Yule Songs

O Tannenbaum

Here We Come A'Wassailing


A celebration of the Winter Solstice has been held in the Northern hemisphere for millenia. This is the time of year when night lasts the longest and occurs toward the end of December. Imagine living in Germania a thousand years ago. With the sun rising as late as nine a.m. and going down by three, it's hardly surprising that people would celebrate the moment when the days began to grow longer. Sometimes called "the dark of the year", this solstice celebration has been named many things in many different cultures. Followers of Shinto in Japan celebrate Tohji-taisai, the Grand Ceremony of the Winter Solstice. In Hellas it was called Lenaea; in Rome Saturnalia. Zoroastrians in ancient Iran observed Shabe-Yalda, the birthday or re-birth of the sun. The Incans celebrated "the Festival of the Sun where the god of the Sun, Wiracocha, is honored." The Nordic festival — called Yule, Jól or Jul — took place just before sunrise and was intended to celebrate the moon goddess giving birth ... or re-birth ... to the sun god. This return of the light represented a completion of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

As Christianity spread across Europe, the Church absorbed many pagan celebrations and customs into it's own eucumenical calendars in an attempt to make the new religion more familiar to the worshipers of the old gods. Since Yule coincided closely with the Christian celebration of Christmas, Pope Julian I decreed that birth of Christ would be celebrated permanently on December 25th. This is only one of many Yule traditions, however, that can be seen reflected in the Christian celebrations.

The Christmas tree has its roots firmly in the Yule traditions. During their Yule celebrations, pagan families would bring a live tree into the house to give the wood spirits a place to keep warm during the winter months. Bells were hung in the branches to allow the family to know when the spirits were present. Food and other treats were also hung on the tree as gifts to these spirits and a five pointed star — which represented the five elements — was placed on the top of the tree.

The seasonal colors of red and green were a pagan custom arising from the green leaves and red berries of the holly bush. Evergreens were cherished at this time of year as another emblem of life amid winter death. Holly, however, was particular important as a decoration for windows and doors, because the prickly edges which were believed to either ward off or capture evil spirits before they could enter the house.

The exchanging of gifts, too, came from pagan traditions, and even Santa Claus's reindeer represented the Horned God.

The Yule log was originally a tradition from the pagan Yule celebrations, as well. Although it has lost much of its popularity these days, there are still places that observe the burning of the Yule log. Originally, the log had to be oak or pine — never elder — and symbols of the sun god (a rayed disk) or the Horned God (a horned disk) were carved or painted on it. At dusk on Yule night, the log was set alight as a graphic representation of the rebirth of the god.