Celebrate Yule and the winter solstice which occurs December 22-23 and is the longest night and shortest day during the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. This is when the Sun is the furthest from the Earth, and the Earth’s access is pointed furthest from the Sun. The sun is at 0 degrees Capricorn.

This post will include Yule, activities, decorations, crafts, food, and recipes related to Yule and correspondences.

The twelve days of Christmas originate with the Norse, beginning the night before the winter solstice and ending on the 6th of January when all decorations are removed.

Many of our modern traditions are rooted in the old pagan celebrations.

Mother Earth is asleep. It is a time of death, no crops grow, the earth is barren and food may be scarce.

Each day following the solstice grows longer with increasing sunshine and the promise of a rebirth of life.

Anthropologist E.W. Budge believed that this event was celebrated as long as 12,000 years ago.

• Yule is our celebration of the rebirth of the Sun. It is our rejoicing of the triumph of life over death.
• The theme of Yule is the return of light and the everlasting life of evergreens, representing continuing life.
• The earth has grown silent. It is the dark days, a time for contemplation of the year that has passed. It is a time of planning new beginnings, fresh starts, and the promise of blessings and things to come.
• It is a reaffirmation of life everlasting. We decorate with a focus on evergreens representing life – bay leaves, mistletoe, holly, vines, and holly berries. The trees of Yule are spruce, fir, and pine. Pine represents protection, healing, purification, wealth, rebirth, and immortality. We decorate with candles to welcome back the light.
• This is a day of feasting, dancing, and merry-making. No work is done on this day.

The Yule Tree

to celebrate Yule and the winter solstice

The celebration of Yule and the winter solstice wouldn’t be the same without a Yule tree. We embellish an evergreen Yule tree with symbols representing what we wish for in the coming year. Objects representing livestock, fruits, and vegetables, and Gods and Goddesses, items of protection, prosperity, and fertility adorn the branches.

Your tree can include bells, which the Norse believed scared away bad fairies and scared away the dark. That is where the tradition of jingle bells originated.

Cranberry and popcorn strung into garlands are beautiful and keep the kids busy. Use a fishing line or tooth floss as your thread.

Slice oranges a quarter-inch in thickness and dehydrate them till dry in a low-heated oven or dehydrator. Citrus rounds like oranges represent the sun. When dehydrated, the oranges resemble stained glass and make beautiful ornaments.

Decorate with coins for wealth, charms for happiness, and nuts for fertility

Activities and Decorations

Yule and the winter solstice are perhaps the busiest sabbats we have. It is combined with Christmas celebrations full of activities, parties, and family fun.

Yule is a celebration of the Sun.

Bonfires are lit, and a festival of lights represents the returning Sun. This is the origin of the tradition of hanging Christmas lights on our houses. This stems from the belief that “As above, so below.”

Light is the main theme of the winter solstice. Adorn your home with candles. The color white is for the returning light, green is for life everlasting, and red represents the sun.

The Yule Fire

A Yule fire is a major feature to celebrate Yule and the winter solstice. Often, a piece of the Yule log from the prior winter will be saved to ignite this fire.

If you have no fireplace, an outdoor firepit or even a white candle placed in your cauldron can be used. Traditionally, the Yule fire remains burning till dawn.

Support the Wildlife

This is a great time for you to feed our feathered friends struggling to survive in the barrenness of winter. Roll pine cones in peanut butter. then in bird seeds. Allow to set and hang from trees. Take orange halves, fill them with peanut butter and sunflower bird seed mix, and set out for the birds. Commercial suet blocks can also be used. Just watch out for the bears if you live in the country, they like these foods too!

Outdoor light decorations also represent the celebration of the return of the sun. Go crazy and hang the most Christmas lights in the neighborhood. Lanterns or luminaries along your entryway are charming.

Food and Toy Drive

Get together with friends and have a food drive to benefit those who are less fortunate. This could be combined with a toy drive, so no child goes without a present. I can’t think of anything sadder than Christmas morning and no gift from Santa to open.

Cookie Exchange

A Christmas cookie exchange is a great way to get an assortment of cookies without the work of baking them all yourself. It also gives you a chance to catch up with neighbors and friends during this busy time.

Christmas gifts originated with the Romans and Norse, who gifted them as a wish for prosperity and sweetness in the coming year.

Gingerbread House

Another tradition I have established with my grandchildren for Yule is to make and decorate a gingerbread house each Yule season. I have done this with my oldest grandson since he was three years old. Every year, he gets excited and wants to know when we are going to do our gingerbread house.

These days, you can pick up a kit inexpensively at just about any store. If you are up to it, make a gingerbread house from scratch. Here is a video that takes you step by step through the project.

Yule and Winter Solstice Wreath

Wreaths have been used to represent the concept of no beginning and no end to the cycle of life for over 4000 years.

Small apples on your wreath represent the Goddess, and pinecones represent the God completing the male and female energies of the cycle of life.

Your wreath can be further decorated with holly berries and dried orange slices.

Bay leaves can be tied in sprigs and placed. Bay attracts strength and health in the coming year. You can also burn bayberry candles.

Mistletoe

Mistletoe was sacred to the Druids. It was important for legal matters and handfastings. Sprigs can be tied and hung throughout the house. Tradition calls for a kiss between two who happen to be standing under the mistletoe.

