Will you be celebrating the Yule this year and not Christmas?
By brokentia
@brokentia (10389)
United States
21 responses
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
29 Nov 06
No, it is a Pagan/Wiccan Sabbat....Winter Solistice.
It is the first day of winter, the shortest day of the year, and the celebration of the returning to the Sun.
@Ravenladyj (22902)
• United States
4 Dec 06
We celebrate both...Yule for us is Dec 21 and the day we got married (we purposely got married on Yule) so we celebrate our wedding anni, Yule and then on the 25th we celebrate Xmas - if I didnt have kids I wouldnt bother with Xmas at all but they have always had it so no point in changing it now ya know
1 person likes this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
4 Dec 06
I think it is great to mix the 3!
Have you noticed that the Yule will vary from calendar to calendar between the 21st and the 22nd. I wonder why and now wonder which is correct. I think I like it on the 21st better though. I guess I will have to look and see which day is the first day of Winter....maybe that is the difference!
Winter may start on one day but the Yule celebration starts the night before...and to some the Yule starts the first day of Winter. hmmmm...I guess I will have to sit and figure it out.
Thanks so much or your posting. It has given me something to ponder. :)
Oh! And Happy Anniversary...early. :)
@Ravenladyj (22902)
• United States
7 Dec 06
Yea I find that with alot of calander dates actually which is handy I mean we celebrate Samhain (its our big holiday here that even my husband gets involved in) but due to trick or treating etc we dont always get to do our rituals on the 31st and sometimes making the feast on the 31st just isnt doable between school for the kids, my husbands work, trick or treating etc so we celebrate some yrs on Nov 1 which is just as fine....I think that doin whatever you do doesnt always have to be done on the calander day...in fact growing up we seldomly did Xmas on the 25th but instead had "UnChristmas" a couple days later..though I dont know why come to think of it....and thanks for the early Happy Anni wishes :-D
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
5 Dec 06
Yule is also Winter Solstice for us also. Thank you for sharing your celebration! I am very interested in others celebrations also. :)
@Penguinsangel (3498)
• United States
29 Nov 06
I am not sure I know the meaning behind Yule. So no I probably won't be celebrating it.
1 person likes this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
29 Nov 06
Unless you are Pagan, I doubt that you would be celebrating it. But thanks for supporting my discussion.
I was trying to find out what other Pagans are here and what they plan on doing this year.
Again, thanks!
@Idlewild (6090)
• United States
7 Dec 06
My relatives in the Vermont grew up the the '60s, the hippie generation, and many of their friends up there are the crunchy-granola type and celebrate the solstices.
I know people in New York City who also observe the solstices, etc., though it always seemed odd to me or an NYC resident to be celebrating a harvest festival! Maybe they can harvest their basil plants or something...
1 person likes this
@Ravenladyj (22902)
• United States
12 Dec 06
LOL omg that was just funny! but yea it does seem odd for a big city person to be celebrating a harvest...kinda makes you wonder.
@nancygibson (3736)
• France
30 Nov 06
We have a big feast on Yule eve for all our friends, we do this every year and its a lovely celebration. We're a multi faith family so we also celebrate Christmas a few days later as the sun grows in strength
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
30 Nov 06
That is really great! It is wonderful when families can respect each others beliefs. :)
My mother is finally understanding this. She just didn't understand it before and now that she had the courage to sit and listen when I spoke of it, he appreciates our differences more. :)
Thank you for sharing!!
@Idlewild (6090)
• United States
7 Dec 06
brokentia, have you ever heard the song by the folk/pop singer/songerwriter Dar Williams called "The Christians and the Pagans"?
It's a funny song about family members coming together for a Christmas dinner, some of the family are traditional Christians, but there's also a pagan sister and a lesbian girlfriend and... it's a lighthearted tune about tolerance for differences in beliefs and celebrations.
1 person likes this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
7 Dec 06
I have not heard the song. But I will definitely look it up. Thank you, I do enjoy music and good humor. Sounds like there may be a good message there also.
Thanks again!
@peaceful (3294)
• United States
7 Dec 06
I will be joyfully celebrating The Wheel this year as I have in many years past! :)
.........................................
I await the warmth of the fireplace after a long walk in the nearby woods...
The sweet taste of heated mead and roasted lamb...
