Yule and the Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice

Below is a variety of Yule history, traditions, symbols and lore for your information and entertainment. Enjoy.

These are not necessarily Magickal Winds’ views; we like to share research with the public; this does not mean we agree with everything we research and post.

Posted by Magickal Winds

Yule Lore
(December 21st)

Yule, (pronounced EWE-elle) is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were “wassailed” with toasts of spiced cider.

Children were escorted from house to house with gifts of clove spiked apples and oranges which were laid in baskets of evergreen boughs and wheat stalks dusted with flour. The apples and oranges represented the sun, the boughs were symbolic of immortality, the wheat stalks portrayed the harvest, and the flour was accomplishment of triumph, light, and life. Holly, mistletoe, and ivy not only decorated the outside, but also the inside of homes. It was to extend invitation to Nature Sprites to come and join the celebration. A sprig of Holly was kept near the door all year long as a constant invitation for good fortune to pay visit to the residents.

The ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the festival. In accordance to tradition, the log must either have been harvested from the householder’s land, or given as a gift… it must never have been bought. Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted with flour before set ablaze be a piece of last years log, (held onto for just this purpose). The log would burn throughout the night, then smolder for 12 days after before being ceremonially put out. Ash is the traditional wood of the Yule log. It is the sacred world tree of the Teutons, known as Yggdrasil. An herb of the Sun, Ash brings light into the hearth at the Solstice.

A different type of Yule log, and perhaps one more suitable for modern practitioners would be the type that is used as a base to hold three candles.

Find a smaller branch of oak or pine, and flatten one side so it sets upright. Drill three holes in the top side to hold red, green, and white (season), green, gold, and black (the Sun God), or white, red, and black (the Great Goddess). Continue to decorate with greenery, red and gold bows, rosebuds, cloves, and dust with flour.

Deities of Yule are all Newborn Gods, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, and Triple Goddesses. The best known would be the Dagda, and Brighid, the daughter of the Dagda. Brighid taught the smiths the arts of fire tending and the secrets of metal work. Brighid’s flame, like the flame of the new light, pierces the darkness of the spirit and mind, while the Dagda’s cauldron assures that Nature will always provide for all the children.

Symbolism of Yule: Rebirth of the Sun, The longest night of the year, The Winter Solstice, Introspect, Planning for the Future.

Symbols of Yule: Yule log, or small Yule log with 3 candles, evergreen boughs or wreaths, holly, mistletoe hung in doorways, gold pillar candles, baskets of clove studded fruit, a simmering pot of wassail, poinsettias, christmas cactus.

Herbs of Yule: bayberry, blessed thistle, evergreen, frankincense holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage, yellow cedar.

Foods of Yule: cookies and caraway cakes soaked in cider, fruits, nuts, pork dishes, turkey, eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb’s wool (ale, sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples).
Incense of Yule: Pine, cedar, bayberry, cinnamon.

Colors of Yule: red, green, gold, white, silver, yellow, orange.

Stones of Yule: rubies, bloodstones, garnets, emeralds, diamonds.

Activities of Yule: caroling, wassailing the trees, burning the Yule log, decorating the Yule tree, exchanging of presents, kissing under the mistletoe, honoring Kriss Kringle the Germanic Pagan God of Yule

Spellworkings of Yule: peace, harmony, love, and increased happiness.
Deities of Yule: Goddesses-Brighid, Isis, Demeter, Gaea, Diana, The Great Mother. Gods-Apollo, Ra, Odin, Lugh, The Oak King, The Horned One, The Green Man, The Divine Child, Mabon.

—Adapted by Akasha Ap Emrys
For all her friends and those of like mind

Yule Traditions and History

Yule is the Anglo-Saxon word for the festival of the Winter Solstice. It comes from the original ‘Iul’ meaning ‘wheel’. In the old Almanacs, the symbol of a wheel was used to mark Yuletide. The idea behind this is that the year turns like a wheel, The Great Wheel of the Zodiac, The Wheel of Life, of which the spokes are the old ritual occasions. The winter solstice, the rebirth of the Sun, is a particularly important turning point.

