Celebrating the Winter Solstice
Author Unknown
Winter Solstice, or Yule, is held on or around December 22nd. It marks the
shortest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere) and is an important
holiday to those who follow the old ways.
To the ancients, it appeared as if the Sun and Moon stopped in their flight
across the sky-this is the longest night of the year and was a time of both
anticipation and rejoicing at the Sun's rebirth out of the Goddess.
The Sun's representation as the male divinity, or celestial ruler, predates
Christianity. As with other rituals and celebrations, the Church felt that
by assimilating this holiday into the Christian beliefs, it would help
convert those who still followed the Olde Way.
Fire and candles are important to many pagan holidays."
The Winter Solstice marks a crucial part of the natural cycle. In a real
sense, the sun begins anew its journey toward longer days, times of new
growth and renewal of the world once again. In a spiritual sense, it is a
reminder that in order for a new path to begin, the old one must end and
that spring will come again.
The winter solstice is the longest night of the year and is said to be when
the Goddess gives birth to the God. From here on in the year, the days will
become longer as the god grows into his full strength.
Fire and candles are important to many pagan holidays, but especially so for
the winter solstice, as the God of most modern pagan traditions is
associated with the sun. The winter solstice is a time of feasting and
celebration. Often trees are decorated with bright ornaments, a tradition
going back to ancient Germanic peoples, who held the oak and the fir tree as
sacred. The Yule Log, candles and mistletoe are all symbols of the winter
solstice.
Burning the Yule Log
The term Yule stems from the Anglo-Saxon "yula" or "wheel" of the year. In
ancient pagan ritual, the Yule Log was lit on the eve of Winter Solstice and
burned for twelve hours. Later, the Log was replaced by the Yule Tree, but
instead of being burned, it was adorned with burning candles.
Relationship to Christmas
Pagan holidays have influenced many Christian traditions, including
Halloween and Easter. Yule, or the Winter solstice, is considered by many to
be the reason Christmas is celebrated in December. Both Christmas and the
Winter Solstice celebrate the birth of gods.
The selection of December 25th as a Christian holiday was first recorded in
scholarly texts dating to 325 A.D., although the actual practice was first
decreed in 274 A.D. by the Emperor Aurelian. Since the non-Christians viewed
this time as the rebirth of the sun, it made sense for the Church to also
mark this period as the celebration of the nativity of Christ. Curiously,
the selection of the day appears arbitrary although mankind had long known
how to calculate the solstices. One can only guess that, rather than shift
the celebration each year, a regularly scheduled event was preferable-the
old Roman desire for order never quite left the new faith.
Additionally, many of the pagan traditions have been adopted to celebrate
Christmas. Burning a Yule log, hanging mistletoe, lighting Advent candles
and decorating trees are all now part of modern Christmas celebrations.
Definition of Solstice
Solstice derives from an ancient Latin word meaning "stop," or "to stand
still." According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, it refers to one
of two points when the sun is furthest from the celestial equator.
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