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| OUR YULE TRADITION-YULE TREE |
YULE
It seems that no one does YULE better than the Celtic people, even
though YULE roots are deep in all of Europe.
YULE is celebrated between December 20 and 23, depending on the
Gregorian calendar. We know that date as
Winter Solstice. YULE is really a season
of celebration in the middle of the darkness that has deep roots in many
rituals. Think about it. When it is dark and cold outside and each day
has been getting shorter and shorter with the darkness getting longer and
longer, what better thing to do than party?
A party to celebrate the turning point, knowing that from this date
forward the day will begin to get longer again.
The Celt’s made everything rich in tradition and ritual on this longest
night of the year, forged with community bon fires, wassailing (singing and
alcohol) and children were sent door to door delivering clove spiked apples and
oranges. The apples and oranges were
placed in evergreen lined baskets decorated with flour coated wheat stalks. The
apples and oranges represented the sun, the evergreen lined baskets represented
the strength of life, and the flour- dusted wheat represented the harvest and
miracle of life. The druids went deep
into the forest to harvest mistletoe, a symbol of the divine. A sprig of holy was placed at the door all
year long inviting blessings. On YULE
night the YULE log was lit as thanks to the sun for beginning to return the
light. Every part of the YULE season and
day were soaked in symbolic ritual. Do
not let your YULE season pass by you as commercialized chaos, reclaim and
redeem the energy of the symbol and celebrate boldly.
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