Home and Hearth

Use boughs of evergreens for decorations adorned with ribbons, gilded nuts in gold, pomegranate, holly, sun images, apples, and mistletoe.

You can also construct an altar with these items and use it as a centerpiece with no one the wiser.

A delicious way you can put a fabulous scent and moisture in the air is to have a simmer pot. They are a way to carry your thanks and wishes to the other side in the spirit world.

Place a pot full of water on the stove and add orange and lemon rinds, cinnamon sticks, whole nutmeg, and allspice. Keep an eye on your simmer pot, and don’t let it burn dry. Add water as needed.

You can toss aromatic herbs in your Yule fire for the same purpose.

Crafts

Yule Salt Ornaments

A fun craft that will bring back memories for years to come is making salt dough ornaments. They are sturdy and can be painted.

Mix one cup salt, two cups flour, and one half cup of water. Mix and knead until smooth. Roll the dough out to a one-quarter-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to form shapes and a straw to make a hole to hang your ornament with.

Bake at 325 degrees for one and a half hours. Cool. Once cool, your ornaments can be painted. When dry, spray with a gloss varnish found in the paint section of stores like Walmart. You can also choose to add aromatic herbs such as cinnamon to your dough.

Christmas Crystal Ornaments

Celebrate Yule and the Winter Solstice by making crystal Christmas ornament stars. It is tremendously fun. Everyone can’t wait to see how they have grown and changed overnight. They become hard and last for years. I still have some that I made with my children thirty years ago. If you can only do one project, this is the one. Here is a video to show you how to make them.

Yule Log Centerpiece

You can make a lovely Yule and winter solstice centerpiece that will last you for years without too much trouble. It is a log with holes for a white, green, and red candle. The rest of the log can be left plain or decorated with evergreens such as pine, holly, and mistletoe, along with whatever other items strike your fancy to represent the return of light.

• Cut a log that is approximately one by four feet. This is traditionally made of oak, but any evergreen log will work.
• Split the log in half lengthwise to create a flat bottom.
• Place the log flat bottom down. You will drill or carve three evenly spaced 1/2-inch holes that are deep enough to hold the base of a candle.
• You can use a spray varnish to seal your Yule log.
• If one by four feet is bigger than you want, reduce your log’s size to your desired length and width.

Foods

mulled wine, hot cider, gingerbread, apple pie, pumpkin pie, hot buttered rum, wassail, eggnog, all root vegetables, sweet potato, baked goods, candy

Recipes

Bueche de Noel, Chocolate Yule Log

Yule logs look fancy and hard to make. They always make an impression on your guests. They actually are simple and quick to bake, fill, and ice.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a jelly roll pan by greasing it and lining it with parchment paper.

For the Icing – In a microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 Tabl. Instant coffee, 1/3 cup boiling water, three 1-ounce bars of unsweetened chocolate, and 1/4 cup of real butter. Microwave until melted. Blend well.

Mix in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside.

For the cake – Combine and beat – 4 eggs, 3/4 tsp baking powder,1/4 tsp salt. Then gradually add 3/4 sugar

Fold in 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, 1 tsp vanilla. Mix thoroughly.

Pour batter into jelly roll pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter over the entire pan.

Bake for 13 minutes.

For the filling – Whip one cup of heavy cream with 8 tablespoons of powdered sugar until a firm whipped cream forms. Chill.

When the cake comes out of the oven, orient the short side of the pan towards you. Let cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Use the parchment paper edge to lift the edge of your cake carefully. Gently roll the cake with the parchment paper away from you into a snug roll. Wrap the roll in a powdered sugar-sprinkled dish towel.

Cool completely.

Gently unroll your cake, carefully removing the parchment paper as you go. Spread the entire surface with whipped cream filling. Gently reroll your cake around the filling firmly. Place seam side down and chill for ten minutes.

Ice your cake roll with chocolate icing. Run a fork down the top of the cake lengthwise to give the impression of bark. Sprinkle with finely chopped nuts of your choice. Slice 1/4 inch off each end to even things up. Place on a serving platter and decorate your plate with evergreens and holly.

Keep your cake chilled.

Mary Washington’s 1784 Gingerbread Cake

I have never been a big fan of ginger other than using crystalized ginger for nausea. That is until I had this cake.

I happened to be in Fredricksburg, Virginia, with a friend, and we were visiting the home of George Washington’s mother. The caretakers were serving samples of Mrs. Washington’s gingerbread cake. I was going to pass, but my friend insisted I try it. To my surprise, it was delicious. I share the recipe with you here.

A super yummy topping for this gingerbread cake is Lemon Curd. It is lemon-flavored and has the consistency of a pudding. A dab on top of a slice of this cake is pretty but, more importantly, delicious. I have a recipe for you for Lemon Curd here.

Correspondences

Gems

garnet, ruby, clear quartz, onyx, emerald, green tourmaline

Images

The sun, moon, stars, owls

Colors

red, green, white, gold

Botanicals

wintergreen, cinnamon sticks, cloves, ivy, cardamom, saffron, rosemary, sage, poinsettia, holly, nutmeg, mistletoe, pine cone, evergreens, Christmas rose

And to all a goodnight

Be well,

The Good Witch