s/o ~ yule/winter solstice

[LidiyaDawn]

[a bit of a spin off from this thread ]

 

If you celebrate Yule or Winter Solstice ~ could you share some of your celebrations, traditions, activities, etc? A few people shared a bit in the other thread - I thought it might be interesting to have a specific thread for this.

[Audrey]

Nothing fancy. Just the usual Pagan-y things. We roast a few babies, sacrifice a few goats, conjure up a demon horde and then orgy like it's 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

;)

[jar7709]

Nothing fancy. Just the usual Pagan-y things. We roast a few babies, sacrifice a few goats, conjure up a demon horde and then orgy like it's 1999.

 

 

:lol:

 

We still call it Christmas for lack of a better name, but our tradition in our 11-year marriage is to start decorating a few weeks into December, light candles and have a big fire in the fireplace on Solstice, read winter tales each evening with the kids in front of the fire between solstice and the 25th, and have a big 'ol hours-long fondue dinner on the 24th. Then gifts in the morning of the 25th and running around like crazy the rest of the day to see family.

 

As I said on that other thread, it's a holiday about family and togetherness and history and humanity for this athiest family, and it is my very favorite, so if you guys have fun traditions we can add, I'm all ears . :001_smile:

Edited November 3, 2011 by jar7709

[Rosie_0801]

You should all have bonfires. I want you to all have bonfires coz I can't! I love bonfires. :D

 

On the winter solstice we usually buy a new board game and may do a little banishing ritual by writing a negative thought we want to banish on a bit of paper and burning it. It has never worked for me, but it's nice to do anyway. Sometimes I might write a positive thought I want to cultivate on the other side of the paper. I'm a bit more successful with those. :) I've toyed with the idea of going along to a pagan event, but who knows whether I'll ever decide to do it. I'm a solitary kind of girl and I don't drink mead, lol.

 

Rosie

[Jennifer3141]

Nothing fancy. Just the usual Pagan-y things. We roast a few babies, sacrifice a few goats, conjure up a demon horde and then orgy like it's 1999.

 

 

I was going to say you forgot something, but no. You've pretty much got it covered. This is exactly how we celebrate Yule. Oh wait! We do have a Yule log. :001_smile:

[LidiyaDawn]

Nothing fancy. Just the usual Pagan-y things. We roast a few babies, sacrifice a few goats, conjure up a demon horde and then orgy like it's 1999. ;)

 

…and they say there's nothing to do during those long, cold prairie winters. :p

[Rosie_0801]

…and they say there's nothing to do during those long, cold prairie winters. :p

 

They burn that long? :001_huh: Wow, you breed 'em tough up there!

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Nothing fancy. Just the usual Pagan-y things. We roast a few babies, sacrifice a few goats, conjure up a demon horde and then orgy like it's 1999.

 

Ds just came over to see what I was laughing at! :lol:

[scrapbookbuzz]

Nothing fancy. Just the usual Pagan-y things. We roast a few babies, sacrifice a few goats, conjure up a demon horde and then orgy like it's 1999.

 

 

Might I ask that you not send your horde my way? Seems there are enough others that favor doing that and those keep me quite busy enough, thank you! ;)

[Melissa in NC]

Nothing fancy. Just the usual Pagan-y things. We roast a few babies, sacrifice a few goats, conjure up a demon horde and then orgy like it's 1999.

 

 

;)

 

Yup, that is what we do here, too.

[chiguirre]

Well, I wanna go to Audrey's!

 

I make a solstice cake on Solstice. Lemon or spice cake with lemon frosting.

[Rosie_0801]

I make a solstice cake on Solstice. Lemon or spice cake with lemon frosting.

 

How did you know that was a winter solstice cake? Lemon seems kind of spring equinoxey to me.

 

Rosie

[momto2Cs]

We give a gift apiece, usually new pajamas or something of that sort, have a nice dinner, sit in front of the fire and burn a Yule log. Might try wassail this year, and give a bit back to the apple tree. Trying to think of ways to make it more special...

