|Ideas and extras for Yule celebrations/rituals
Deities of Yule:
All Newborn Gods, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, and Triple Goddesses. The best known would be the Dagda and Brighid, the daughter of the Dagda. Brighid taught the smiths the arts of fire tending and the secrets of metal work. Brighid's flame, like the flame of the new light, pierces the darkness of the spirit and mind, while the Dagda's cauldron assures that Nature will always provide for all the children.
Symbolism of Yule:
Rebirth of the Sun, The longest night of the year, The Winter Solstice, Introspect, Planning for the Future.
Symbols of Yule:
Yule log, or small Yule log with 3 candles, evergreen boughs or wreaths, holly, mistletoe hung in doorways, gold pillar candles, baskets of clove studded fruit, a simmering pot of Wassail, poinsettias, christmas cactus.
Herbs of Yule:
Bayberry, blessed thistle, evergreen, frankincense, holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage, yellow cedar
Foods of Yule:
Cookies and caraway cakes, soaked in cider, fruits, nuts, pork dishes, turkey, eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb's wool (ale, sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples).
Incense of Yule: Pine, cedar, bayberry, cinnamon.
Colors of Yule: Red, Green, Gold, White, Silver, Yellow, Orange.
Stones of Yule:
Rubies, Bloodstones, Garnets, Emeralds, Diamonds.
Activities of Yule:
Caroling, wassailing the trees, burning the yule log, decorating the Yule tree, exchanging of presents, kissing under the mistletoe, honoring Kris Kringle the Germanic Pagan God of Yule.
Dpellworkings of Yule: Peace harmony, love, and increased happiness.
Deities of Yule:
Goddesses-Brighid, Isis, Demeter, Gaea, Diana, The Great Mother.
Gods-Apollo, Ra, Odin, Lugh, The Oak King, The Horned One, The Green Man, The Divine Child, Mabon.
|Yule, (pronounced EWE-elle) is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider.|
|Yule is celebrated on the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, a time when the weather is at it's coldest, and the God is reborn of the Goddess (9 months after their union at Beltane), and the God's birth is symbolized by the return of the Sun, as from this day forth the Sun's power is no longer in decline, but begins to return towards it's zenith at the Summer Solstice. Symbolically the God grows along with ths sun growing as the Sun gains in power, staying above the horizon longer and longer and warming the Winter and it's hardships, and can now look forward to the soon to come Spring and the return of life!|
8 Cups apple juice or cider
2 Cups cranberry juice
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp allspice
2 cinnamon sticks
whole cloves (25-30)
Turn the crockpot on high and add the cider and cranberry juices. Stir in the sugar and allspice, then add cinnamon sticks. Stud the orange with the cloves about 25-30 cloves should do the trick, and toss it in. Cover the pot and cook on high for 1 hour. Change the setting to low and allow to simmer for 3 more hours, then serve. Serves 10
Alternate Wassail (Mulled Wine)
There are many many recipes for mulled wine. It is essentially a combination of citrus (1 lemon or orange) and spices.
My favourite spices are cinnamon 6 sticks, cloves 12 whole, nutmet 1/4 tsp, ginger 1/8 tsp, and allspice 1/8 tsp (you can also buy mulling spices as well.
Combine the spices and citrus in a dry red wine, such as Burgundy. Add 1/4 cup sugar. Heat this through for at least 15 minutes, but don't boil. A clean large coffee pot is a great method for heating the wine, or a crock pot also.