Pagans and Wiccans: How do you celebrate the Winter Solstice/

I'm a little late finding this, I'm afraid, but maybe it will come in useful for next Midwinter Solstice. According to pagan beliefs, Yule, or Midwinter Solstice is a time when the Sun God is reborn. It is the longest night/shortest day, and hence, from that time, the Sun is reborn and begins to grow in strength, from day to day, lighting and warming the earth again, ready for the rebirth of nature, which will grow and flourish towards first harvest. So, we celebrate not only the rebirth of the Sun God, but also the Mother Goddess is honoured, as She gives Him new life. It is a time when we cast off all the negatives of the past year and sow our seeds of hope for the new. We burn a Yule Log and candles to encourage first light and warmth into our homes, and we decorate we holly, ivy and mistletoe in celebration. A Yule tree is brought into the house and decorated, and we hold ritual to honour the Sun God and Mother Goddess. I like to stay up until sunrise, to welcome the newborn Sun God back into the winter skies, as he rises triumphant and bursts with energy. This ritual is followed by great feasting and merriment in groups or covens, but I'm solitary, so have my own little feast and contemplation time. This year though, I arranged my Darts Team's celebration meal for the evening of the 21st and it was kind of special to me. I quietly contemplated my God and Goddess whilst the Christian element of our team, celebrated their upcoming Christmas. So, everybody was happy, laughing and feasting, and socialising. Here is a Solstice video perhaps you'd like to watch. It's a promotional video, for a song released in 1976, I think it was, by Jethro Tull, called Solstice Bells. Enjoy... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qcPS-J0HTg I hope you managed to celebrate and enjoy your Yule, and send you Brightest Blessings for successful growth in the New Year.

If I have the time, I spend the whole day thinking about the meaning of the holiday, and then I spend time on ritual and a small home-made feast of my own til the sun rises the next day. The ritual for me is usually random, specific to the issues I'm dealing with this holiday, and outside if there's snow ^_^ The feast? Well this year it was a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread and guava juice. The guava juice was a gift from my best friend =) And by sunrise I do sleepy dance and then go to bed, lol.

i will have a party tonight to mark the rebirth of the sun, it will be a rioutous affair, full of music light and laughter, well im not sure who else will approve but its how it will happen in my home blessed be happy yule to you and yours