YOUR LIFE A-Z: YULE

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.

YOUR LIFE A-Z:PRESENTS

GIVE THE GIFT OF LIGHT

PRESENTS Under the Tree

As we are learning together, most of our traditions come from Germany with pagan origins, hi-jacked by the Church to bring people to Christianity.  I would speak to the issue of the Church as opportunists, but that would not speak to the spirit of the season, so I will stick to Advent and using this time of the year to truly reflect on the opportunity that the Christmas Season gives us to connect to other people.  We know the Magi brought gifts to the Christ Child.  We know that in the dark season of winter, Europeans brought each other gifts of food, Yule logs, and other gifts that represented life.  I learned that the tradition of lavish PRESENTS under the tree really began when German Prince Albert married Queen Victoria of England.  Queen Victoria had fond memories of her childhood when her German mother and British father placed PRESENTS under the tree for their children. Queen Victoria developed fond memories of this time and she and her German husband carried on the tradition in their royal family. Beautiful pictures of their PRESENTS under the tree made their way into the paper.  The wealthy middle class adopted the idea of the PRESENTS and today it has become an opportune time for merchants.  I invite you to personalize the tradition for yourself and your family.  Create ways this Christmas (and Hanukkah) to make PRESENTS meaningful and mindful. Choose PRESENTS that make a heartfelt connection to those you choose to gift.