Shifting the focus from Christmas to Yule aka the winter solstice, is how I rediscovered meaning in a holiday season that had become depleted for me. In truth, it isn't really about choosing team Yule or team Christmas, it's that, if you undress Christmas out of it's consumerism costume, you will see it was really Yule all along.
The old ways
Before the invention of the lightbulb, and all the modern conveniences we have today, our ancestors lived their lives around the seasonal fluctuations of sunlight. We may live very different lives today, but there is still valuable wisdom in nature that is so important not to overlook.
We think we know so much about everything today, because there's endless books, and everything we could want to know on the internet. It can seem sometimes that everything there is to know has already been figured out. Yet, why do so many of us feel so lost? Why do so many of us feel like something about the way we are living isn't right? It seems that somewhere along the line we have gone horribly off track, and we don't know how to find our way back anymore.
I believe nature holds all the answers we are looking for, and yes, it really can be that simple. Looking back at the “old ways” we can find the pieces of ourselves we have lost along the way.
The roots of tradition.
The word Yule originates from Pagan winter celebrations predating Christmas by thousands of years. It is used to refer to the Winter solstice and the 12 days following it, the whole month of December, or the winter season in general. Many of the festive customs we associate with Christmas today are deeply intertwined with these ancient, solstice-based traditions.
This was a time traditionally celebrated with feasts, fires, and festivals. In Norse tradition, the Yule log was burned to honor the return of light, a practice that has evolved into the modern Yule log cake.
The tradition of mistletoe dates back to ancient Celtic and Norse cultures, where it was considered a sacred plant symbolizing peace, fertility, and protection. Later, its association with kissing originated from Norse mythology, where mistletoe represented love and reconciliation in the story of the goddess Frigg and her son.
In Italy, La Befana or La Strega Noel, came long before Santa Claus. Folklore says she is part faerie, part witch, and described as an old wise woman. Instead of a sleigh she’s said to ride around on a donkey or a broom, delivering gifts to children.
Those are just a couple examples but there are hundreds more--- like how the amanita mushroom likely inspired the red and white colors famously on santas suit. All you have to do is a little digging, and you can find a treasure trove on interesting connections.
The longest night
The Eve of the Winter Solstice, is symbolically the longest night of the year. In the old ways, a new day was considered to start at sunset (not sunrise), because they understood all things are born from darkness. Some beliefs hold that at sunrise the following morning, the earth gives birth to the sun, while others say we enter a 3 day womb space followed by the rebirth. Either way, the theme is the same: after darkness, comes light.
Following the solstice, each day forward, the light slowly increases and the days become longer. It’s a promise of brighter days to come and a reminder to hold onto hope. It’s a time for introspection, reflection and gratitude.
The longest night is not just a marker of time—it’s a metaphor for the times in our lives when we face our deepest fears or feel lost. If you know to look for it, there's a profound stillness found within this darkness. It's in those quiet moments that our most meaningful insights are distilled.
A portal of creation
The portal of the Solstice has been honored for hundreds of years, as a sacred birthing moment, a feminine force of creation hidden in plain sight. Just as the Earth gives birth to the Sun, or Mary to Christ, we can allow this time to nurture new beginnings within ourselves. The promise of light returning is not just a astrological event—it’s an invitation to birth our own transformation.
While we won't have noticeable change for quite some time, there is movement coming. Just like any changes in life, the shifts aren't always apparent in the beginning stages, but Winter reminds us that change happens slowly. Like the sun’s return, growth takes time.
If you feel like there isn't much to celebrate this season, Let the promise of increasing light keep hope alive for you.
Hold on to the light within you
We may start shifting back into the light half of the year soon, but we are very much still in the heart of winter. These darker days and colder temperatures is nature’s way of telling us to slow down.Go outside and observe nature on a winter morning. Notice how still everything is?
The plants and trees have stopped their growth. During this time, they repair and maintain themselves, so they are ready when the brighter days come.
Reject the messaging that tells you you must skip through the streets with joy, throwing your money in the air. It's not about new cars wrapped in bows, and piles of plastic under the tree.
The winter is a reminder that our lives are part of a natural process, always changing, always renewing, and that in order for the wheel to keep turning, a period of rest is an unavoidable necessity. One that if we stop fighting, we might even find what we are looking for.
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