Yule - a God Festival

Yule, or Winter Solstice, is classed as a god festival, as it is the time when the god is reborn. As we know, Christ was not born in December, but rather around October but his birth date was moved forward to cover this pagan festival, a time in which Mithras returns to the world, bringing the light with him. Balder, the Norse God, is also associated with this time of year, and is classed as a Holly God.

This is not to say that the Goddess is ignored - far from it but she does go into recuperation here, to reappear rejuvinated as the maiden at Imbolc.

The festivals at this time celebrated the return of the light, not because, as many patronising scholars believe, that they feared it would not return, but because they celebrated the increasing length of the day, moving out of the long dark nights.

Our ancestors burned the yule log as a form of protection and as a symbol of that light. This log was large, to last as long as possible. Stories were told, food was elaborate and drinking and dancing was a must. Life was short in these times and so much more precious as a result. They did not have our antibiotics, central heating, supermarkets for food whenever they needed it. In this we are very lucky and I find myself shaking my head at people who wish to harken back to 'the old days' - when food was scarce, women were objects and if you were of a different land/colour you were treated poorly.

I am thankful to have been born in these times. while I think too many people still ignore nature, I am thankful that we have advanced medically (although some of those advances have high side effects), academically and liberally.

As you will know, Yule is also the Winter Solstice. This year it is on the 21st of December but that is not always the case, as the position of the sun changes each year. It is always between the 20th and 22nd though.

Wherever you are, whomever you are with I hope you have a wonderful, warm and merry yule.

BB

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin