YULE & THE WINTER SOLSTICE

Merry winter solstice, good Yule, and happy Capricorn season! As of early this morning - Saturday, December 21st 2024 - our beloved Sun entered the sign of Capricorn, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year. Now we’re finally turning toward lighter times and a new annual cycle.

In ancient Rome, this time of year featured Saturnalia, a weeklong festival honoring Saturn, the god of time (and the ruling planet of Capricorn. This celebration included recognizable traditions of gift-giving, feasting, making music, and decorating with wreaths and candles. It was also a liberating time of chaos, pranks, gambling, wild partying, and role reversals of gender and class (such as slaves being served by their masters). This may seem at odds with Saturn and Capricorn, which are traditional, hierarchical, serious, disciplined, stoic, solitary, hardworking and responsible. But along with being the lord of harsh cold winter, Saturn is a symbol of reality, boundaries and limits. And it’s realistic to understand that to maintain focus on working toward our ambitions, we’ll always need breaks to rest and blow off steam. This is why Saturn rules the weekday of Saturday, a free day not set aside for religious purposes (within the Christian framework), but simply for relaxing and having fun. To keep going throughout the long dark winter season, we similarly need something to look forward to. This is where the Capricorn goat blends with the hedonistic libertine figure of Dionysus or Pan, as two sides of the same coin. 

This correlation helps to explain the significance of the Yule goat, a symbol of the winter solstice and a common decoration, often made of straw. In some cases, goats were sacrificed at this time of year; in others, people dressed up like goats amidst solstice revelries, such as the Germanic figure of Krampus. This anthropomorphic goat was said to accompany Saint Nicholas on his visits to children; while the saint rewarded well-behaved children, Krampus would punish the poorly-behaved ones, a dynamic duo evoking the Christian association between goats and the devil. There are also accounts of Krampus-like goat figures (or the Icelandic Yule cat) appearing to ensure that the correct preparations were being undertaken for this holiday.

Historically, Yule is a 12-day Germanic winter celebration. It’s connected to the winter solstice’s Wild Hunt, a mythological chase of a supernatural hunting party across the landscape, led by Norse god of wisdom Odin. Much like Samhain and other sabbats, this was considered a liminal time of spirits wandering the earthly realm. Animals like boars or goats were often sacrificed, especially during the pagan eve of Mother’s Night. Other famous traditions include the burning of a Yule log to symbolize the rebirth of the Sun, possibly also used for divination or scrying into the coming year. There are accounts of people going to their orchards and singing to the trees for a good harvest. Wassailing - the custom of going door-to-door with songs, gifts and mischief - was a precursor to Christmas caroling, and related to the modern Halloween tradition of trick-or-treating. 

The Yule goat, the Yule log, and Odin are all associated with Nordic solstice celebrations.

The traditions of this heathenish holiday have long commingled with the Christian celebration of Christmas, many of which - like the famous Christmas tree - have pagan origins. In fact, it’s now commonly accepted historical fact that Jesus (a baby born under a special star, sought out by three wise sorcerers or astrologers) was actually born in the springtime, rather than in December. The celebration of Christmas at this time of year is likely an artifact of early persecution of Christians, as they cloaked their highest holiday amidst the larger solstice revelry. Much has changed in a couple millennia, as Christianity is now the world’s dominant religion, and secular Christmas cheer can be found the world over amongst various cultures and beliefs. On the Neopagan Wheel of the Year, the winter solstice corresponds to the sabbat called Yule. In the dualistic beliefs of Wicca, this is seen as the time when the wintery crone aspect of the Triple Goddess rebirths the Horned God, representing the Sun.

As a half-Swede, I grew up celebrating Jul, the Swedish version of Christmas. It’s a welcome bright spot in the long, dark, cold Swedish winter. The celebration is drawn out, preceded by four weeks of Advent counting down to Christmas Eve (which is celebrated even more so than Christmas Day). December 13th marks St. Lucia’s Day, featuring a maiden wearing a crown of candles leading a procession of singers, celebrating the coming return of the light. On January 6th, thirteen days after Christmas, “trettondag jul” marks the coming of the Wise Men (also celebrated in other countries as Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day). The feast of Saint Knut, called “tjugondag knut” or “julgransplundring,” takes place on January 13th; this is the time to take down Christmas decorations (and eat them, as many were traditionally edible). “Jultomtar” or Christmas gnomes are a mainstay of the Christmas season, reflecting an old animist belief in house and farm spirits; Jul was the time to give them their offerings for the year to ensure continued peaceful coexistence and cooperation. Before the figure of Santa Claus became more pervasive, the gnomes - or Julbocken, the Yule goat - were said to be the ones distributing presents. Nowadays, decorations of Yule goats and Christmas gnomes are ubiquitous (along with the more modern tradition of watching a Donald Duck program at 3pm on Christmas Eve). Famously, a large Yule goat is erected in the city of Gävle each year, and it has become a tradition to burn it down, in a yearly battle between creative pranksters and attempts to guard the decoration from vandalism.

The solstices have been observed by various cultures around the world and throughout history. Monuments like Stonehenge have been built to align with them. Fires and feasts are common solstice traditions. This is an excellent time to gather together with loved ones, reconnect with nature, express gratitude for our blessings, set intentions for the new year, reflect and plan ahead, making use of an infusion of Capricorn energy.