Gud Yule!
Today is December 20
and the Yuletide begins. This is ancient Northern European holiday,
but it is not unique as it is a holiday of a seasonal change and many
cultures celebrate that. And they should. Yule celebrations and
traditions, however, are uniquely Northern, where it snows, European.
Yule was celebrated in Scandinavia, Germany, Britain, northern
France, the Baltic Countries and parts of Russia. So with an area so
big what is it all about and why is it returning?
Yule was/is
celebrated on the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year.
It was seen as when the season changed to winter as this was a
definite point in the celestial calendar that could be tracked. We
see this today as mid-winter, but our fore-bearers knew that the
coldest months were yet to come in January and February (you can fact
check this). As the nights drew in and the darkness became more
pronounced, people then just like people now suffered from the lack
of light. What we call depression, they called melancholy. The
response was to have a celebration of light, food and drink, activity
and fun. And they did.
I’ve done a fair
bit of research on this over many years because I really didn’t
understand the whole Yule/Christmas thing. As a
slightly-right-of-center, card carrying Christian I thought, as a
child, that Yule was a weird foreign word for Christmas. Obviously I
was wrong. But it is easy to come to such confusion because
Christianity has tried, and until recently successfully, swallowed
Yule up. How are they similar? Firstly it starts with a period of
preparation. In days of yore, the house or dwelling was to be
thoroughly cleaned. Walls and beams were to be washed or swept clear
of all dust and insects before being treated with oils to preserve
the wood. Soot was to be removed from the fire pit/ fireplace and the
chimney was to be cleaned lest it catch fire. The structure was
checked again for any draughts or holes and those were filled. The
wood pile would be created and stacked for proper drying so that it
would catch easily when lit. Candles or rush lights would be made and
stored. Fresh rushes would need to be stroon across the floors. So
much to do!
I would guess that
it would be far more enjoyable to do this very necessary chores if it
was tied into a big celebration. Like us, or at least my mother, each
year would have a month (November) of cleaning, bringing out the
winter clothes and checking them for
wear/suitability/dirt/everything, and planning Christmas. We would
always put our wreath up on the 1st Sunday of Advent and
our tree up on the 2nd. My father and my brothers would
hang the lights around our windows and into the bushes (which my
middle brother hated as he always had to go behind the big pine shrub
and got pricked by it) on the first weekend of December. We also had
lighted figurines which had to be washed and, on occasion, repainted.
It was busy and it was fun. Mom decorated the inside and made it
magical. And like our ancestors, Dad would stack the wood on the
back patio for the fireplace, hoping he would found the one place
where the snow wouldn’t get it. So much to do!
During this season
of preparation we were busy, they were busy. It kept everyone
engaged in a daily activity which gave them a reason to get up out of
bed and to interact with people. I don’t remember people being as
grumpy about the season as they are now. My parents and their
traditions weren’t unique. They didn’t make them up. They had
learned them from their parents who had learned them from their
parents and so on. Presents were special because you didn’t get
them all the time and those presents were something you would need
for the rest of the year. If you didn’t get those new boots for
Christmas, then you were stuck with your old ones or hand-me-downs
until either your birthday or they utterly died. It wasn’t about
perfume but practicality. However, I digress.
As Yule drew closer,
horses and dogs would be prepared for the Great Hunt, as well as the
weapons needed. This hunt wasn’t just for getting outside for some
fresh air and fun, but it would supply the much needed meat for the
coming season. I’m sorry, but vegetarians were rather unheard of
in the North. These people, usually men, were not looking for some
poxy fox, but several large, old boars or stags. This hunt didn’t
just feed some “lord” and his family, but a whole community.
Yule was not a private event. Getting out and exercising in the
fresh air is a well known aid in the prevention and treatment of
depression. And this was part of life which everyone did. This is
not to say that there were not people who were down or dour, but
there was a planned effort to avoid something they didn’t
understand but knew was destructive to the person.
The Day of Yule
arrived and the Yuletide began with the rising of the sun. Some
anthropologists have said it was the setting. Either way, Yule was
here and the fires would begin. A large bonfire would be set up and
ready to be lit at sunset. This party would continue for a week.
There would be music, dancing, eating, storytelling, and yes, baby
making. There would also be religious rites as practised by the local
people. Odin/Wotan was usually the center of their adoration as he
was not only leader of the gods, but also the leader of The Wild
Hunt. A celestial version of what they would be doing during the
Yuletide.
The Yule Log would
be decorated and the personal prayers/pledges would be attached.
This Log would then be processed to the firepit and burned. Some
viewed the pledges as oaths because as the log burned they believed
the smoke took their words to the gods. The homes were decorated with
green boughs (but not Christmas trees! Modern invention), holly
leaves and berries and in some places mistletoe. Herbs would be lit
to freshen the air.
There would also
share the Wassail. In England this would be served in a white oak
bowl. It was a form of mulled wine or cider. It would have special
herbs and spices in it which were supposed to bless the drinker with
good health and happiness. This does make sense as most medicines
were herb based and trying to avoid illness at this time of year
would have been paramount. Chest infections and pneumonia are not new
diseases. In Germany, Scandinavia and France, they would have had
Glugwien (which you can purchase today at Ikea). Same thing but a
different base – grapes versus apples.
Lastly came gifts.
Like our Father Christmas or Santa Claus, Wotan was said to know
which children were naughty or nice. He would reward the good
children with a small gift or a sweetmeat (like our mince pies). For
naughty children he would send a demon like creature which we now
call Krampus. Krampus would put bad children in a sack and either
throw them in the fire or take them home to eat. I know as a fact
that Krampus survived into the the 21st Century as I went
to a St Nickolas Tag party for a friend’s children in Austria.
Krampus came and the children were terrified until St Nickolas
arrived and drove him away. Obviously the point of this was to teach
children discipline in their lives from a young age and that actions
have consequences. This Krampus was more than just Mum or Dad
telling you off. This was a serious outsider and you must pay
attention. I’m not sure that any children did not get hurt, but it
seemed to do the trick for him to have survived so long – actually
longer than an active Wotan.
Yule would come to
an end about the 27th of December. It is not the 12 Days
of Christmas. That is the period from Christmas to Epiphany. This was
also to be a period of celebration, music, food, dancing, drink,
appropriate familial relations which would end with a child in
September, and a lot of church services. Both of these holiday times
ended when the days just started to get longer. The good feelings
created could last for several weeks which would help counter the
developing cold and snow with longer days and the beginning of the
plans for the spring.
I’m no clergy
member, but I don’t see why we can’t give a nod to our ancestral
holiday. Burn the Yule Log, go on a hunt which fits your ethical
perspective, party with your friends, drink sensibly to everyone’s
good health, teach your children that a well behaved child will make
a disciplined, successful adult, spread the love and, if you can,
make a baby or two. Fight to overcome the darkness both inside and
out. And if it works for you, spend some time with your god. Let
him/her/them know that you appreciate this season and this life given
to you. It’s all about the love, baby.
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