According to the Bardic Tradition, the winter solstice was called ‘Alban Arthan’ by the Druids. It was then that the Chief Druid cut the sacred mistletoe from the Oak, a custom that still lingers with our use of mistletoe for Christmas decoration. It is interesting to note that Mistletoe is usually banned from churches at Christmas, because of it’s Pagan association. However, at one time, there used to be a different tradition at York Minister. Stukeley, an eighteenth-century writer noted that on Christmas Eve, they carried Mistletoe to the High Altar in the church and proclaimed a universal liberty and pardon to all sorts of criminals and wrongdoers.

The idea of holding a festival at the winter solstice, to celebrate the rebirth of the Sun was so universal in the ancient world, that the Christians adapted it. No one really knows for sure when Christ was born, but by holding this feast at midwinter, Christ was mystically identified with the Sun. The Romans celebrated the winter solstice with a festival called Saturnalia. The winter solstice takes place when the Sun enters the Sign of Capricorn, and Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, was also supposed to be the ruler of the far off Golden age of the past when the world was happy and fruitful. At this time of the year, the Romans decked their houses with boughs of evergreen trees and bushes. People gave each other presents, and all normal business was suspended and social distinctions were forgotten. Servants and slaves were given a feast by their masters who waited the tables.

The Pagan Saxons celebrated the feast of Yule with plenty of ale and blazing fires, of which our Yule log is the last relic. The Yule log is actually an indoor equivalent of the outdoor bonfire of Midwinter Eve. There used to be an old custom of saving a piece of the Yule log, ‘for luck’ to kindle the next year’s blaze.

The evergreens for Yuletide decorations were holly, ivy, mistletoe, bay, rosemary, and the green branches of the box tree. By Candlemas, all these had to be gathered up and burnt, or hobgoblins would haunt the house. In other words, by the time a new tide of life had started to flow, people had to get rid of the past and look to the future. Spring-cleaning was originally a nature ritual.

Yule marks the death and re-birth of the Sun God. It also marks the vanquishing of the Holly King, God of the waning year, by the Oak King, God of the waxing year. Old mumming plays, which still exist in some places as part of the Yuletide festivities, are linked with the rebirth of the Sun. Saint George in shining armor, comes to do battle with the dark faced ‘Turkish Knight’. Saint George is the Sun, slaying the powers of darkness. However, the victor immediately proclaims that he has slain his brother. Dark and Light, winter and summer are complementary to each other. So on comes the mysterious ‘Doctor’ with his magical bottle who revives the slain man. There is much rejoicing and all ends well. Another version of the Oak/Holly King theme, is the ritual hunting and killing of a Wren. The Wren, little King of the Waning Year, is killed by the Robin Redbreast, King of the Waxing Year. The Robin finds the Wren hiding in an Ivy bush (or as in some parts of Ireland – a holly bush).

At Yule, the Goddess shows her Life-in-Death aspect. At this season, she is the leprous-white lady, Queen of the cold darkness, yet, this is her moment of giving birth to the child of Promise, the Son-Lover who will refertilize her and bring back light and warmth to her kingdom.

The Winter Solstice rebirth and the Goddess’s part in it, were portrayed in ancient Egyptby a ritual in which Isis circled the shrine of Osiris seven times, to represent her mourning for him and her wanderings in search of the scattered parts of his body. For the festival, people decorated the outside of their houses with oil-lamps that burned all night. At midnight, the priests emerged from an inner shrine crying, “The Virgin has brought forth! The light is waxing!” and showed the image of a baby to the worshippers.

Lamps burning all night at Midwinter, survive in Ireland and elsewhere, as the single candle burning in the window at Christmas Eve, lit by the youngest in the house – a symbol of mircocosmic welcome to the Marcosm.

Whatever the form or name of Yuletide celebration, it is a festive time of year throughout the world. With the rebirth of the Sun, the giver of warmth, life and light, people had something to be genuinely happy about.

* Researched from various sources by The Silver Circle

Winter Solstice
Lisa Hutchins, 1997

The winter solstice takes place on or about December 21 every year, and is the moment when the sun is at its southernmost position. For those in the northern hemisphere, this means that on the winter solstice the sun rises the latest and sets the earliest of the entire year. It hangs low and weak in the sky during the brief daylight hours, and daytime shadows are the longest. Because the day is the year’s shortest, the winter solstice is also the time of the longest night.