The bittersweet kiss goodbye to Autumn (my Favorite)...
Perhaps to Rest during the Night and re-energise Wisdom's forces with a good book or two...
Aye 'tis improbable that this Pagan will rest for long...
For Council am I to Wiccan and Cowan alike...
Their calls will be answered even as...
Inside I am, and welcoming of The Turning...
Peaceful
.........................................
Greeting, Love and Joy to Thee, Brokentia! :)
May the Wheel turn well for Thee and your Own...
Blessed Be!
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
7 Dec 06
That was beautiful. Thank you.
And also with you.
Blessed Be!
@tamra2 (259)
• United States
2 Dec 06
In years past I have been a guest of a local coven for the Yule ritual (I am Solitary), but that will not be an option this year. I will most likely have a private ritual at home and a nice meal with my husband.
I also celebrate Christmas with my grown children and my grandaughter, though they know that I am Pagan and to me, it is an extension of Yule.
@emeraldisle (13138)
• United States
10 Dec 06
I will be celebrating both. Most of my family is Christian so we celebrate with them. Actually for me it's not that hard to mix the two together since so many of the symbols of Christmas go back to the pagan beliefs. Christianity loved to borrow from others. So it makes it easier to celebrate them as one.
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
7 Dec 06
It is a religious celermony/ritual. For Pagans/Wiccans....
I thought to ask because there are so many that celebrate Christmas but also those that celebrate Yule or both.
Thank you for your interest.
@wyrdsister (584)
• Canada
10 Dec 06
myLot just ate my entry! Agh!!
Okay, here's an abreviated version:
- I'll be celebrating both holidays. I myself am Wiccan, so Yule is my holiday. But my family is Christian or Agnostic, so Christmas is the main holiday when the family gets together:
- Two sources for info about Yule:
- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule
- The Witches' Voice: http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usny&c=holidays&id=10380
- As with anything on the Internet, YMMV.
~Wyrdsister
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
11 Dec 07
I celebrate both.
Not because I'm one confused pagan, lol, I'm not. But because I respect my other family's beliefs, and I've always loved the traditions of christmas -- and though I'd incorporate those traditions on Yule if it didn't matter to those I knew, right now it's most convenient to celebrate them seperately.
Yule as like..a private, much more truer "christmas" (I mean the spirit of it, gotta love those pagan roots), between friends and I. Friends have always been my most real family anyway to me.
Christmas is for my more immediate, genetic family, lol.
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
16 Dec 07
My kids have had a Christmas at their Grandmother's because she celebrates Christmas. :) So I do understand the separation.
But I also have the pleasure of raising my children with Pagan practices. :) So, my immediate family celebrates the Yule.
Merry Yule and Christmas to you dear friend. :)
@saiwailaozei (363)
•
15 Dec 07
no , i have no plan for it. i'm a man who always don't pay attention to festivals. because i think i can treat each day as a festival if i like ,and factually i'm always happy everyday.
no hiding that sometimes i will be annoied by life just like what other guys encounter,but still, no matter smile or cry,it means i'm touching the feeling that life bring me.
thus,for me,every meaningful day is a festival.while the best way to celebreate it is to experience everyday by heart.
well,anyway,merry christmas ! have a great day!
@nancygibson (3736)
• France
30 Nov 06
We have a big feast on Yule eve for all our friends, we do this every year and its a lovely celebration. We're a multi faith family so we also celebrate Christmas a few days later as the sun grows in strength
@magikrose (5429)
• United States
30 Nov 06
I am still new to the craft even tho I do seem to know quite a bit. I would like to celebrate both once I learn more about Yule. My kids like the fantacy of Santa and I grew up with it so we are going to celebrate both once I learn more about Yule.
@hiddenheartin (300)
• India
7 Dec 06
i like da month december cos its a month of celebration.. partying. and so onn....
@Penguinsangel (3498)
• United States
29 Nov 06
I am not sure I know the meaning behind Yule. So no I probably won't be celebrating it.
@Thaleia (3)
• Belgium
7 Dec 06
I will celebrate Yule this year, but because the rest of my family is not a pagan I will celebrate Christmas too. I think, for me as a witch, it is important that I celebrate the sabbats and esbats.
Brightest Blessings
