Merry Yule

​

The present Yuletide winter season in North America started on the December 2023 Winter Solstice and ends on the March 2024 Vernal Equinox. The Winter Solstice is the time when the light is reborn from the darkness of the womb of Winter.

​

Yule or Yuletide ("Yule time") is an ancient Pagan indigenous midwinter festival (based on Norse mythology) observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later being absorbed into and equated with the Christian festival of Christmas. In modern Germanic language-speaking areas and some other Northern European countries, Yule denotes the Christmas holiday season. The earliest references to Yule are in the form of month names, where the Yule-tide period lasts somewhere around two months in length, falling along the end of the modern calendar year between what is now mid-November and early January. The festivities of Yule are generally held to have centered on Midwinter (although specific dating is a matter of debate), and feasting, drinking, and sacrifice were involved.

​

The Neopagans, who borrow from Germanic folklore and customs, also call the Winter Solstice season "Yule" or "Yuletide." In most forms of Wicca, this holiday is celebrated at the Winter Solstice ("Solstice Night") as the rebirth of the Great horned hunter god, who is oftentimes called the "Sun King" and is viewed as the newborn solstice Sun.