High Days - Yule

Yule is a midwinter festival that takes place on the 21st of December (the midwinter solstice)¹, however, depending on which Pagan tradition is followed, Yule might also be celebrated on various dates around this time.

Although a popular festival among many modern Pagans, the evidence for this festival from the ancient world doesn't exactly align with neo-Pagan Yule. For example, the Roman holiday of Saturnalia (a high day instituted by the emperor Aurelian as part of his state cult), while a time of feasting and merriment, was celebrated on the 17th of December.²

Another festival around this time which was recorded by Bede was 'Modraniht' (Mothers' Night) and it was celebrated on the 25th of December. The Icelandic sources however, tell of a Yule sacrifice/feast that lasted for three nights from midwinter.³

In some ways, it is not hard to see where modern Pagan Yule traditions have their origins, and many are simply the contiuation of the more pagan aspects of Christmas, such as tree decorating and gift-giving. Some Pagans (mostly Germanic and Norse) associate Yule with the Wild Hunt, the Dead, and include the offerings to ancestral Mothers in their feasting. When Pagans are able, many try to make it to an ancient site to hold an overnight vigil to watch the sun come up again.

Indeed, the ancient sites such as Newgrange, Maes Howe, and Long Meg (which align with the winter solstice) are potentially some of our strongest evidence that the midwinter festival was indeed one of importance to the ancients. Unlike historical accounts, they are an enduring testament of what was once perhaps an expression of solar cultic activity focused on the darkest point of the year and its renewal⁴.

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1McColman, C. (2002). The Wheel of the Year. In The complete idiot's guide to paganism. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha.

2Hutton, R. (1996). The stations of the sun: A history of the ritual year in Britain (Pp. 1-2). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

3Hutton, R. (1996). The stations of the sun: A history of the ritual year in Britain (p. 7). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

4Hutton, R. (1996). The stations of the sun: A history of the ritual year in Britain (p. 4-5). Oxford: Oxford University Press.