Yule is celebrated at the Midwinter Solstice, the shortest day of the year.
The word Yule comes from the Germanic “Jul” and means “Wheel.”
At Yule we celebrate winter, and the rebirth of the Sun .
At Samhain the Goddess followed the God into the Underworld and the Earth began its long winter sleep.
As the Wheel turns to Yule, the Goddess is with child and gives birth to the tiny Oak King, God of the waxing Sun.
The Old God or Holly King is defeated in his battle with the Oak king and returns to the Underworld to rest until Summer Solstice when he will again be reborn as Lord of the waning Sun at the Summer Solstice
At Yule we mourn the passing of the Old God who is the Lord of Winter. and celebrate the birth of the sun king
This ancient God has many names beside the Holly King, including Cernunnos, Odin, and of course Santa Claus.
This God is portrayed as an old man, majestic and often jolly.
He is shown as a King in ermine trimmed robes, other times He is shown as a Jesterking of fools
The Old God becomes the Lord of Death and of the Spirit World and magic.
He is the God of the forest, of animals, and of the hunt and is often He is shown with antlers or horns.
Then on to celebrations ! the return of the sun God the Oak King who represents innocence and childlike joy and purity , rebirth , renewal
We light our candles and celebrate the return of light and warmth as we look to the return of spring and new growth we look to the new beginnings that we wish to create within our lives and with our spiritual work
The wheel of the year has come full circle use the energy of the longest night to look within ……then with the dawn we get excited for the future !
We decorate our homes with the evergreens , we bring in our yule log or create one , bring in the Mistletoe feast and be happy ! the wheel has turned and we start again !