[chiguirre]

How did you know that was a winter solstice cake? Lemon seems kind of spring equinoxey to me.

 

Rosie

 

I've always seen lemon icing on gingerbread and that was what I was aiming for. I use the spice cake mix because the gingerbread one is too dense to make a round layer cake. One year I couldn't find spice so I subbed the lemon cake mix. Lemon icing also has the advantage of being pale yellow, so it looks more like the sun.

 

But now that you mention it, there are these yummy Italian Easter cakes that are lemon with lemon frosting. Maybe I'll attempt something like that this spring.

[Rosie_0801]

Mm. Cake...

 

Yes, there should be cake for every occasion! Says me, who only makes one cake per year...

 

:)

Rosie

[Bug's Mom]

Anniversary dinner (20th) and birthday cake (mine, 21st). :D

[LidiyaDawn]

*bump*

 

~ i didn't want this to get buried

[Melissa in NC]

I make a yule log that is just divine. We reflect about endings and beginnings and the cycle of life. Then we open up a family present, such as a big knex rollercoaster that we can work on together.

[LidiyaDawn]

 

 

 

 

i thought i'd give this another bump for anyone else who'd like to share some Yule traditions…

[Cassy]

I was hoping Audrey might give us a few more ideas ... maybe a little more practical, for those of us who are fresh out of babies to roast and have enough of the demon hoards with in-laws visiting ...

 

Come on, Audrey, aren't you our resident expert on all things pagan and witchy?

[momto2Cs]

You could...

 

Make clove apples/oranges

 

Decorate a log with an image of the sun and then burn it. Save a small piece aside to start next year's fire, ensuring adequate heat throughout the year.

 

Write down a few bad habits on a scrap of paper and burn that

 

Serve a special dinner - traditional foods include pork, apples, nuts, little cakes with caraway seeds, spiced cider, ginger tea

 

Burn a scrap of specially baked bread - save a scrap of the new bread for next year's fire. This is to ensure food throughout the upcoming year.

 

Wassail a tree or two. This is supposed to bring a good harvest the following season

 

Exchange a handmade gift or something else special (we like to do new warm pajamas for Yule)

 

Decorate an outdoor tree for the birds - peanut butter/birdseed pine cones, or you can cut shapes out of cardboard, and coat those in pb and birdseed; hang up some millet; strings of UNsalted popcorn and cranberries

[asta]

Some idiot is going to miss the wink, I just know it...

 

 

In addition to the above, it's also nice (well not for the kids) to take the time to wipe down all of the window and door sills and re salt / smudge / scent / bless the house (that part is more fun).

 

We also do a "perimeter" walk around the property with [fill in your preferred sacred cleansing object here] that is nice -- we can look at all of the flora in its winter state, etc. and take in the silence.

 

 

a

[Audrey]

I was hoping Audrey might give us a few more ideas ... maybe a little more practical, for those of us who are fresh out of babies to roast and have enough of the demon hoards with in-laws visiting ...

 

Come on, Audrey, aren't you our resident expert on all things pagan and witchy?

 

 

Oh, I don't think I'm an expert on much of anything. But since you asked... :D

 

Here, we do a 12 days celebration starting at Solstice and ending at New Year's. I have a very small community of pagan friends and we take turns to host Solstice and New Year's. These are the caps of our holidays and we make a bigger deal out of them. This year I am hosting New Year's! For those celebrations, we usually have a bit of food and exchange handmade gifts. There is a ritual, prepared by the hosts, and we strive to be inclusive as we are all of different paths. For the adults, the gifts are generally witchy/pagan gifts like amulets, candles, jewellery, sets of polished stones, salts and oils -- stuff that people are good at making. For the kids, it is usually handmade toys and games, or sometimes clothes for the older ones.

 

The evenings after Solstice are reserved for family. We make 12 candles and light one each morning in thankfulness. The majority of the days, we usually do something with just us three. It might be as simple as baking up dainties and cookies, or it might be a games night with the gift being a new family game. We spend time sharing our thoughts on the year. If there are any old negative thoughts that need to be discarded, we may have a candle ceremony for them. There have been years we needed a lot of candles! :lol: We have a larger family gathering in there, too.

