Good Yule!

I’ll be honest, before I was a part of Marvellous Moons, I never knew what Yule was. I mean I’d heard of a Yule log but that for me was a chocolate cake designed like a log and I never knew the origin.

So, I would like to take you all on the journey with me to understand Yule and its traditions. I also may learn how things changed for a celebration of Christmas.

The origin story!

Yule was celebrated by the Germanic and Scandinavian people. I believe it was first recorded to be celebrated by the Germanic people that would celebrate a 12 day festival around the winter solstice.

Yule traditions!

Well through googling I have found traditions that are to be celebrated in Yule. I’ve also discovered that the Yule log isn’t meant to be chocolate at all and actually wood!

Here are the traditions and some interesting information about them.

The Yule Tree- this is meant to represent the tree of life and would be decorated with gifts you would like to receive from the gods. You would also decorate this tree with symbols to honour the gods and goddesses. Berries, pine cones and other fruit would also be used to decorate the tree.

The Yule Log- the Scandinavians would burn the log to honour their god Thor. The ashes from the log can be used as a protection for the home. You would also keep some of this log to burn with next year. It is also believed that the longer the log burned the quicker the sun came to warm the earth.

Leaving food out for the red hatted house elves (nisse)- I know about leaving cookies out for Santa but I didn’t realise it came from this tradition. Scandinavian’s would leave porridge with butter for these elves to show gratitude for the work they would do.

The Jul Bok (Yule Goat)- this is another Scandinavian tradition but it’s original origin is unknown. People are uncertain if this was to celebrate the goats that pulled Thor’s chariot or to make a goat (which they considered to be the spirit of the harvest) out of the last sheaf of grain of the season.

Candles- lit candles in the home was another way to have an eternal flame in the home. The candles symbolise the light and warmth of the sun and can be used to chase the evils away. It was also used to lure back the sun.

Mistletoe- this is known as a feminine symbol. The green leaves represented the fertility of the mother goddess and the white berries represented that of the forest god or the oak king. This would be harvested from sacred oaks and maidens would be underneath to gather them, catching them so they wouldn’t fall on the ground. They believed that if it did touch the ground the energy would be absorbed back into the earth and would be of no use to the people. Mistletoe was hung over doorways to protect the home and was even worn as amulets and hung on headboards for fertility.

Holly- represents as a masculine element and was used to decorate the home by hanging on doors, windows and fireplaces. The prickliness of the leaves was thought to help ward off evil spirits and stop them from entering the home and causing harm. The leaves also symbolise that of the Holly King who represented hope. The berries of the holly represent potency.

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Yule is when days are darker for longer. Many use Yule to celebrate the ending of a year and to encourage the sun to return. This is the cycle of life, death and then rebirth.

Is there any of these traditions you do at home? Is there any I’ve not mentioned?

I’d love to hear some as this has been very fascinating.

To you all I wish you a Good Yule.