Ancestral Celebrations
Solstice rites are one of our oldest celebrations, dating back to the dawn of modern civilization some 30,000 years ago. For ancient peoples, the winter solstice was an awesome, mysterious, and powerful phenomenon.

Those of us today who have ever pondered the ramifications of a cataclysmic event such as a “nuclear winter” or the aftermath of a giant meteor impact can understand how frightening it must have been to see the sun slip away every fall. Harsh winter conditions and scare food supplies made survival risky. Vegetation was dormant, migratory birds had long since disappeared to warmer climes, and many animals had vanished into hibernation. As the weeks drew closer to the solstice, it was a time of anxiety over ever-darkening days. What if the sun lost its vigor and never came back? Would light and warmth simply fade away forever? Would the earth be wrapped in eternal night and cold?

Early peoples, living at the mercy of a hostile environment- and also highly sensitive to natural phenomena-held supplicating rites to the forces of nature as a way of ensuring the return of longer, warmer days. To early cultures, the winter solstice represented the death of the old solar year and the birth of the new. Yule festivities, accordingly, marked this planetary turning point away from darkness and the blessed return to light. And although the comforts of today’s modern civilization now shield us from winter’s harsh effects, Western cultures continue-knowingly or unknowingly-to honor this tradition through Yule celebrations.

Interestingly, Christmas (and its attendant holiday, Easter) actually have roots in ancient beliefs going back tens of thousands of years. Many folk holidays and celebrations were absorbed into Christian culture in the early days of Christianity to make the new religion more acceptable. There was no consensus among early Church fathers over the date to use for Christ’s birth. (In fact, as devout Christians know, there is no certain date for the birth of Christ. Current estimates based on historical and astronomical records put it at around February 6, 6 B.C.) A December festival to celebrate the birth of Christ didn’t exist until the fourth century when Christians simply adopted the popular Yule celebrations for their own use. Roman churchmen favored the Mithraic winter solstice festival, which they themselves had adopted from the Persians called the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. On the old Roman calendar, December 25 (not December 21) was the date of the winter solstice. The winter solstice was also the traditional date to honor the birth of the pagan Divine Child, and Norsemen celebrated the birthday of their lord, Frey, at the winter solstice. After much argument, Pope Julius selected December 25 as Christ’s Mass, or Christmas, in 350 A.D.-in part to counter persistent pagan solstice rites, but also because people of the time were already used to calling it a god’s birthday. (This proclamation was not without objection, however. The date was so controversial that eastern churches refused to honor it for another hundred years, and the church of Jerusalemignored the date until the 7th century. And in an interesting twist, the fifth-century Bishop of Constantinople firmly believed December 25 was selected so Christians could celebrate Christ’s birthday undisturbed while “the heathen were busy with their profane ceremonies”!)

Even today, pagan and Christian belief is intermingled with Christmas celebration. Many traditions that are now a part of the mainstream Christian culture actually come from ancient pagan celebrations-rites such as decorating with evergreens, hanging ornaments on a tree, partaking of sweet confections, processions, gift giving, wassailing or singing carols, and the burning of the yule log.

Solstice Traditions
Winter solstice observances were held by virtually every culture in the world. Solstice rites were practiced among such diverse groups as Native South Americans, Celts, Persians, Orientals, and Africans. Solstice was known as Sacaea to the Mesopotamians, as the Festival of Kronos to the ancient Greeks, and as Saturnalia to the Romans. According to Norse traditions, the Valkyrie looked for souls to bring to Valhalla during Yule. Norwegians abstained from hunting or fishing for the twelve days during Yule as a way of letting the weary world rest and to hasten the revived sun’s appearance. In old Russiait was traditional to toss grain upon the doorways where carolers visited as a way of keeping the house from want throughout the rest of the winter. Ashes from the Yule log were mixed with cows’ feed in France and Germany to promote the animals’ health and help them calve. In Baltic regions today, corn is scattered near the door of the house for sustenance and ashes of the Yule log are given to fruit trees to increase their yield. Romanians bless the trees of the orchard on Yule with sweetened dough to bring good harvests. Serbs toss wheat on the burning Yule log to increase livestock bounty.

