Seasons greetings!
Tomorrow, the 21st of December 2018, is the shortest day of the year here in the northern hemisphere. For our southern brethren, it is the longest day of the year!
Here in Nova Scotia, where I live, tomorrow will only hold 8 hours and 37 minutes of daylight. Many places in the far north experience total darkness round the clock at this time of year. Reduced (or absent!) daylight is tough for a lot of people for many reasons: fatigue, cold weather and dangerous driving conditions, cold & flu season, vitamin D deficiency, and low mood (especially for those with seasonal affective disorder).
Yule is one of numerous winter holiday traditions that can help us get through the long nights. Yule has been celebrated for thousands of years, and was originally a midwinter festival or period of time honoured by indigenous Germanic peoples. Ancient yule traditions included animal sacrifices and purification of buildings and people by covering them with the animal blood. YUCK. I’m so grateful I don’t have to celebrate yule in this way.
Less gory yule traditions include:
1. Evergreenery in the home
An evergreen tree can be decorated with fruit to feed fairies or forest spirits who shelter in your home in the yule tree. A star at the top of the tree symbolises the five elements (air, earth, fire, water, and spirit).
The yule log is another tradition in which a prime log of wood is selected for burning. Sometimes, evergreenery and berries are used to decorate the yule log. Some people believe the log should be large enough to be kept burning for the twelve days of Christmas (impractical for most modern-day homes!). Others think a piece of the log should be saved to light next year’s fire. Some people don’t burn the log and burn candles on top of it instead. In whatever way you choose to use it, the yule log celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil, and heralds the return of the sun.
2. The yule goat
The yule goat traditionally symbolises the harvest and fertility that the coming sun will bring. Sometimes, the yule goat is pictured with St Nicholas, and may, in this situation, symbolise that the devil is controlled by a spirit of goodness and generosity.
3. Wassailing
The most common type of wassailing is similar to caroling. Singers would traditionally visit homes and offer a drink to the owner of the home from a bowl of wassail (hot mulled cider). In exchange, the home owner would give the singers gifts. Perhaps you remember the carol which goes:
Here we come a-wassailing
Among the leaves so green;
Here we come a-wand’ring
So fair to be seen.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail too;
And God bless you and give you a Happy New Year
And God send you a Happy New Year.
Another type of wassailing that I am super excited to have learned about, called orchard wassailing, comes from the west of England. In this tradition, wassailers visit orchards in order to sing to the trees. This blesses the trees for a bountiful harvest the next year.
4. Feasting and merriment
Food is life. Need I say more?
But, you may say, all of these traditions sound like so much work! Who has time to make mulled cider or go around singing to people? Isn’t Christmas enough pressure? Are there special yule foods? What if I put the wrong thing on the tree?
This is where mindfulness can come to save the day.
Step 1: Pause before you act, and release what no longer serves you.
Think to yourself, what is it that I really love or really interests me about yule? My favourite aspects are the nature-centred ones. So when I plan my yule activities, these are my top priorities. I am DEFINITELY going to be singing to my plants and trees this yule. I’m looking forward to greeting the sunrise the next morning. Additionally, there is a full moon shortly after the solstice. I will be celebrating the last full moon of this year, too.
For you, it may be that gift-giving or spending time with your family and friends or celebrating with food are more important. The tree may be an essential thing for you. Traditions are only worth keeping if they continue to bless your life. If your traditions are becoming a burden, maybe it’s time to let them go.
It doesn’t matter what’s important to you – it matters that you honour it.
Step 2: Savour the moment
Sometimes we can spend so much time planning (or worrying) that we lose sight of just how lovely it is to have a day off and be surrounded by yuletide sights, sounds, smells, and those that we love. Take the time to breathe it in. Relish the small lovely things and keep them tightly in your heart and memory. The buildup to the holiday season has been given so much more time and hype than the actual holiday itself. This is precious time, and it is fleeting. My yuletide wish for you is that you may plan less and enjoy more.
As my yule gift to you, I’ve created a free downloadable yule colouring page (available HERE). Colouring is very mindful!
Blessed yule and solstice!
- Kiva-Marie