The Winter Solstice December 21

The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice (also known as Yule) is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world.

In this BBC report we read how ancient people were hunters and spent most of their time outdoors.

The seasons and weather played a very important part in their lives. 

Because of this many ancient people had a great reverence for, and even worshipped the sun.

The Norsemen of Northern Europe saw the sun as a wheel that changed the seasons.

It was from the word for this wheel, houl, that the word yule is thought to have come.

At mid-winter the Norsemen lit bonfires, told stories and drank sweet ale.

The ancient Romans also held a festival to celebrate the rebirth of the year. 

Saturnalia ran for seven days from the 17th of December. It was a time when the ordinary rules were turned upside down.

Men dressed as women and masters dressed as servants. 

The festival also involved decorating houses with greenery, lighting candles, holding processions and giving presents.

The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year (21st December) and was celebrated in Britain long before the arrival of Christianity. 

The Druids (Celtic priests) would cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing. 

Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months.

It was also the Druids who began the tradition of the yule log. 

The Celts thought that the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter and during this time a log was lit to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits and bring luck for the coming year.

Many of these customs are still followed today. 

They have been incorporated into the Christian and secular celebrations of Christmas.

Yule Is Almost Here

There is a very interesting phenomenon that occurs around December 25th, or the Winter Solstice.

From the Summer Solstice to the winter solstice, the days become shorter and colder. 

From the perspective of the northern hemisphere, the sun appears to move south and get smaller and more scarce. 

The shortening of the days and the expiration of the crops when approaching the Winter Solstice symbolized the process of death to the ancients. 

It was the death of the Sun. 

By December 22nd, the Sun's demise was fully realized, for the Sun, having moved south continually for 6 months, makes it to it's lowest point in the sky. 

Here a curious thing occurs: the Sun stops moving south, at least perceivably, for 3 days.

During this 3 day pause, the Sun resides in the vicinity of the Southern Cross, or Crux, constellation.

And after this time on December 25th, the Sun moves 1 degree, this time north, foreshadowing longer days, warmth, and Spring.

And thus it was said: the Sun died on the cross, was dead for 3 days, only to be resurrected or born again.

It is the Sun's transition period before it shifts its direction back into the Northern Hemisphere, bringing Spring, and a salvation of sorts.

However, they did not celebrate the resurrection of the Sun until the spring equinox, or Easter.

This is because at the spring equinox, the Sun officially overpowers the evil darkness, as daytime thereafter becomes longer in duration than night, and the revitalizing conditions of spring emerge.

The Christmas, Yule, Winter Solstice TREE

Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that were green all year had significant meaning for people in the winter. 

Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, earlier civilizations hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. 

In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.

In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. 

Many ancient civilizations believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become weak. 

They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. 

Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.

Early Romans celebrated the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia decorating their homes and temples with evergreen boughs. 

In Northern Europe the Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. 

The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.

It was Germany that most likely started the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes.

It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. 

Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees to be a strange practice.

The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. 

The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. 

But, even by the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.

It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was slow to be adopted in America. 

To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. 

The pilgrims’s second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out “pagan mockery” of the observance, penalizing any such nonsense frivolity. 

The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against “the heathen traditions” of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated “that sacred event.” 

In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. 

That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy.

In 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were illustrated in the London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. 

Of course, what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. 

The time for the Christmas tree had arrived.

The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees with homemade ornaments, while the German-Americans continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. 

Popcorn strings with berries and nuts became popular. 

The Vikings Yule Traditions

Yule, The Winter Solstice

Let’s make Yule Wreath Bread...

Holiday Breakfast Wreath with Cranberry-Almond Filling
Makes about 12 servings:

For the bread:
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (about 110° F)
1/2 cup warm milk (about 110° F)
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

For the cranberry-almond filling:
3/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries, soaked in 1/2 cup brandy or other liqueur
6 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped blanched almonds
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon almond extract

For the sugar glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

Prepare the dough: In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water and let it foam up for a minute or two. Blend in the milk, sugar, butter, salt, cardamom, eggs and lemon peel. 

Stir in two cups of the flour, one cup at a time. 

Beat for 2 minutes. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until you have a soft, workable dough — you might not need to use all the flour.

Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. 

Add more flour if needed to prevent sticking. 

Place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl large enough to accommodate dough when doubled in size. 

Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Prepare the cranberry-almond filling: Drain the dried fruit from the liqueur and reserve the liqueur for another use. In a small bowl, combine the drained fruit with remaining filling ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.

Shape the dough: When dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured board, kneading just enough to release any air bubbles. 

Roll the dough into a 9x30-inch rectangle. Crumble the filling over the dough to within 1 inch of the edges. Starting along a long side, tightly roll up the dough, pinching edge against loaf to seal. 

With a sharp knife, cut roll in half lengthwise. 

Carefully turn the halves so the cut sides are facing up, and then loosely twist the halves around each other, keeping cut sides up. (See photos above for step-by-step instructions.)

Line a baking sheet with parchment or non-stick baking mat. 

Carefully transfer the rope to the baking sheet and shape into a wreath, pinching the ends together to seal. 

Let it rise, uncovered, in a warm place until puffy, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Bake the wreath until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. 

While the wreath is baking, stir together the ingredients for the glaze and set aside.

When wreath is done, transfer to a cooling rack by picking up the sides of the parchment and then sliding the parchment out from underneath. 

Cool for a few minutes then drizzle the glaze over the warm wreath. 

Serve with extra butter if you're feeling decadent.

Recipe Notes

Make Ahead Wreath: The wreath can be baked up to 2 days ahead of time. Do not glaze the loaf — let the wreath cool completely, then wrap tightly in foil and store at room temperature. Re-heat the bread at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes, and drizzle with the glaze just before serving.

Happy Merry Christmas Holidays

 
This is a post we ran before, it’s worth re-posting because the situation remains the same year after year.

How strange it is, how we greet each other during the month of December.

People now offer their greetings as some sort of secret code and not as a real, sincere greeting.

More time is spent trying to figure out if someone is a a Christian or non-believing heathen.

There are those who feel that we generalize the Christmas season with "Happy Holidays" because of the connection between Christ and Christmas.  

One our Christian friends told us "Happy Holidays" appeals only to the heathen minority and insults the rightful majority.  

We were also scolded that Paganism is socialism, and socialism is where Christianity isn't permitted.

So, saying  "Happy Holidays" is the first step in destroying Christian beliefs from our society.

There was even an attack on Starbucks a few years ago because their coffee cups weren't Christmassy enough.

 

Regardless of whether you wish others a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” this time of year, the true nature of the season is to be kind to one another and enjoy friends and family. So Happy Yule, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Winter Solstice, and Happy... anything else we may have missed!

 

 

 

It’s Yule Time

Yule - Winter Solstice

Yule, the Winter Solstice is just around the corner.

The winter solstice, the rebirth of the Sun, is an important turning point as it marks the shortest day and longest night. Pagans in the northern hemisphere surround themselves with loved ones and feast on this night, keeping the hearth fires burning bright, surrounded by decorations of evergreens to remind them of the coming season of growth and life. From the ashes of the Yule fire the sun is reborn. 

Happy Solstice

 

 

Wassail, A Yule Favorite