Celebrating Yule
The Winter Solstice marks the longest night and shortest day of the year. In northern climates, this is the darkest and coldest time of the year. The sun appears weak and it's as if winter will last forever. But as soon as the Solstice passes, the days will begin to grow longer as the Sun rises earlier and earlier, each time adding a little more of His light and warmth to the cold and silent days of winter. The Winter Solstice marks a dramatic point in the Wheel of the Year. The Sun symbolically dies and is reborn. On Yule, we honor the Goddess, Mother Earth, for giving birth to the Sun once more.
Yule is a time of mixed emotions for many Pagans. All around us we see evidence of Christmas, a religious holiday that is not part of our tradition, but that we know takes form and meaning from ancient pagan practices. The holiday season also brings the added emotional, physical, and financial stress of unceasing work schedules, decorating, shopping, office parties, special dinners, and more family visits. It's easy to forget the meaning of Yule amidst the commercial madness. It's easy to get wrapped up in Christmas and forgo Yule altogether, especially when many of us have friends and families who celebrate Christmas.
Getting children into the spirit of the holidays is not hard. They look forward to the special meals and, of course, Santa and all the goodies he brings. Kids will inevitably learn all about Christmas and perhaps about Hanukkah and even Kwanzaa, but only you can teach them about Yule. Here are ideas to help you share this special holiday with your family.
Yule Tree
The most obvious activity is setting up a Yule tree. If you buy a natural tree, take the children and let them help you select one. Make a point of giving thanks to the tree for its sacrifice and even leaving an offering for it somewhere. Make long strings of popcorn and cranberries, which you can later drape outside for birds to eat. You can also make ornaments from gingerbread and kids can make some decorations out of construction paper or clay. If you go shopping for decorations, let your child pick something out. Decorate with Yuletide themes like suns, moons, stars, goddesses, earth globes, pentacles, pomegranates, apples, holly, acorns, snowflakes, Yule trees, reindeer, spirals, and Holly Kings (a.k.a. those traditional-looking Santas). Remember to keep your clay ornaments small. Too much weight can bring your tree crashing down.
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