YULE IN BRITAIN
Copyright 1987, Tana Culain
Midwinter has long been a traditional time for celebration and merrymaking
in Britain. All of the activities at midwinter were meant to ensure that the
season would renew itself and the days would begin to grow longer again.
Greenery was brought into decorate the house: evergreen to symbolize the
promise of life to come even in the darkest winter; the mistletoe, believed
to hold the life of the host tree even when the tree itself appeared to be
dead in winter; and the holly and ivy, symbols of male and female, both of
course necessary for new life. Carols, some of which survive to this day,
such as the Gower Wassail, were sung. The earliest carols consisted of
taking hands and singing while dancing in a ring or around a bush, May tree,
or even an apple tree (as in the case of the Apple Tree Wassail, sung in
hopes of a good crop of cider the following year).
The Wassail Carols in particular date back to the Viking invasions of
England, about 700 A.D., when the greeting was Ves heill. By Anglo-Saxon
times, the greeting had evolved into Waes thu hal, meaning "be whole" or
"good health". The response was "drink hail", meaning "I drink and good luck
be to you". People would travel from house to house in the village bringing
good wishes and carrying an empty bowl. The master of the house being
wassailed was expected to fill the bowl with a hot spicy ale and then it
would be passed around to the carolers.
Midwinter was also a time for exchanging gifts and for feasting. Turkey only
dates to the 1500's. Much more common were boar, geese, capons, swans, and
pheasants. Minced pies were originally made with meat, and with the coming
of spices to England during the Crusades, plum pudding became quite the
traditional dish. Plum pudding makes a great dish for cakes and wine in the
Yule circle, especially if you pour warmed brandy over it and set it afire
before the blessing.
While I am writing about midwinter customs in Britain because our heritage
in K.A.M. is largely Celtic in origin, the Isles do not have a monopoly on
Yule. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia for seven days around the Solstice,
and it was a time to look ahead and rejoice in the longer days to come.
Slaves and masters switched places at table, and presents were exchanged.
The Persian Mithraists held December 25th as sacred to the birth of their
Sun God, Mithras, and celebrated it as a victory of light over darkness. And
in Sweden, December 13th was sacred to the Goddess Lucina, Shining One, and
was a celebration of the return of the light. On Yule itself, around the
21st, bonfires were lit to honor Odin and Thor.
Midwinter has always been a Pagan holiday, so much so that during the 1600's
the Christian Christmas was recognized as a celebration based on Pagan
customs and was outlawed in England and many of the colonies in America.
(Text version of the Journal has "Gower Wassail" here)
A Monthly Rune (Traditional)
January By this fire I warm my hands
February And with my spade I delve my lands
March Here I set my seeds to spring
April And here I hear the birds to sing
May I am as light as bird in the treetop
June And I take pains to weed my crop
July With my scythe my mead I mow
August And here I shear my corn full low
September With my flail I earn my bread
October And here I sow my wheat so red (Winter wheat)
November At Martinmas I kill my swine *
December And at Yule I drink red wine
Martinmas, November 11, is a Christianization of the Pagan Celtic Hallows
when the herds were culled.
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