Yule 

By Camryn Hetrick 

Yule or Yuletide is a pagan holiday that takes place when the winter solstice falls. It tends to land on December 21st in the northern hemisphere. Yule is a time of renewal and power. It marks the return of the sun—when the days finally begin to get a little longer.  This is a time of reflection, during the darkest and longest night of the year.  The ancients knew that the winter solstice was the longest night of the year—and that meant that the sun was beginning its long journey back towards Earth. It was a time of celebration, and for rejoicing in the knowledge that soon, the warm days of spring would return, and the dormant earth would come back to life. 

Everyone celebrates differently but most start by doing a cleansing ritual. A month before Yule rolls in go through all of one’s belongings and declutter, and deep clean. When finished cleaning that’s when the fun begins. Take incense or a smudge stick in a censer or bowl and move around to each door and window. Some people like to add a small incantation to the process, like this one: 

Yule is here, and I smudge this place, 
Fresh and clean, in time and space. 
Sage and sweetgrass, burning free, 
as the sun returns, so it shall be. 

Doing this brings positive energy into one’s home.  

Next is the Yule log people make a week to two weeks prior and leave as a table center piece until they are ready to burn it. Some popular foods and drinks to have during this time include herbal teas, eggnog, ham, Yule cookies, Yule log cake, and seafoods. Now there are other foods that people eat during this time, but these are the most popular. 

When interviewing Q Patsy, a student at Lenape Tech, she said, “I think that it’s interesting and that everyone should participate in it! I mean, come on! It’s a day to clean everything you typically don’t clean, and you cleanse the house to welcome positive energy and rid negative. Everyone needs something like that in their life.” When interviewing Jonathan Sadler a student here at Lenape he said, “So my family and I don’t celebrate yule because they never do spiritual stuff, but it sounds pretty cool and if I could celebrate it I totally would.” 

Yule can be celebrated by anyone; it doesn’t matter what one’s religion. It’s nice to celebrate the change and embrace positive energy.