The most significant Yule tradition to persist over the centuries is the Christmas tree. Although the origin of the Christmas tree is generally ascribed to Martin Luther, its beginnings actually go back to pre-Christian times. Christmas trees are thought to have evolved from the rite of symbolically selecting and harvesting a “sacred tree,” a practice found in many ancient cultures. Evergreens and firs were sacred to early peoples, including the ancient Greeks, Celts, and Germans. The first Yule trees were born when pagans went into the forests during the winter solstice to give offerings to evergreens. Pines and firs remained green while other vegetation lost their leaves and appeared lifeless during the bitter winter cold. Their mysterious survival and vigor seemed to signify a life force within which carried with it the hope of renewed life.

The pinea silva or sacred pine groves that were attached to pagan Roman temples also pre-figured the Christmas tree. On the night before a holy day, Roman priests called “tree-bearers” cut one of the sacred pines, decorated it, and carried it into the temple. In fact, the German word for Christmas tree is not Kristenbaum, or Christmas tree, but Tannenbaum, or sacred tree.

Church leaders from the early centuries of the Church all the way through Puritan society in 17th century Massachusettscondemned the custom of bringing decorated evergreens into the home at Yule time. The custom was so beloved and persistent, however, that repeated attempts to eradicate ‘heathen’ practices ultimately failed-and now these pagan traditions, which largely celebrate nature, are among the most treasured elements of the season.

Decorating the tree with objects resembling fruits, nuts, berries, and even flowers is thought to be a symbolic act designed to bring about the return of summer’s bounty. In this way early cultures hoped to hurry the return of spring, and ensure survival through the rest of the harsh winter months.

Christmas wreaths are also ancient, and were traditionally made of evergreens, holly, and ivy. The wreath’s circle symbolizes the wheel of the year and the completion of another cycle. Holly represents the female element; ivy represents the male. Like evergreens, holly was believed to contain a mysterious life force because it bore berries in the middle of winter. Both holly and ivy were thought to have magical properties, and were used as protection against negative elements.

Kissing under the mistletoe is an old Druid tradition. Mistletoe was considered highly sacred by this culture because, as a parasitic kind of vegetation, it never touched the earth (growing instead on oaks and other trees), and also because it bore berries in winter when everything else appeared dead. Druids gathered the leaves and berries from special oaks with sickles made of gold. They called mistletoe “all-heal” because they felt it had the power of protection against illness and bad events, and also because they believed mistletoe spread goodwill. Legend has it that enemies meeting under the mistletoe cast their weapons aside, greeted each other amicably, and honored a temporary truce. White linen clothes were spread beneath the mistletoe as it was being gathered so none of it would touch the ground, lest its power be accidentally released back to the earth. Mistletoe berries were considered to be a powerful fertility substance. A kiss under the mistletoe meant love and the promise of marriage.

Burning the Yule log is perhaps the oldest of all Yule traditions, possibly dating back eons. Since the winter solstice was a solar holiday, fire in different forms was closely associated with it. Fires and candles were lit during Yule to give the waning sun renewed power and vigor-and also surely to provide sources of cheery heat and light during the darkest part of the northern winter. Even the burning brandy on plum pudding symbolized the sun’s rebirth. Traditionally the Yule log was made of oak; in northern European countries, the log was massive enough to burn for the entire twelve days of Yule. It was selected early in the year and set aside, then at winter solstice decorated with sprays of fir, evergreen, holly, ivy, or yew. A piece of the previous year’s Yule log was used to light the new Yule log. Once the ashes were cold they were gathered into powerful amulets, or scattered throughout the garden and fields to ensure fertility and bounty in the coming year.

Spirituality of Solstice
The spiritual ramifications of yule are profound for both neo-pagans and Christians. For Christians, the birth of Christ means a turning point between eternal death and eternal life. Devout Christians celebrate Christmas as the beginning of a new spiritual age of eternal life.

For neo-pagans, Yule is also a time of spiritual beginnings. Jul, or Yule, is an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning “wheel.” The winter solstice is the turning point in the natural cycle of the year; this darkest night in all the year is followed by a day that will dawn just a little bit earlier.

