How to Bring Yule Into Your Life in Little Ways

A lot of different religions have celebrations that to take place around this time of year and Yule is no different. Yule marks the winter solstice where the day is the shortest and the night is the longest it will be during the year. This usually takes place on either the 21st or 22nd of December depending on which part of the hemisphere you live in. This is a particularly magical time of year as it means winter is coming to an end and the sun is coming back into our lives.

If you live in the UK like I do, then there are plenty of easy ways to pick up spiritual items to combine with decorations and traditions that you already have as part of your everyday celebrations in December and below are a few simple ways to bring more magic into this time of year.

My first suggestion is to make your own Christmas wreath with specific items incorporated into it in order to make it more Yule like and bring the special energy the solstice has into your life. I would suggest using red ribbon as red is one of the few colours we see regularly in the white winter and helps to symbolise the life and fire that slumbers under the cold ground. As O’Gaea (p. 93, 2004) describes ‘We see red in holly bushes… we see red cheeks on our faces when we play outside in the snow, and many of our festive drinks are red in colour, too.’ Green is also a great colour to use as it symbolises everlasting life which is why we often bring a pine tree into the house as pines are evergreens. Using these colours on a wreath that hangs outside your front door will ask the universe to bring in life and warmth to your home through the dark winter.

One thing I always do around this time of year is a lot of baking. Whether it’s in traditional sweet mince pies or a lovely earthy pie for dinner. One of my favourite recipes I like to make is a mushroom and tarragon pie decorated with pastry shaped like holly leaves. As I bake I try to focus on the love and hopes I have for the coming weeks so that the pies embody that and spread those feelings into anyone who eats them. I also sometimes decorate the pies or garland with runes such as Sigel as it signifies the sun, Ken as it symbolises a torch and Beork as it represents birch, another evergreen tree.

My final words about Yule this year is that it is important to take a few moments to remember and note what you’re thankful for this winter. Our ancestors didn’t always survive the winter and part of why we hang bright lights for Yule is to keep away all the dark scary things that exist outside the firelight. It’s what our ancestors used to do and what we do now as a tradition. Take some time to try to remember what you’re thankful for by meditating or writing down a list of these things. You could also write down a list of things you’d like to achieve in the future so that just like the days, your achievement grow as time goes on.

Most importantly though… Celebrate! Yule only comes round once a year and it is definitely a great time to spend with family, in love and warmth making sure to spread as much happiness to everyone as you can!