Winter Solstice (Dedicant Path Essay)

The Neopagan name for the Winter Solstice is usually Yule – derived from the Germanic and Norse midwinter feast. There are so many customs around this time of year that it would be hard to list them all – just a few that are most likely to be Pagan in origin include the Yule Log, which was burned throughout the longest night, probably as an act of sympathetic magic intended to bring back the sun. Other Yule traditions include wassailing (modern Christmas caroling) which has strong ties to hospitality and gifts between guest and host, and mistletoe, which has been associated with Druids for centuries. Some traditions have the Holly King falling in battle to the Oak King at Yule to symbolize the end of the reign of darkness and cold and the return of the sun. The (Gallo-)Roman feast of Epona also occurred near the Winter Solstice on Dec. 18th. Since my hearth is Gaulish, I do try to pay attention to important dates in that system also.

Yule, for me, is so colored by Christmas and all the hustle and family obligations that go along with it that it often gets lost in the shuffle. The 21st is also my father’s birthday, so it’s often a day I spend with family and a celebratory atmosphere. The longest night of the year isn’t something I tend to enjoy, I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, so I often feel like the wheel is plowing me over at this time of the year. I usually have a quiet solitary celebration, very introspective, very quiet. It’s the stillest part of the year, the depth of the winter’s grip, and I need the stillness of the long night with the chaos of an American Christmas going on all around. It’s a chance to reset and refocus.

Photo by fir0002/flagstaffotos via Wikimedia Commons
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There isn’t much lore around the winter solstice in the broader Celtic cultures, so I do often step outside my hearth culture and concentrate on Persephone’s sojourn in the underworld during Yule. This is something I’ve been doing since my first Pagan Yule when I was doing eclectic Wicca, and it’s a tradition and a relationship that I value now.