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Yule or winter solstice happens near December 21, which is the longest darkest night of the year. The dark of Winter is safe like my
bedcovers at night. Dark whispers of a Mother's love caress me. In
the darkness of the Mother's womb, the void I am safe, sustained, at
peace. and can move inward, into my own dark self, looking, learning,
purifying. I can cleanse myself of all that blocks me from being born
new with the rising new solstice sun when the sun king is born, with
promises for the Spring ahead.
Yule Traditions
Yule is the Sabbat that falls at the low point of the Wheel of the
Year. Traditionally, it's not considered one of the more important of
the Wiccan holidays, but it gained more prominence during the spread
of the Roman empire. The Romans brought with them their festival of
Saturnalia -- a twelve-day festival that marked the ending of one
year and the beginning of another.
In the Wiccan mythos, Yule is the time of the year when the sun is at
its weakest. On the night of the Solstice, we mark the moment when
the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky and begins its upward
climb.
Myths marking this passage vary. In some places, the Oak King and the
Holly King take part in a mythical battle, each killing the other and
taking his throne until the Wheel reaches its bottom or top. At Yule,
the Oak King vanquishes the Holly King, ruling until Litha
(midsummer), when the Holly King once again takes his place on the
throne.
Other myths tell of a king or a god who comes into the world as a
newborn babe, growing with more and more vigor until he takes his
place as the consort of the Goddess at Beltane. The symbol of the
newborn god is one of the reasons that the birthday of Jesus Christ
is celebrated in the depth of winter, even though Biblical scholars
have suggested he was actually born in April.
The traditions of festooning our homes with holly, giving gifts,
stringing lights, and decorating Christmas trees, all have their
birthplace in ancient pagan customs celebrating the rebirth of the
Sun. Holly was hung in honor of the Holly King. People gave gifts in
a time when community survival was the driving impulse, rather than
consumerism. You shared food and other creature comforts to ensure
that your neighbors and loves ones--your tribe--would to survive the
brutal months to come.
Pagans also lit candles at the stroke of midnight on the solstice, to
symbolize the rebirth of the god, the mystery of a light being reborn
in the midst of darkness. We see the image of an old man transformed
into a baby in the New Year's Eve image of the old year making way
for the new.
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