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For information on Sir Henry Yule, please see Henry Yule.
Yule was the pre-Christian germanic Midwinter celebration, and is today one of the
eight solar holidays or sabbats of Neopaganism. In modern neopaganism Yule is celebrated on the winter
solstice, in the northern hemisphere circa December 21 and in the
southern hemisphere circa June 21. The name is of Germanic origin; it is also called
Midwinter.
Of the contested origin of Jól, one likely connection is to Old Norse Hjól, 'wheel,' to identify the moment when the wheel of the year is at its lowpoint,
ready to rise again. Other linguists suggest that the connection is fortuitous, and that Hjól has been inherited by
Germanic and Scandinavian languages from a pre-Indo-European language level. What is certain is that Yule celebrations at the
winter solstice predate Christianity. Though there are numerous
references to Yule in the Icelandic sagas, there are few accounts of how Yule was
actually celebrated, beyond the fact that it was a time for feasting. 'Yule-Joy', with dancing, continued through the Middle Ages
in Iceland, but was frowned upon when the Reformation arrived.
Today the holiday is, with Beltane and Samhain, one of the most popular among Neopagans. In some traditions, it commemorates the death of the Holly King
(symbolizing the old year and the shortened sun) at the hands of his son and successor, the
Oak King (the new year and the new sun that begins to grow). In other traditions, it is seen as the birthday of the new sun
god.
A traditional ritual is a vigil from dusk to dawn, the longest night of the year, to make sure that the sun will rise
again.
Yule is a revival of a Germanic festival that was Christianized as
Christmas; indeed, many traditional trappings of Christmas, such as the Yule Log, holly, and the Christmas tree are derived from pre-Christian Yule celebrations.
In the Scandinavian countries, Jul is the word for
Christmas.
Among the sabbats, Yule is preceded by Samhain and followed by Imbolc.
See also Wheel of the Year.
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