Because Yule signifies the completion of the wheel of the year, the period around the winter solstice is considered to be a good time for spiritual work. Some neo-pagans believe the dark nights of winter are when the veil between the spirit world and the living world is the thinnest. It is therefore an appropriate time for self-examination and meditation on hidden energies-both the energies lying dormant within the earth, and also those within ourselves. Yule traditions celebrate nature’s renewal, and help affirm our connection to the energy and power of the earth and the cosmos.

Nature’s Enduring Cycle
The winter solstice demonstrates the enduring cycle of the heavens by an event that has been directly observable, year in and year out, century after century, for millions of years. The new year begins with the turning point of the winter solstice, as it has down through eons-an unending cycle of dark and light, waning and waxing, ultimately representing nature’s birth, death, and rebirth. The winter solstice is a time to affirm our spiritual ties to nature through celebrations and traditions that are thousands of years old.

Whether celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Yule, we can all delight in the season as a time to renew family ties, take joy in our natural environment, reflect on the events of the old year, and look forward in anticipation to the new. As the winter solstice demonstrates to us, every ending is a new beginning.

Yule: December 22
Yule, also known as the Winter Solstice, Winter Rite, Midwinter, and Alban Arthan, is the celebration of the rebirth of the sun.

In Celtic tradition it is the the time of year in which the young Holy king defeats the aged Oak king. After a long battle the youth wins and brings back the sun.

The twelve days of Christmas should actually be called the twelve days of Yule. They are the last twelve days of December. Other familiar sights of the time that have pagan roots include: the red and green colors, the yule log, the tree, holly wreaths, burning bayberry candles, and reindeer. The log is because it is the festival of fire, of light. A piece of the log is kept throughout the year to light the next years log and to protect the home. The tree comes from an old German custom. Reindeer represent the God.

Yet another popular Christmas figure has pagan roots. Santa Clause, St. Nicholas, whatever you call him he is the German God of the season.
(Added Dec. 18, 2000)

The Teutonic Yule provided such customs for Christmas festivities as the Yule log and the “wassail bowl.” Yule is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “feast”. Yule used to be a great winter festival of fire and light to mark new beginnings and the lengthening of days. The Yule log was lit to be one of the may offerings to the Sun god. The finding, the taking home and the lighting of the Yule log was a tradition, which survived to Christian times when it finally became part of these festivities; – the name Yule being the ancient basis for Christmas.

Many seasonal songs have a rivalry between the holly and the ivy. Both very dominant in the forest and in the home as they sybolize the man (holly) and woman (ivy). Many of todays carols are based on much older ones. “The Carol of the Bells” is based on a Ukrainian carol called “Shchedryk”. They are similar only in melody as the English version is different. “Shchedryk” means “Generous One”; it is a song about the god of generousity, Dazh Boh, the Giver God or sun.

Both Germanic and Celtic people celebrated Yule, as we have seen, but was it the same as their pagan brotheren to the south? Being northern farmers, this time of the year became very difficult for them. Winter supplies were starting to get low. Fruits and vegetables were pretty much out of the question. The nights were dark and long and the days short and overcast for the most part. Did this time of year become a time for slaughter and feasting?

Evergreens were cherished and brought into the house. They were used to catch the evil spirits that lingered during the long dark time. “Sort of like flypaper for faeries,” as one website put it. Who doesn’t like a little green in the house during winter, I myself have several plants growing and always give them extra care during this time. Most likely because I can’t go outside and play in the dirt.

In Sweden and Norway they have the Yule goat who dilivers presents on a bicycle. He was originally the messenger for Thor. There is also the Yule elf, from the same area, who is the servant of the goat. In Icelandthey have the Yule cat. This story is not as happy as those of Santa or the goat. It seems that the Yule cat likes to eat lazy humans, those who did not help in the village wool gathering. At the end of the year everyone who helped got an artical of clothing, if you didn’t you might just end up this kitty’s dinner.

Mistletoe, another Yuletide tradition, has come to us from the Druids.. Mistletoe was used by the Druid priesthood in a very special ceremony held around this time…five days after the New Moon following winter solstice, to be precise. The Druid priests would cut mistletoe from a holy oak tree with a golden sickle. The branches had to be caught before they touched the ground. The springs were then divided and given to every family in the village to hang over their door for protection. It was placed on cradles to protect babies from the faerie. A sprig was also fed to the first calved cow of the new year to protect the rest of the herd.