 

To round it all off, on New Year's Day, our little community of pagan friends gets together to go around to each family's house and do a cleansing, clearing and blessing of each home. We bring our own buckets and rags and the homeowner supplies his/her washes and oils. If we have any old spats or bad feelings to air, we do it before clearing the house and we agree to forgive, or if the bad feelings are against someone or something outside our group, then we offer support and guidance. It's a pagan "airing of grievances" so to speak. ;) Bottom line: everyone gets to starts the year fresh and clean.

[Cassy]

Oh, I don't think I'm an expert on much of anything. But since you asked... :D

 

Here, we do a 12 days celebration starting at Solstice and ending at New Year's. I have a very small community of pagan friends and we take turns to host Solstice and New Year's. These are the caps of our holidays and we make a bigger deal out of them. This year I am hosting New Year's! For those celebrations, we usually have a bit of food and exchange handmade gifts. There is a ritual, prepared by the hosts, and we strive to be inclusive as we are all of different paths. For the adults, the gifts are generally witchy/pagan gifts like amulets, candles, jewellery, sets of polished stones, salts and oils -- stuff that people are good at making. For the kids, it is usually handmade toys and games, or sometimes clothes for the older ones.

 

The evenings after Solstice are reserved for family. We make 12 candles and light one each morning in thankfulness. The majority of the days, we usually do something with just us three. It might be as simple as baking up dainties and cookies, or it might be a games night with the gift being a new family game. We spend time sharing our thoughts on the year. If there are any old negative thoughts that need to be discarded, we may have a candle ceremony for them. There have been years we needed a lot of candles! :lol: We have a larger family gathering in there, too.

 

To round it all off, on New Year's Day, our little community of pagan friends gets together to go around to each family's house and do a cleansing, clearing and blessing of each home. We bring our own buckets and rags and the homeowner supplies his/her washes and oils. If we have any old spats or bad feelings to air, we do it before clearing the house and we agree to forgive, or if the bad feelings are against someone or something outside our group, then we offer support and guidance. It's a pagan "airing of grievances" so to speak. ;) Bottom line: everyone gets to starts the year fresh and clean.

 

 

Thank you. That all sounds so refreshing :001_smile:. In both DH's and my families 'Christmas' celebrations usually involve the accumulation of negative thoughts and the build up of grievances :sad:.

 

I'm a bit of a closet Pagan at the moment, but I'd really love to incorporate some of your rituals into our 'Christmas' celebrations. DH is very traditional and rather conservative, so I'll start gently ... I am on a bit of a roll with this pagan thing, though, so who knows what our winter celebrations will look like in a few years' time. Maybe if I show DH your original post in this thread anything else I suggest will be accepted with great relief ... :lol:.

 

Best wishes

[Rosie_0801]

Ah, that sounds so nice, Aubrey!

 

I'm a solitary gal myself, but now I have a family I find myself wishing for a suitably small, relaxed but focused spiritual community for them. What you've got there sounds just like what I hope to find when the time to look comes.

 

:)

Rosie

[PinkInTheBlue]

Oh, I don't think I'm an expert on much of anything. But since you asked... :D

 

Here, we do a 12 days celebration starting at Solstice and ending at New Year's. I have a very small community of pagan friends and we take turns to host Solstice and New Year's. These are the caps of our holidays and we make a bigger deal out of them. This year I am hosting New Year's! For those celebrations, we usually have a bit of food and exchange handmade gifts. There is a ritual, prepared by the hosts, and we strive to be inclusive as we are all of different paths. For the adults, the gifts are generally witchy/pagan gifts like amulets, candles, jewellery, sets of polished stones, salts and oils -- stuff that people are good at making. For the kids, it is usually handmade toys and games, or sometimes clothes for the older ones.

