Celebrating Yule: Light In The Darkest Hour
Author: Flame RavenHawk
Twinkling lights and tinsel, candles and cookies, ribbons and wrapping paper, gifts and gorging, excitement and eggnog... these are all images that come to mind when we think of the Yuletide season. Yule, the Wiccan holiday that arrives each year at the Winter Solstice, is one of the most joyous and anticipated holidays of the year. At Yule, we celebrate the rebirth of the sun, marking it as a time of brightness and beauty. Light is what this holiday is all about, making it an occasion where our hopes and wishes shine like the sun.
We use the occasion of the Solstice to celebrate all of the things that brighten our lives, and we share this beauty with our family and friends. Yule has long been a holiday well suited to gathering together with those we love best, to share with them the beauty of the season. The love and support that we receive from our loved ones brightens our lives in many ways. This is the perfect time of year to invite those closest to you into your home, and share with them the light and beauty of the season.
We strive for that ideal nostalgic moment when family and friends are gathered around the Yule fire, sipping a cup of eggnog and singing a carol in perfect harmony. Our thoughts turn toward the light that our loved ones shine in our hearts as we share the joy that they bring to our lives. At Yule, we show our gratitude and appreciation with small tokens of our affection and love. These gifts are meant to be small, thoughtful gestures of the love we share. Gracious gifting is a practice that can expand our hearts and deepen our connections with others. We yearn for the "Norman Rockwell" moments.
This ideal of relaxed sentimentality is rarely reached by even the best-intentioned celebrant. Our consumer-driven society tries to create a need that only spending lots of money can fill. We feel obligated by social custom to engage in an overindulgence in material wealth. Another party invitation, another cookie, another gift, and soon we've lost our sense of what we're celebrating. Riding above all of the outer trappings of the season is the stress. The pace and pressure overcome many of us, and by Yule, we've become so bogged down by the frantic gaiety that we're ready for it to all be over. We often "celebrate" with such intensity that we lose sight of the beauty and joy that this season can bring.
For that reason, my personal Yule celebration becomes a time of quiet beauty, set apart from the social aspects of the season. According to the Wiccan Wheel of the Year, Yule is celebrated in the northern hemisphere at the Winter Solstice... the longest night of the year. There is peace and introspection available to us during this long night of stillness and quiet. There is rest after our long labors, and the joy of knowing that dawn comes even to the longest night.
The Winter Solstice is a solar holiday, when the sun is reborn after its long decline. Since the Summer Solstice, we have watched the sun set earlier and earlier each evening, until it seemed that light itself had died. We can only see a weak, watery winter sun. Midwinter is the time of longest darkness. Yet, it is also the time of our greatest joy, for on this day the sun begins to strengthen once again. The Earth needs the Sun to bring forth new life, and at Yule, the Sun itself is reborn. This is the focus of my celebration.
I begin my preparations on the afternoon of the Solstice. My ritual traditionally begins at sunset. I start by creating a special Yule altar as the focus of my celebrations. A central feature of traditional Yule celebrations has been the Yule log. Just like the sun, the Yule fire warms and brightens our homes and hearts with its cheerfully flickering flames. Unfortunately, not all of us are blessed with a genuine working fireplace anymore, but the spirit of the Yule fire remains. A table centerpiece can easily be made from a small log with holes drilled in it to accept taper candles. Add a touch of ribbons and greenery, and my celebration of the season is now blessed with the brightness of the strengthening sun. I dress the altar with a white cloth to represent the purity and stillness of the season. It also represents the blanket of snow that covers much of the northern hemisphere at this time of year.
The central focus of my celebration is a candle that represents the returning sun. Placing it in the center of the altar honors the sun's central position in our lives. I use a red pillar candle to convey the energy of strength, heat, and returning vitality, and I place it on a brass candle holder to raise it above the table. Beneath the candle, I adorn the altar with boughs of evergreen pine and fresh holly. The greenery reminds me of the promise of renewed life that is granted by the returning sun. Pine has also been traditionally used for purification, and the scent of the fresh branches is invigorating, soothing, and cleansing.
On the evening of the Solstice, I bundle myself up and go outside to watch the sunset. As the sun sinks below the horizon, I pause and reflect on the season. This is the quiet time of the Spirit, when our energy retreats deeply within to await the coming of Spring. As twilight falls, I reflect on the seasons and cycles of my own life. I recall my own dark periods. Times when life seemed endlessly difficult. And yet, at each dark time of life, there is always the spark of hope that rekindles the light. The cycles turn and change, and Yule is just such a moment. Even in the darkest night, there is the seed of rebirth.
With this thought, I return to my altar. In the cool dimness, I strike a match and carry the flame to the wick. As the candle flares, light and heat burst forth. I cup my chilled hands around the flame, warming them. I let the light sink deeply into my spirit, warming and soothing my soul with new hope of a brighter day. I let the candle burn throughout the night until the sun rises once again. It is the spark of hope that lives on through the longest darkness.
I am born anew with the rising of the sun. As I extinguish the flame of my candle, I allow the fire to burn brightly within my spirit, creating a moment of stillness and reflection. My joy has been rekindled and awakened with the rebirth of the Solstice Sun. Here lies the happiness of the holidays. Let the celebrations begin!
Flame RavenHawk
Bio: Flame RavenHawk is a writer who has been teaching Shamanic Wicca and writing about topics of interest to the Pagan community since 1987. Born August 18, 1968 in upstate New York, USA, she's a happily Handfasted mother of two wonderful daughters. Professionally, she's a High School Reading teacher, and her hobbies include Yoga, Drumming, Poetry, Gardening, and Cultural Anthropology. A collection of her articles and writings can now be found at Flame's Firepit, http://home.nycap.rr.com/flamesfirepit/ a site for sharing and exploration of Shamanic Wicca and Pagan Philosophy, with over 200 pages of original material in an organized, user-friendly format.
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