Although many sources say that kissing under the mistletoe is a purely English custom, there’s another, more charming explanation for its origin that extends back into Norse mythology. It’s the story of a loving, if overprotective, mother.

The Norse god Balder was the best loved of all the gods. His mother was Frigga, goddess of love and beauty. She loved her son so much that she wanted to make sure no harm would come to him. So she went through the world, securing promises from everything that sprang from the four elements–fire, water, air, and earth–that they would not harm her beloved Balder.
Leave it to Loki, a sly, evil spirit, to find the loophole. The loophole was mistletoe. He made an arrow from its wood. To make the prank even nastier, he took the arrow to Hoder, Balder’s brother, who was blind. Guiding Holder’s hand, Loki directed the arrow at Balder’s heart, and he fell dead.

Frigga’s tears became the mistletoe’s white berries. In the version of the story with a happy ending, Balder is restored to life, and Frigga is so grateful that she reverses the reputation of the offending plant–making it a symbol of love and promising to bestow a kiss upon anyone who passes under it.

Long before Christianity, European pagan tribes used evergreen trees and boughs during their ceremonies and festivities. In Germany, for example, the “Christmas” tree has been a tradition from as early as the Middle ages. The Saxons made use of ivy and holly. Mistletoe is a Celtic custom. The Druids brought quantities of mistletoe from the forests as means of decoration for their festivals. This plant was hung high up all doors and all pretty girls who walked under it would often get kissed. This was such an old custom that no one is really sure how and when it really began. Some people speculate that it started long before people first celebrated Christmas. It could have begun in ancient Britainas the word “mistletoe” is an old English word, meaning “different twig.” A long time ago Britons thought that this plant had powers to protect them from evil. For this reason they would wear a sprig as a charm or hang it in a doorway for good luck in the coming year.

Tradtional colors: red, green, white, gold, silver
Traditional herbs: bay, bayberry, blessed thistle, cedar, chamomile, evergreen, frankincense, holly, juniper, mistletoe, moss, oak, pinecones, rosemary, sage
Traditional incense: bayberry, cedar, pine, rosemary
Traditional gemstones: cat’s-eye, ruby
Traditional foods: roasted turkey, nuts, fruitcakes, caraway rolls, eggnog, mulled wine

Yule
Yule, Yuletide, Winter Solstice or Christmas whichever you prefer, is celebrated by Pagans the 21st or 22nd of December. This day marks the end of the dark half of the year and the beginning of the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day.

The Yule Log
The Yule log is the highlight of this festive season. The traditional wood used for the Yule log is Ash.

According to tradition, this log is decorated with seasonal greenery, soaked with cider or ale, dusted with flour and lit with a piece of log saved from the previous year. The log used for the season must be cut from the yard or given as a gift. It is considered unlucky to buy your own Yule log.

Once lit the log would burn throughout the night, then left to smolder for 12 days, before being put out.

A small piece of the log is then saved to start the fire for the log the next year.

Now that times have changed and fireplaces are not found in every home, some adjustments can be made for convenience.

You could look in your yard, nearby wooded areas or park for a small log or branch of evergreen. You may need to flatten one side so it will not roll.

Drill three holes in the top of the log/branch to hold 3 candles. Candle combinations include: Season – red, green, and white
Sun God – green, gold, and black Goddess – white, red, and black.

Decorate with greenery, bows, seasonal flowers, cloves, and dust with flour. Light candles and burn daily for 12 days. Save your Yule log for the following year.

Symbols of the Season
Foods of Yule: Cookies and caraway cakes, cider, cinnamon-ginger tea, fruits (roasted apples, clove studded apples and oranges), nuts, pork dishes, turkey, eggnog, spiced cider, wassail, ale.

Colors of Yule: Red, green, gold, orange, silver, white, yellow.

Incense of Yule: Ash, pine, cedar, bayberry, cinnamon, frankincense.

Herbs of Yule: Bayberry, blessed thistle, cedar, evergreen, frankincense, holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage.

Stones of Yule: Bloodstones, diamonds, garnets, emeralds, rubies.

Activities of Yule: Burning the Yule log, caroling, decorating the Yule tree, exchanging presents, hanging wreaths, kissing under the mistletoe, honoring Kriss Kringle.

Posted by Magickal Winds

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