Yule: 9 Ways to Celebrate the Cosy Magic of Winter
As the wild hunt rides, the hungry wind howls and the nights draw in, Yule invites us to explore the themes of stillness, darkness and rebirth.
Yule is a celebration of the dark stillness of winter and the rebirth of the sun.
It’s an important time to gather with family and to engage in some general cosy merriment!
Plus, food.
So much food.
When Is Yule Celebrated?
Yule, also known as the Winter Solstice, takes place around:
22nd or 23rd of December in the Northern Hemisphere.
20th or 21st of March in the Southern Hemisphere.
The word ‘solstice’ comes from the Latin solstitium, meaning ‘sun stands still’.
Many Pagans merge the celebrations of Yule and Christmas together, while some choose to celebrate both festivals separately.
I tend to combine the two together because it doesn’t seem prudent to celebrate what feels like the same thing twice!
Yule Symbols
Before we delve into how Yule was celebrated and how we moderns can celebrate it, let’s take a look at a few of the sacred wintery symbols of the season.
Holly and Mistletoe
Holly and mistletoe have long been associated with the winter season.
Both plants are evergreens and both birth winter berries during the Yuletide period.
Light
Twinkling Christmas lights, flickering candles and starry winter skies define this season.
The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year and from then on the days will slowly begin to lengthen.
Spices
Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger are the perfect warming addition to sweet treats and steaming simmer pots at this time of year.
Gingerbread, spiced cider, mulled wine and mince pies are all popular foods during the Yule season.
Wreaths
Verdant evergreen wreaths grace the doorways of many houses during Christmas.
Wreaths appear to be a modern tradition but it’s a nice nod to the season as the circle is symbolic of the wheel of the year.
Yule Tree
The Christmas or Yule tree needs no introduction.
While they’re a Victorian invention, decorating trees for Yule feels very much ‘in the spirit’ of Paganism.
They further offer us a reminder that the light will be reborn from the darkness of winter.
How Was Yule Celebrated?
The word Yule comes from the Old English geol(a).
While the celebration of Yule or a Yule-like winter festival has likely existed in Northern Europe for thousands of years.
It’s not completely clear how or why the festival was celebrated.
It’s likely that sacrifices were made, with rituals linked to the elves and the dead.
The historian Rudolph Simek suggests that traditions such as the Yule goat and the Yule log may have pre-Christian origins.
Saturnalia: A Very Roman Bender
Some of our more familiar Christmas traditions seem to have a few things in common with Saturnalia.
Boozy office parties spring to mind!
Saturnalia was a multiple day ancient Roman festival celebrated from the 17th of December.
During Saturnalia, all work and activity was suspended so the carnival like festivities could begin.
Cries of io Saturnalia filled the streets.
The statue of Kronos was unbound for a banquet in the temple and slaves were given temporary reprieve from their duties as gifts were exchanged in family homes.
Persian Yalda Night
I’m half Persian and in common with other Indo-European cultures, Iranians have their own winter solstice celebration.
This is the Persian festival known as Yalda Night.
It’s celebrated on the winter solstice with a gathering of family and friends to eat food and read some Hafez or the Persian epic the Shahnameh.
A table of red fruits is usually eaten; the red being associated with the emerging dawn.
The history of Yule is kind of a long (very long) trippy deep dive that I don’t have time for here.
But in summation…
Winter was important and celebrated across many cultures.
Yule Folklore: The Real Spooky Season?
Krampus comig for your spawn! (1900)
While spooky season is traditionally seen as being purely a Halloween thing.
The winter period is brimming with ghosts, goblins and ghouls.
A Christmas Carol (1984) by Charles Dickens depicts a miserly man haunted by spirits and otherworldly beings.
Dickens didn’t write his novel in a vacuum, he was drawing on extant Christmas folklore.
Some might say winter is the real spooky season! Let’s take a gander.
Krampus: alpine devil
Krampus is one of the most prominent figures in Christmas folklore.
Krampus is a macabre horned creature deriving from the Alpine region.
Folklore describes stories of Krampus accompanying Saint Nicholas during the Christmas period on visits to children.
Naughty children would be beaten with birch rods! Krampus day is celebrated on the 5th of December.
Yule Cat: Murderous Kitty
One of my favourite pieces of folklore is the Yule Cat.
Yes, there’s a Yule Cat.
We can thank the good people of Iceland for this wonder.
There are several creatures who are said to live in the barren mountains of Iceland who venture down into the towns during Christmas.
