Ireland's OWN: Myths and Magic

Yule / Winter Solstice
—by Míchealín Daugherty

Related deities: Cernunnos, Father Winter, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, St. Nick, King of Holly, King of Oak, Sun of Righteousness, Sun King, Horus, King of the Waxing Year, Robin Redbreast, Dionysus, Bacchas

Also known as: Alban Arthan, Christmas, Inti Raymi, Saca, Saturnalia, Zagmuk

On this darkest of nights, the Goddess becomes the Great Mother and once again gives birth. Thus, from the longest, darkest night of the winter, there springs the new spark of hope.

The Winter Solstice, or Yule, is associated with the birth of the Sun King. It falls on the first day of winter, which is either 21 or 22 December, and is celebrated as the day that the Sun is reborn (later adapted by Christianity as the "son" is born) to warm the Earth again. Yule comes from the word Jule, which is Scandinavian and means "wheel."

Although nearly all of the Christian holidays are actually revised Pagan holidays, Christmas is blatantly plagiaristic. Thus, Martin Luther and John Calvin both hated the celebration and spoke out strongly against it. The Puritans would not even acknowledge that the holiday existed and the celebration of Christmas was actually illegal in Boston at one time.

Ancient Egyptians

Ancient Egyptians celebrated this festival over 4000 years ago with a 12-day party (now known as the "Twelve Days of Christmas" to celebrate the re-birth of Horus -- the son of Isis and Osiris (who was born 25 December!) � whose earthly disguise took the form of the Sun. And, 25 December also was the birthday of the Greek god, Dionysus (known as Bacchus to the Romans) -- the god of wine and intoxication, and bisexuality.

The ritual of the nativity, and the Sun/Son born to a virgin, predates Christianity as well. In Egypt, the celebrants retired into certain inner shrines. 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. Lamp burning all night at Midwinter is still customary in Ireland and elsewhere, as the single candle burning in the window at Christmas Eve, lit by the youngest in the house.

The Babylonians worshipped the newborn Sun with a celebration called Zagmuk. The Persians and Greeks called it Saca.

Peruvians

See: Inti Raymi, Festival of The Sun

Romans

The Romans called it 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.

In the Julian calendar, 25 December was designated as the Winter Solstice, and it was regarded as the Nativity of the Sun, because the day begins to lengthen and the power of the Sun to increase from that turning-point of the year.

Germanic Peoples

To the Germanic people, Yule was the most important holiday of the year, and is akin to the Celtic celebration of Samhain.

It was believed that this is the time when the deities are closest to Midgard (the middle world where humans live). The Germanic gods are referred to as the "Yule Beings," and Odin himself is titled, "Jolnir," or "Yule-One." This was the time when their dead are free to pay visits and when magic beings such as Elves and trolls are thought to run free. These spirits and beings have to either be welcomed into the home or warded against as the householders see fit. If they are welcomed, they will be ritually driven from the house at the end of Yuletide to enforce the return of normalcy in the world.

Yule was also the time of year when the Wild Hunt of Wodan (sometimes spelled Wodin) rides most fiercely and it is the border between years when the fates of men are set.

The Yule Tree (now called the Christmas tree) is a Germanic custom that spread into most of Europe well before Christianity. A pine or fir tree would be decorated with candles and tokens. (Thus, the modern practice of decorating and hanging lights on the tree).

Presents where sometimes left under the trees to be anonymously received buy those indicated. Originally, these trees where left outside, but after the spread of Christianity began many moved their trees indoors to avoid notice. A candle lit and ribboned wreath was sometimes used as a smaller reminder of the season.

Another Germanic tradition was that of the Yule-oath. A hallowed bear, which was considered the emblem of Freya and Frey, was brought forth into the hall and oaths where sworn upon it. The oaths sworn on the bear were considered even stronger in binding than those sworn at other times of the year due to the proximity of the deities. Particularly binding oaths would also be sworn on a horn or cup while drinking at the Yule feast.

Anglo Saxons

According to the Anglo-Saxon chronicler Bede, the first night of Yule was entitled "Mothernights" and dedicated to Frigga and the disir (fore-mothers) in preparation for the return of the god.

Caroling was popular and the carolers expected rewards, usually in the form of alcohol, from the houses they visited. The most traditional solid forming was wild boar (the hunting of which was often a ritual in itself, similar to the Germanic practice) and the most popular of liquids mulled wines and the wassail cup, whose name comes from an Anglo-Saxon term meaning "Be whole or hale."

To the Saxon, the Yule log was the outdoor bonfire of Midwinter Eve. There originated the custom of saving a piece of the Yule log, 'for luck' to kindle the next year's blaze. In later years, when the Yule log became representative of the Midwinter bonfire, carvings were placed on it to bring protection and luck to the house and every family member is allowed to make a wish upon it. The log was then placed on the hearth where it was left to burn for no less than twelve hours and preferably until dawn. It's ashes and rekindling pieces were saved to place about the house or to be made into pendants for protection though out the year.

Mumming plays, which still exist in some places as part of the Yuletide festivities, are also linked with the rebirth of the Sun.

