Yule--

When frosty winter winds sigh about the house, bringing with them white drifts, and the hearth-fire is a comforting barrier to the cold.


Christmas Eve
By Bill Watterson, from a Calvin & Hobbes collection.

"On window panes, the icy frost
Leaves feathered patterns, crissed & crossed
But in the house, the Christmas tree
Is decorated festively
Tiny points of colored light
That cozy up this winter night
Christmas songs, familiar, slow
Play softly on the radio
Pops and whistles from the fire
Mingle with the bells and choir...
Tomorrow's what I'm waiting for,
But I can wait a little more."

Yule is a wonderful time of year. Many Pagans get upset because of Christmas, and the fact that it is a take-off on Yule. Don't be! After all, Christians have a right to celebrate the birth of the Lord, just like Pagans do. And really, Christians are celebrating Yule, by a different name. The Star of Bethlehem is the Goddess' star, as well. So greet people's "Merry Christmas!" with a smile and a cheerful "Happy Yule!". After all, they are trying to be nice and act in the spirit of the season, not disparge your beliefs! These people are wishing you happy holidays, a genuine wish for your happieness, and snapping at them is hardly the right response. Christianity is beautiful when the Christian really believes, and many Christians do.

The meaning of Yule to Pagans is the rebirth of the Lord. The original Christmas (I know I'm going to irritate some sensitive Christians, but it's only the truth) was the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year, when the Sun awakens and begins to grow larger. This meant to our ancestors that light, crops, and therefore life were coming back. So, even though modern Pagans probably get most of their food from a supermarket, we stil honor the Lord and His Mother at His rebirth. Yes, it sounds like Christmas; notice that I said the original Christmas? The Christians got a lot of their ideas from Paganism--but that does not make them any less an expression of joy and love of God.

During the winter season, we all put up trees to celebrate the season. We decorate them with colored ornaments, glassy icicles, lights, and garlands; they become a glorious center of light and warmth, a special symbol of what Yuletide is all about. I think that the tree is one of my favorite parts of Yule. A crisp evergreen scent hangs in the air, with little nibble marks at the base where my rabbit decided to be adventurous. The lights glow softly as we sit before the fire, a thought running through our minds: "If I get any more relaxed, I'm going to melt."

My family has a winter tradition--failing to make gingerbread houses, however hard we try. Make gingerbread cookies this year (they don't have to stand up!).


Danish Gingerbread Recipe
contributed by Ms.Deejay

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup light corn syrup
  • 2/3 cup honey
  • 1 teasp grated lemon rind
  • 1 teasp vanilla extract
  • 1 teasp ground ginger
  • 1/2 teasp ground cloves
  • 1 teasp ground cinnamon
  • 1 teasp salt
  • 1 teasp baking soda
  • 4 1/2 cups flour

    Cream butter and sugar. Add syrup, honey, lemon rind & vanilla, spices, salt & soda. Add enough flour to make soft dough. Chill until firm enough to roll.

    Set oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour baking sheets. On floured cloth roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Bake 8 min or until puffed and dry. Cool on a rack and decorate with colored icing.

    Icing for Gingerbread

  • 1 1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 teasp lemon juice
  • a few drops of vanilla extract.. various food colorings

    (Collect flavored extracts and food colorings and get creative)

    Beat everything but the colors and extracts until the icing peaks. If necessary add more sugan and egg white. Divide into separate bowls for each of the different colors and extracts...have fun!


    The traditional songs of Christmas never fail to stir in my heart a feeling of love and spirituality. Another family winter tradition is singing carols, usually off-tune and at the top of our lungs. It's amazing the strength that the Yule season can add to your voice (and your memory, if it's a song like The Twelve Days of Yule!). Here, try a few Pagan tunes. However, be sure to use the "back" button on your browser--not the graphic at the bottom of the page. Find them here.

    And how about the time-honored tradition of baking something gloppy, bluish purple, and sticky? That's right, plum pudding. (I haven't tried this recipe myself...Let me know how it turns out if you try it!)

    Recipe for Plum Pudding

      • 1/4 lb. flour
      • 1/4 lb. currants
      • 1 tsp. salt
      • 1/4 lb. sultanas (small raisins)
      • 1 tsp. allspice
      • 2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
      • 1 tsp. ginger
      • 1 ounce cut mixed (citrus) peel
      • 1 tsp. cinnamon
      • 2 oz. shredded almonds
      • pinch fresh grated nutmeg
      • Juice and grated rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon
      • 1/4 lb. fresh breadcrumbs
      • 1/4 lb. molasses (treacle)
      • 1/2 lb. shredded suet
      • 4 large eggs
      • 1/4 lb. brown sugar
      • 2 tbsp. brandy
      • 1/4 lb. dried chopped apricots
      • 1/4 lb. prunes
      • 1/4 lb dates

        Sift flour, salt and spices into a large bowl. Stir in breadcrumbs, suet and sugar.

        Add fruits, peel and rind. Beat lemon and orange juice, molasses and eggs together and add to other ingredients.
        Steam for 6 hours -- a coffee tin filled with the mixture and placed in a steamer in a covered pan does well.

        A little vinegar and lemon juice in the water will prevent the pan from discoloration.

        After steaming cover in a cool place and let age as long as possible - usually about 5 weeks.

        To serve, re-steam for another 3 hours. Remove from tin, douse with warm brandy and set it ablaze!
        If you haven't got six weeks before Yule to prepare a proper pudding a tinned one from Crosse & Blackwell will do fine. Just be sure to always heat the pudding first, no matter who made it, or all the warmed brandy in the world won't help. And don't forget the hard sauce!


    Snow! That dazzling phenomenon, the irritation of adults who need to drive, but the delight of children. I am still a child (let me put it this way: no driver's license yet), and I enjoy romping in the snow. Building snowmen, having snowball fights, climbing the new hills created overnight, scratching messages in the frost...Winter has many colors, not just white: the soft, pastel blues and lavendars, the rainbow glint of frost, pale and deep green, brilliant reds and dark saphires. Winter's palette is a rainbow of cold, icy, wondrous colors that shimmer and glitter and shine. I love winter, glorious winter, and especially the snow.


    Winter Meditation Incense:

  • 2 parts Pine
  • 1 ½ part Juniper
  • 1 ½ part Cedar
  • 2 parts frankincense


    The lights, though, are without a doubt my favorite part of Yule. Our family drives through town on Christmas Eve, looking at the gorgeous light that our townspeople have put up, singing carols at the top of our lungs (I suspect that the other drivers are less than pleased to hear all the verses of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" issuing from our car, but oh well...). The thrill of seeing such overwhelming expressions of love makes the winter holiday particularly wonderful to me. Love of the Lord and the Lady.


    "And Heav'n and Nature sing,
    And Heav'n and Nature sing
    And Heav'n
    And Heav'n and Nature sing."


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