The Yule Cat is said to stalk the icy landscape during this period and prey on those who have the audacity to not have bought new clothes before Christmas eve.
Grumpy and murderous?
Just like a normal cat then.
Grýla: Witchy Woman
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: ‘A Midwinters Tale’
Grýla is another such creature who enjoys her dinner with a side of children!
She’s the mother to Yule Lads who also enjoy creating a bit of Christmas havoc.
If you want something fun and folklore-y to watch this Yule check out The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix.
The Christmas special season one episode A Midwinters Tale features Gryla and the Yule Lads.
It’s easy to watch this one as a standalone, so don’t worry if you’ve never watched the show before.
How to Celebrate Yule
1. Create a Yule Altar
Some appropriate altar items include:
Images of winter
Images of winter deities
Red, white or green candles
Incense
Holly, sprigs of evergreen
Cinnamon
Oranges
On or around the winter solstice, light your candles and incense.
Then spend some time contemplating the energy of winter, pull a tarot card or say a prayer.
2. Decorate a Yule Tree
This one kind of goes without saying, since many of us have picked up this tradition from secular Christmas celebrations.
Despite being a Victorian tradition, decorating an evergreen tree with gaudy glass baubles feels very much in the spirit of Paganism!
I have a small fake Yule tree that I bought from IKEA, her name is Twig.
3. Bake Some Gingerbread
Food glorious food.
Gingerbread season starts in autumn for me, but it’s more widely associated with the Yule season.
Baking gingerbread feels like a very seasonally appropriate food, but feel free to bake whatever you most enjoy.
4. Donate to a Food Bank
Giving to charity is something we should be doing all year if we’re in the financial position to do so.
Find out where your local food bank is and donate some Christmas appropriate non-perishable food items or personal care products.
Donation Ideas
Christmas food
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Soap
Toilet roll
Menstrual products
Our local food bank usually has a list of things they need.
Homeless charities might accept physical donations or a donation of money.
5. Go For a Wintery Walk
Many people shy away from going outside during winter.
For those of us living in less dramatic climates we can still get dressed and trudge through the mud, sleet and rain.
It goes without saying, but please take precautions about where you go on your own!
Enjoy the cold winter air and observe the deathly slumber that has fallen over the land like a curse in a fairy tale.
If you’re physically unable to go outside for walks, look out of a window and mindfully observe the nature outside.
You can also connect with the spirit of the season by playing some wintery ambiences on YouTube and perform some winter pathworking.
6. perform a Yule Tarot Reading
If you’re into using tarot and oracle cards seasonally.
Feel free to find any that feel appropriate to winter.
Ask yourself this question:
Which area of my life is experiencing dormancy/stillness?
Which area of my life is experiencing a rebirth?
Pull a card for each question and journal about any intuitive insights.
7. journal about yule
I really enjoy journalling as the seasons change. It’s a very simple way to align yourself with the energy of the season.
Yule Journal Prompts
What did you achieve this year that you’re most proud of?
What do you need to let go of to create more stillness in your life?
What would you most like to change about your life?
List five of your favourite things about winter.
8. Embrace Hygge
Winter is the perfect time to embrace some hygge.
Hygge is a Danish word meaning something similar to ‘cosiness’ in English.
It’s more than just a word though, it’s a way of embracing the stillness of winter and slowing down to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.
I wrote a blog post all about hygge.
Winter is a definitely a time I step up my reading habits.
As the nights draw in, light a warm scented candle, grab a cosy throw blanket and snuggle up with an indulgently wintery book.
I highly recommend the gothic, wintery and very Pagan The Bear and the Nightingale (2017) by Katherine Arden.
9. Celebrate The Rebirth Of The Sun
The Romans gave their sun god the title Sol Invictus meaning the ‘Unconquered Sun’.
Sol Invictus appears to have connections to Saturnalia celebrations in ancient Rome.
As the winter solstice marks the rebirth of the sun it makes sense to celebrate this aspect of the festival.
Despite the slightly inane Neo-Pagan obsession with moon goddesses.
There are many, many sun goddesses depicted throughout the various world mythologies.
Obviously, there are many sun gods as well but I’m going to focus on sun goddesses here because this is my blog and I love them!
Sun Goddesses
Amaterasu
Sunna
Sulis
Arinna
Saule
You can honour the Unconquered Sun on or around Yule by watching the sunrise, lighting a consecrated candle, or by making an offering to a sun deity.