June 21st
This is a very important Sabbat (aren't they all?), and it always leaves me breathless in anticipation. It is the time when we celebrate the return of the Light. In my particular Tradition, this is the time when the Goddess gives birth to the Sun-God and we celebrate that fact by lighting candles surrounding the Yule tree. It used to be a Yule log that was lit, but these days it is rare to find a house with a working fireplace in Auckland, and putting lit candles on the Yule tree is a mite dangerous. The best thing to do is hold your celebration outside - that way even if you do set fire to something it's not likely to be your house! Of course, I love holding my festivals outside but Auckland Junes are notoriously wet so I just do the best I can.
So, just remember to have lots of light around you to represent the God and to welcome him back. If you're wondering why I don't elaborate on my rituals, I have to say the answer is that they're very private for a start, and I would never dream of saying, "This is the way it should be done". I have seen too much of that, and now I believe that as long as it feels right, that I follow my tradition (Celtic paganism, in case you've forgotten!) and I do the Sabbat justice, I don't see how it can be wrong. I am still learning a great deal and to set my mind in stone about something is too short-sighted. So next year's ritual will probably be very different from this year's.
Even though I am a Celtic pagan it should be pointed out that Yule is not strictly speaking a Celtic festival, but it completes for me the Wheel, balancing it out.
