Good Morning Facebook friends and family: Im excited about Celebrating Yule in my house hold is on December 21 or 22 depending on were it falls this year Related Deities: Mother Berta, Father Winter, Santa Claus, Kriss Kringle, St. Nick, The Kings of Holly and Oak Related herbs: Chamomile, rosemary, ginger, sage, cinnamon Related stones Quartz crystal, blue sunstone, emerald, ruby, sapphire. A solar festival, Yule falls on the 1st day of winter - the day that the sun is reborn to warm the Earth again. And even though some of the traditions are a lot like Christian Christmas, its origins are much more ancient. In fact, the the ancient Egyptians started this festival over four thousand years ago with a 12 day party to celebrate the rebirth of Horus - the son of Isis and Osiris - whose Earthy guise took the form of the Sun. Because they saw green art as a magical growth tool- and they wanted the sun to grow and stay in the sky longer - they used it to decorate everything in sight. Soon, the Egyptians prospered and news of their Sun - welcoming festival spread through Mesopotamia . That being the case, it wasnt long before other countries followed suit. Incorporating occasional gifts, the Babylonians began to worship the newborn Sun with a celebration called Zagmuk. The Persians and Greeks started their own solar celebrations, too - both were called Sacaea. But it wasnt until the ancient Romans got in on the act that things really started popping. They named their festival Saturnalia, and included candles, singing, gourmet feasting, and Lavish gift- giving. And with that, Winter Solstice celebrations spread throughout Europe and the Yule festival, as we know it today, was born. Yule comes from the Scandinavian word Jul, meaning wheel. And though there are many solar themes associated with this festival, the most common in our celebration is the battle between the aging Holly King, who represents the darkness of old year, and the young Oak King takes his place on the throne to rule. More often than not, though the tale is simply told during the lighting of the Yule Log. And with its lighting, we encourage the Suns easy birth, welcoming it back to the earth, and ask it to cast its warming , healing rays upon us once more.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 11:27:13 +0000
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