strong association of The Divine Child concept in so many cultures as well.
Mithras, God of the Roman legions, was said to have been born at the Winter Solstice. Similarly, so were Horus in Egypt, Attis in Phrygia, and Apollo in Greece. The Celts celebrated the birth of Bel at Yule, Phoenicians, their God of creation, Baal, and the Norse and Saxons alike lauded the birth of Balder. All of these pre-date the Christian Christ child legend by many centuries.
In the Dianic Wicca tradition, Yule is the rebirth of Lucina, the Sun Goddess, who reignites the Sun and recreates Light for a darkened world. Known today as Santa Lucia, She is depicted as a young woman crowned in holly and glowing candles. Indeed, in many European and Wiccan families the world over, young girls dress as brides for the Winter Solstice. Upon their heads are wreaths of evergreen, topped with white candles. They each carry a red candle to honor the Mother Goddess who comes to dispel darkness, to purify and to consecrate Her happy followers.
Over the centuries, Yule has evolved into the Yuletide season in the Pagan religion. It is a holiday that embraces numerous ancient and modern festivals and rituals falling within the month of December.
Bona Dea honoring the Goddess Justice, was celebrated in Republican Rome only by women. This December first festival could not even be witnessed by male animals. Any such violation was considered highly profane and would condemn all of Rome to a year of strife.
Saturnalia celebrated the Roman God, Saturn, and his consort, Ops--from whose name came the word opulence. This was the favorite carnival of the Romans. It offered a relaxation of the strict class system of that period and feasts aplenty for all citizens.
The Jewish faith celebrates Hanukkah or Festival of Lights. This holiday honors the Maccabean rededication of the temple in Jerusalem--a time in Hebrew history that inspired the legend of a mere day's worth of lamp oil lasting for eight days.
A more recent festival is Kwanzaa. Though not religious in nature, this African-American holiday celebrates the Nguzo Saba--a Swahili phrase meaning The Seven Principles of Life. These are: Unity, Self-determination, Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity and Faith. Each day of the week-long holiday families join together to light a candle representing one of the Principles. It is a way of honoring a heritage cruelly ripped from those African ancestors oppressed by slavery.
Both the modern holidays of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa fall upon the Winter Solstice and are, likewise, joyous celebrations of light, enlightenment and remembrance of the best of their respective cultural values.
It is becoming increasingly popular among modern Pagans to incorporate elements of these celebrations into the Yule tradition. It is a way of embracing and honoring the diversity and unity of all Earth's citizens.
Another commonality in Pagan Yule traditions is the sharing of the feast with all the Mother Goddess' children. Popcorn and cranberry strings are draped on trees and dried corn, seeds, apples and suet are left in gardens around the world for birds and other animals. In this way, Pagans join with ALL living things to celebrate the return of the God of Light, the nurturing Sun.

The colors of red and green:
These colors symbolize holly--the Holly King. They are a representation of the darkening year that must give way to the new, bright one. They have been the traditional color of Pagan candles, decorations and ritual robes for centuries.

The Yule Tree and Decorations:
This was originally a symbol of the Tree of Life or World Tree among early Pagans.
The most ancient legend of the Yule, or Christmas tree, comes from Phrygia and involves the Great Mother Goddess Cybele, and Her lover, Attis. The story describes the tragic death of Attis after he castrated himself. Wherever his blood touched the ground, violets sprang to life. Cybele gathered the violets and adorned a fir tree with them. She then prayed to Zeus to restore Attis to Her. Zeus granted Attis life for six months out of the year, hence the rebirth of Attis.
Decorations have their origins in ancient times, sprung from the gratitude for life-sustaining food and those objects that symbolized the turning of the seasons. These things gave early Pagans a sense of continuity in their spiritual lives.
Before modern or sophisticated adornments for the Yule tree were created, Pagans used apples, oranges, nuts, cranberries, and homemade cookies and candies.
Other typical decorations included birds and their nests. These symbolized the migration of the flocks, hence the rebirth of the Earth and the hasty arrival of Spring.
The star stop the Yule tree is equally ancient in its origins and honors the Star Goddess. Candles, and later electric lights, depict both the stars in the sky and the light welcoming the return of the God of Light.