Celts

Celtic people celebrate Yule as the battle between the aging Holly King, who represents the darkness of the old year, and the young Oak King, who symbolizes the light of the new year. Sometimes the battle is re-enacted during the burning of the Yule log -- which is done to encourage the Sun's easy birth, welcome it back to Earth.

See also: Cernunnos, The Horned God.

This was a time of joy and hope -- a holiday meant to uplift spirits weary from winter and a time to appreciate the wonders that will come with the spring.

Along with the evergreen, the holly and the ivy and the mistletoe were important plants of the season, all symbolizing fertility and everlasting life. 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. The Celtic Druids would cut the mistletoe with a golden sickle on the sixth night of the moon. Later Christian churches would ban mistletoe from Christmas celebrations because of its fertility rite connotations.

In addition to fertility rituals, divinations were cast for the coming Spring both through ritual means and through good-natured taunting and wagering.

Wren Day. 26 December in Ireland is St. Stephen's Day, originally called "Wren Boy's Day," which dates back to the Celtic Winter Solstice ritual of hunting and killing of the wren. Wren Boy's Day itself, regardless of the christianisation of calling it St Stephen's Day, is a day that was celebrated in ancient Greece and Rome and in all of the so-called "British Isles." It is a variation of the Oak/Holly King ritual. The Wren, "Little King" of the Waning Year (hiding in an ivy or holly bush), is killed by his counterpart, Robin Redbreast" of the Waxing Year, whose retreat is the birch, which follows the Celtic Tree Calendar. In some parts of Ireland, this is still celebrated. For example in Kilbaha in co. Clare, the Wren Boys are groups of adult musicians in colourful costumes who go from house to house bearing a tiny effigy of the wren on a bunch of holly. In parts of Co. Mayo, the Wren Boys and Girls are children, also bearing holly bunches, and going door to door singing:

"The wren, the wren, the king of the birds,
On Stephen's Day was caught in furze;
Up with the kettle and down with the pan,
And give us some money to bury the wren."

See also: Birds.

Robin Hood: Another version of Wren Day. The Waxing Year Robin also brings us Robin Hood, who is honoured especially in Cornwall, according to Robert Graves in The White Goddess. According to Graves, 'robin' means ''phallus'; also Robinhood is a country name for red campion or champion, a cloven petal that suggests a ram's hoof. Thus, "Red Champion" was a title for the witches' god. 'Hood,' or hud or hod, meant the log put at the back of the fire, and it was in this log, cut from the sacred oak, that Robin (the Red Champion) was believed to reside. When the Yule log is burned, Robin Hood escapes up the chimney in the form of a robin, and he is then pursued by Bran, who is disguised as a wren.

To Make a Yule Log

To make a Yule log to use in a hearthless home, find a piece of apple, birch or oak. Drill holes in the log for the three candles of the Triple Goddess; trim enough from the bottom of the log to steady it. Decorate with greens, wild rose hips and winter berries. Sprinkle a libation of apple cider on it, and dust with corn meal before lighting the candles that will encourage the returning Sun. Return the wood chips and sawdust to the sleeping earth.

Wiccan Rituals

At Yule, the Goddess shows her Life-in-Death aspect. At this season, she is the 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 refertilise her and bring back light and warmth to her kingdom.

To Wiccans, Yule is a Lesser Sabbat or Lower Holiday in the modern Pagan calendar, one of the four-quarter days of the year, but a very important one.

The celebration should be started well before dawn to culminate into the Sun�s birth. A toast with apple juice or wine should be made to the Holly King:

Winter day of longest night
Step aside now for the light
Thank you for the things you�ve brought
That only darkness could have wrought.

Then name gifts of darkness, such as regeneration, peace, dreams, organisation, quietude, etc.

Use a white altar cloth and decorate with evergreens, poinsettias, rosemary, holly, mistletoe and ivy. Use red, white and green candles to symbolise the bloodshed of birth, the innocence of new life, and the growth process, respectively. The ensure good luck and prosperity, anoint a bayberry candle with oil and roll it in dried chamomile. Light the candle and allow it to burn down completely. Burn Yule incense (a mixture of chamomile, ginger, pine and sage).

If using a Yule log, it must be kept burning for twelve hours, for good luck. Save an unburnt piece of the log and some of the ashes, which can be used to light upcoming ritual fire.

End the ritual at dawn with a toast of orange juice or mimosa to the Sun:

O Newborn Sun of love and light
Rise quickly now, rise high and bright
Gain power in the sky above
I grant to you my support and love.

Sources:

Conway, DJ. Celtic Magic. Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN, 1994.
Crowley, Vivianne. Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Millennium. HarpersCollins, Glasgow, 1996.
Farrar, J. and Farrar, S. A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook. Phoenix Publishing, London, 1984.
Frazer, Sir James George. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, Chapter 37, MacMillan Co., New York, 1922.
Graves, R. The White Goddess. Faber Publishing, London. 1961.
Green, M. A Witch Alone: A Practical Handbook. HarpersCollins, London, 1991.
Lady Hedgehog
Personal knowledge
Spitzer, KD. "Yule" in Llewellyn Witches' Datebook 2003. ed. KM Brielmaier, Llewellyn Worldwide, 2002.