Exploring Yule: A Wintertime Festival
Yule is a well-loved holiday in both the magical and Pagan communities. It is a Germanic Pagan holiday which is still observed by modern Heathens and is also included as a fixture on the Wheel of the Year (a calendar of holidays popularized by practitioners of Wicca and observed by many members of the magical community). Today, Yule is typically celebrated on the Winter Solstice and is viewed either the beginning of or high-point of the winter season (depending on the beliefs of the practitioner).
Pagan Yule Lore
Like the festivities associated with Samhain and Halloween, the early Germanic and Scandinavian celebrations from which we draw inspiration for our observation of Yule today were a little different from what we know now. For starters, the festival of Yule was likely a 12-day festival. Additionally, the lore surrounding it was a little different from what we observe now. In areas that worshipped the god Odin—also known as Jólnir, a name which means Master of Yule—feasts and sacrifices were made in his honor. These dedications were likely made for a couple of reasons: 1. to ensure survival through the harsh and uncertain winter, and 2. to ensure that the earth, fields, livestock and crops would become fertile again in the spring.
During the Yule season, it was also believed that the Wild Hunt was occurring overhead. Precisely who is involved in the hunt and what they are hunting is subject to a significant amount of variation depending on where the legend is being retold. However, many stories tell of Odin and his ghostly hunting party rumbling overhead human villages and towns in hot pursuit of their target.
Historically, Yule was a time of feasting, drinking, celebrating, and sacrificing. Communities would gather in the temples or communal areas, bringing with them food, ale, and livestock. There was eating. There were ceremonies of toasting to the gods, ancestors and kings. And there was a sacrifice of every kind of livestock the community had. The sacrificial blood of these animals was sprinkled and smeared over everyone in attendance as a blessing; the meat was then boiled and eaten as part of the Yule feast alongside blessed ale or mead.
The Christian Absorption & Reformulation of Yule
Yule, like many other Pagan holidays, underwent a process of Christianization during which elements of the holiday were changed to synchronize with elements of the Christian observation of Christmas. This is thought to have begun in the 10th century when King Haakon changed the date of the Yule festival to coincide with the observation of Christmas—which is believed to have been placed in the winter church calendar during the papal reign of Pope Julius I in order to adopt and absorb the traditions of the Roman festival of Saturnalia. This subtle rescheduling allowed King Haakon to mask his own Christian faith until he had established more prominence and power in Norway.
The Christian adoption of Yule’s symbols and customs was, in part, an intentional decision; a method used by Christians to bring their holidays and customs into new areas and improve their chances of drawing non-Christian locals into the holiday and (from there) into the religion itself. Another part of the equation came from the timing of the holidays. Christmas (originally known as the Feast of Nativity) had been celebrated on December 25th since its introduction to the Christian calendar in the 4th century. This timing was beneficial to the church because it increased the chances that Christmas would become accepted. Again, the Church had a habit of adopting things from existing holidays in order to blend in, so Christmas originally was timed to siphon some of the popularity from Saturnalia—and the date of Yule was not rescheduled until several centuries after the introduction of the Feast of Nativity. So, Christmas’s timing wasn’t a direct or coordinated attack on Yule. But timing the Church holidays to coincide with Pagan celebrations of their own holidays only worked as a conversion method if the Church allowed the preexisting holidays to dictate how the festivals of that season were observed.
Prior to the beginning of Yule’s Christianization, Christmas had already absorbed many of the traditions associated with Saturnalia. These customs already included things like gift-giving, hanging greenery up as decoration, lighting candles, feasting, singing, and a conscious effort to look out for the well-being of others. These observances were already similar to those observed by Scandinavian and Germanic pagans around the period leading up to Scandinavian and Germanic Christianization. Those customs that were unique to Germanic midwinter celebrations were adopted into the celebration of Christmas for the same reason that the Church absorbed the traditions associated with Saturnalia.
Germanic pagans decorated their homes and public spaces with evergreen boughs and branches, which were decorated with food, trinkets, and small gifts. This is often attributed as the root of the tradition of decorating Christmas trees. They burned bonfires at their gatherings, which may have evolved into the Yule log associated with Christmas festivities. Their sacrificial hunt of a boar (which was then boiled or roasted and served as part of a feast) may have given way to the traditional Christmas ham.
As the Christians assumed the traditions associated with the Germanic midwinter holiday and Christianity eventually gained a hold in Scandinavia, Yule also changed to synchronize with Christmas. It transformed from a festival of sacrifice and blessing by blood to a celebration of light and hearthwarmth. Today, historical Yule can often be seen referred to as a celebration of the return of sunlight after midwinter.
Yule as a Modern Observance
Today, there are many ways to celebrate Yule. The neopagan customs and rituals associated with modern Yule celebrations vary a great deal depending on the tradition, group, or individual celebrating it. Modern Heathens often observe Yule by making blót, a ritual derived from saga mentions and historical descriptions of Northern Germanic rites of sacrifice and offering, intended to honor the gods. Often these Yule rituals honor Odin, Thor and Frey alongside the ancestors and the community.
Yule is observed by many Pagans and witches outside of the Heathen community. Here, the observance of Yule is sometimes informed by the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. Within British Traditional Wicca, Yule is often observed as a celebration of the rebirth of the Horned God, a deity featured in Wiccan lore. He is often viewed as a god with two aspects which die and are reborn as the seasons change. During midwinter, he is reborn in his Oak King aspect and aspect of the Holly King begins to lose power.
Other observances of Yule by members of the witchcraft and Pagan communities vary a great deal. Some celebrations may be centered on the rebirth of light at as winter comes to an end. Others might simply be a celebration of winter at its height. Many celebrations revolve primarily around goodwill, family, and togetherness in the winter season.
Additionally, cognates of the word Yule and its root are still used in many Northern European countries to define the celebration of Christmas. The Christian observance of Christmas is known as jul in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian, jól in Icelandic, joulu in Finnish, and jõulud in Estonian. The observation of Christmas in these areas also features a number of folk practices that stem more directly from the Pagan Yule celebrations than the Christmas traditions of other areas of the world—such as the Yule goat, which is believed to be associated with the goats of Thor as well as sacrificial goats offered at Yule rituals.
Disclaimer: Each of the Crowsbone writers and guest bloggers has their own magical background, beliefs, traditions and practices. These post represent the opinions, research and beliefs of the individual writers. We do not believe that they represent beliefs and rules associated with all magical practice or witchcraft; nor do they represent the beliefs and opinions of all of the Crowsbone community.