Holly Wreaths:
Though holly is commonly mentioned in Christianized carols such as "Deck the Halls" and "The Holly and the Ivy," its origin is much older.
The symbolism of holly and ivy together actually represents the struggle for balance between the waning and waxing Sun. Though it is often thought of as a representation of the Holly King, reverence for this tree is older still.
It was not lost on early Pagans that to enjoy the beauty of the lush red berries, both a male and female tree are needed. Because only the female yields the lush fruit, the tree itself became associated with the Mother Goddess.
Though wreaths are common decorative objects in modern homes, they were originally used only during Yuletide. Their circular shape symbolizes the Wheel of the Year and its completion and continuity.
The word Yule itself comes from the Saxon geol, meaning wheel.

Holiday Cookies, Cakes and Candy:
These treats were traditionally prepared as a way to celebrate the after-feast rituals of lighting the Yule tree and burning the Yule log. They were seen as a way to partake of the body of the Grain Goddess and God, thus ensuring the "sweetness" of the year ahead.
Sugar was unknown until relatively recent times, therefore honey was the traditional sweetener. It was considered a sacred elixir from the earliest days of Egyptian history. Honey cakes were baked at the Winter Solstice and given in offering to the Goddess Min.
Even the much maligned fruitcake is an ancient Pagan Yule tradition. Its main ingredient--citron--was believed to bestow psychic abilities.

The Yule Feast:
When faced with the shortest day and longest night of the year, early Pagans knew many fears. Would the sunlight return to nourish the land and banish the intolerable cold? Would crops grow in abundance to support the families and village throughout the coming year?
It was such apprehension that inspired the phrase, "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow may never come." Thus, from the earliest days, a feast celebrating the Earth's bounty was laid out on the night of Winter Solstice to assuage such fear.

Ivy Garlands:
Ivy is considered sacred to the Egyptian God, Osiris. Garlands of ivy were traditional decorations on The Night of the Lamps--December 23--when Osiris was finally entombed. Ancient Egyptian text says that on that night, the Goddess Isis and her sister, Nephthys, encircled His tomb seven times with ivy--symbolizing their mourning and the search for His dismembered body. Isis shook her sistrum to ward off the evil murderer, Set.
Even through the Middle Ages, this plant's toxic leaves were chewed for their mythical hallucinogenic and aphrodisiac properties.

Reindeer, Santa and his Sleigh:
Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Kris Kringle are all interpretations of the Holly King. Santa's Sleigh is derived from the legend of the God's Solar Chariot that carries him through the sky. The eight reindeer who draw this sleigh are said to represent the eight Pagan Sabbats. Additionally, their antlers are symbolic of the Horned God.

Mistletoe:
This poisonous plant was sacred to the Druids. They believed that its green leaves represented the fertility of the Mother Goddess, and its white berries, the seed of the Forest God.
Historically, Druids harvested mistletoe from the equally sacred oak trees with golden scythes. Maidens would gather beneath the trees with bolts of white linen stretched out between them. The cloth prevented the falling mistletoe from touching the ground. It was believed that if this happened, all sacred energy in the plant would pour back into the Earth.
It was often worn--with the berries--as an amulet for fertility. Even today, a mistletoe amulet may be found hung upon the headboard of a Pagan couple wishing to conceive.

The Yule Log:
The Yule Log is burned to honor the return of the Sun. Since ancient times it has been a limb from an oak tree, symbolic of the Oak King and the promise of a new, bright year to come. It has always been decorated with fir needles, yew, ivy, birch, and holly springs. The bright green of the fir represents the rebirth or new/waxing Sun. The dark green of the yew is the death aspect or the old/waning Sun. Both ivy and birch are the female aspect, the Goddess, an element that promises Spring's eminent arrival. Holly, of course, represents the dying year and the Holly King.
A small piece of the log is always saved. It is kept as a talisman of protection for the household during the following year. At the next Winter Solstice, it is used to kindle the flames of the new Yule log. It is serves as yet another example of continuity in the Pagan faith.

Wassail and Carolling:
Very long ago, Pagans went into the forest and selected a tree. This tree, to them, was the embodiment of all trees, all living things and the Great Mother Goddess herself.
They would anoint the branches of the tree with mulled apple cider--wassail--and bedeck them with wassail-soaked cakes. Then, while the assembly prayed, sand and danced in a circle around the tree, wassail was sprinkled at its roots.
Carolling was born of a similar celebration when young children honored the Winter Solstice with song. They would go throughout their villages, singing door to door. The villagers rewarded them with tokens, sweets and small gifts which symbolized the food and prosperity given by the Mother Goddess to all her Earthly children.

Yule Foods

Yule Offerings

Yule Bath Sachet

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