 

The evenings after Solstice are reserved for family. We make 12 candles and light one each morning in thankfulness. The majority of the days, we usually do something with just us three. It might be as simple as baking up dainties and cookies, or it might be a games night with the gift being a new family game. We spend time sharing our thoughts on the year. If there are any old negative thoughts that need to be discarded, we may have a candle ceremony for them. There have been years we needed a lot of candles! :lol: We have a larger family gathering in there, too.

 

To round it all off, on New Year's Day, our little community of pagan friends gets together to go around to each family's house and do a cleansing, clearing and blessing of each home. We bring our own buckets and rags and the homeowner supplies his/her washes and oils. If we have any old spats or bad feelings to air, we do it before clearing the house and we agree to forgive, or if the bad feelings are against someone or something outside our group, then we offer support and guidance. It's a pagan "airing of grievances" so to speak. ;) Bottom line: everyone gets to starts the year fresh and clean.

 

That all sounds so wonderful! Too bad there isn't anyone around here I could learn more from and my family wouldn't have an absolute heart attack!

 

Audrey, I really look forward to your responses on things. I appreciate your perspective. :) Thanks!

[rwjx2khsmj]

We have our annual celebration with friends on the winter solstice. We fix lots of good food and invite anyone and everyone we've met in our lifetime to come spend time with us. We've held it on this night every year for the last 12 years, not because we are pagan but rather because it's a night that occurs every year and so people remember that this is the night to come to our house.

 

It never fails, every time we add new people to our list someone questions what "weird" things we do at our solstice celebration. We've even had some people refuse to attend because we call it a solstice celebration. I suppose we could call it a Christmas party and they'd be happy to come. To me, it seems like a good way to weed out our guests.;)

[asta]

That all sounds so wonderful! Too bad there isn't anyone around here I could learn more from and my family wouldn't have an absolute heart attack!

 

Audrey, I really look forward to your responses on things. I appreciate your perspective. :) Thanks!

 

When Switzerland started exploring, he just started with Catholicism and went backwards.

 

ex: St. Brigid -> Goddess Brigid (two separate shrines in Ireland, and they're not that far apart... duh)

 

Christmas -> Yule (scholars generally agree that Christ wasn't born at the end of December due to the sheep grazing schedule, but mushing the timeline to align with the beliefs of the existing population 'worked' so... eh)

 

The Catholic Church is nothing if not sneaky: go somewhere, assess the situation, see what existing customs can be woven into the narrative and voila - conversion. It's still done, all over the world.

 

Interesting stuff. Of course, there is always the danger that people will look back, back, back...

 

;)

[LidiyaDawn]

When Switzerland started exploring, he just started with Catholicism and went backwards.

 

…that's what i wound up doing as well.

 

when i first 'stepped away' from protestant christianity, i was looking into catholicism and orthodox churches…i didn't stay there - although i did see beauty in the (what's the word that i want -- ceremonial?) ways of both… neither path called in the end, but i did wander around for a while.

 

i'm loving this thread (prolly shows in the bumping lol) - haven't gotten to reply much as i'm often here pecking with one hand, baby snuggled in the other, and making more than two sentences takes forevvvvvvver :p but i really appreciate all of the sharing.

[Jen in PA]

We already have multiple holidays here and I am afraid that Solstice gets rather swallowed up by the rest of the season. I do make a special dinner, but the main thing is the decorating. I am no Martha Stewart, but I make a point of bringing in boughs from the various evergreens in the yard and I add candles and citrus fruit (sun-reminding stuff). It looks and smells great, and as an added bonus my Christmas-loving MIL thinks it is a lovely Christmas decoration.:confused: After we bring the evergreen cuttings in, we take something out for the animals (usually popcorn/berry garlands to hang on the trees).

[momto2Cs]

I'm excited that this year we'll be meeting with our Spiral Scouts circle a couple of days before Yule to make some solstice-related crafts! I think it will be a nice way for my kids to experience other kids who share our beliefs.

 

I love the idea of having a new family board game on Yule too. Now I'm thinking nice dinner, evening fire, new jammies, and a family game! All of course after we decorate an outdoor tree for the birds.:001_smile: