Shifting Sands Metaphysical

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.

Observing the Shortest Day of the Year

Before there were clocks or calendars, ancient man observed the sun and moon, and many cultures held rituals or events to mark the day with the shortest amount of sunlit hours. This day came to be called Yule, also known as the Winter Solstice. Traditionally, the holiday is marked on December 21st, although physically the astronomical event can fall between December 20th and 23rd for the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, this holiday falls on the corresponding dates in June.

Celebrating Yule Night

Most often, Yule is a small hearth ritual held in the home with gathered family versus the larger bonfires seen for some holidays. Sometimes the log is lit with splinters or a piece of the log from the previous year. Holly sprigs often appear, a kindling for the fire, or thrown in the fire by the guests and family to carry away troubles from the past year. The logs are also sometimes dressed with ribbons or anointed with oils. The wood most favored for this ritual fire was oak.

For some cultures, the burning of the Yule log represented a time when servants were released from their usual duties and allowed to celebrate for as long as the log remained burning. Some cultures believed that the longer the log burned, the more bountiful the coming year would be. There are a few tricks to help a Yule log burn longer, and these worked best when the tree was harvested ahead of the holiday. One common trait among nearly all Yule logs is that they are preferably cut from thick trees. Sometimes the log would then be soaked in water, cider, ale or wine and allowed to dry again. This served as a libation and blessing before lighting, and contributed to the log burning more slowly over a prolonged period of time.