Yule, or Winter Solstice, is a holiday practiced by Pagans and Neopagans around the world. The holiday falls between December 20-23, but it is usually celebrated on the same day as the Winter Solstice (December 21/22). The holiday is meant to commemorate the rebirth of the Oak King (or similar variant, depending on denomination of Pagan), who is associated with giving life, as well as acknowledge the increase in sun exposure that will occur from that date on. You may already know that the Winter Solstice is the day when there is the least about of sunlight in the day (or the longest night of the year, depending on your preference).
There is a long but varied history concerning how this holiday was celebrated in the past, but today, many Pagans & Neopagans celebrate this holiday very similarly to Western (American & Canadian, in particular) Christmas traditions. Some Pagans/Neopagans have either boughs of holly or a large pine tree that they decorate with traditional colors associated with the season. Color appropriate candles (gold, silver, green, red, white) are also lit, and sometimes a "Yule log" is burned on the night of the Solstice. Some individuals will opt to wake prior to sunrise in order to watch the sunrise and say a prayer to the Oak King or sun. Promises of fulfilling goals or bettering oneself are often times made either at sunrise or sunset. Presents are usually exchanged in the evening after a large dinner shared with close family and friends.
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And it is important to note that while there are similarities between Yule and Christmas in how both holidays are celebrated, the purpose behind each is somewhat different: Yule commemorates the rebirth of the Oak King, while Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Both are times meant to be spent with family and friends, however, meaning they are both special holidays to both groups: Christians and Pagans/Neopagans.
54 comments:
Interesting to see how similar Christianity and Paganism are. I would expect them to be very different from one another. If I'm not mistaken, paganism is a type of organized witch craft? Not intending to offend anyone if I am way off in what I think is a common stereotype of Paganism. For something considered to be so taboo in Western culture it displays a surprising aspect about human religions. Maybe they all aren't that different after all.
Paganism is just a broad term that covers all religions that acknowledge more than one god. Some pagans do identify as witches but some do not. And many religions are very similar, particularly at base core values.
I had no idea of the broad spectrum within Paganism. Could it be possible that Christianity borrowed some traditions from the Pagans and vice versa? Looking at how close the Winter solstice and Christmas traditions are it seems like that is the case.
There are definitely some pagans out there who argue that Christianity did borrow from pagans for their modern beliefs and celebrations, and there are precedence to support this. I do not, however, delve too deeply into this as I am not a scholar in religious studies, but I can say that there are arguments on both sides of that divide.
With Christianity being a relatively new religion, I believe that quite a few celebrations and traditions are are borrowed from different religions, including Paganism. If I remember correctly, there are parts of the Christian Easter that are very similar to Pagan beliefs of the Spring Equinox, both of them representing a rebirth or coming back from the dead (as the plants and animals do). I'm very fascinated with this topic.
What a very interesting concept of how closely related this to events are related. However,pagans, or neopagans do not believe in the birth of Jesus christ which is what christmas is celebrated about. The Hebrew/Jewish celebrate Hanukkah due to the oil lasting for 9 days when they were completely out of oil. I would celebrate Hanukkah also for the gift that God gave them for 9 days of oil burning to keep they houses lit. The winter solstice is on my sister's birthday which is the 21st. I also just thought it was the beginning of winter. I never realized that there was another pagan holiday. I have heard of the wicca's and the other pagan religions/culture that feature black and white witchcraft. I do realize that in anthropology that I must keep my mind open and keep my religious beliefs to myself and have an open mind. Who is to say that I have the right religion/cultural beliefs. I think that this holiday is very closing related to christmas because they are celebrating something that has given them life just as the christian around the world celebrate the birth of the savior. The more I read and learn the more I am very accepting of others cultures/religion/and or beliefs. I want to be a well rounded non judgemental individual who wants to learn about all cultures in this world. I was a very sheltered child. Which was good sometimes like when the watts riots happened but, I think i should of known what was going on with the world so I could be a more tolerant person and understand that there is other religions, beliefs, and celebrations. I grew up thinking that there was only christian whether or not they were catholic, protestant, baptist, or Jewish. I though everyone believed in God and when I grew up and started learning about other cultures and other country's I was very enlightened to learn that there is other religions, beliefs and culture. I would like to interview one of the Oak Kings group who celebrate and find out when this tradition started and how long this has been in practice.
Having grown up in a farming household in the Midwest that was not overtly religious, my family did celebrate the winter solstice every year, as well as a toned-down version of Christmas. There were a lot of downed trees throughout our property that my father and I would collect throughout the year in order to amass a humongous bonfire, often times several stories high, to be burned on the weekend of the winter solstice as the highlight of the yearly pot-luck my family would host for our friends and family. I have very fond memories of this time of year and it was very simply explained to me as a party in which we would eat, drink and dance on the frozen ground in order to wake up mother earth for another go around the sun, one which was hopefully fruitful in terms of the harvest of crops. There’s something magical about being around an inferno of a bonfire in the middle of the night, in the freezing cold, but being so warm from the flames and dancing (to polka) that you would need to take off several layers as to not overheat. Those were good times…
Michelle Cooper
Christmas and Yule are very similar holidays because they both happen in the month of December and they both celebrate with pine trees. They also both celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and The Yule king. Presents are also exchanged for both of these holidays. I haven't heard much about Yule, but it seems to me like there are a lot of cultures that celebrate a Christmas like-holiday.
I find it funny how many aspects of modern-day Christmas actually come from pagan cultures. A common practice during Winter Solstice (during December when daylight hours were the shortest) was to cut down an evergreen tree, take it inside, and decorate it. Sound familiar?
Sources: http://www.religioustolerance.org/xmas_tree.htm
-Hayden Lloyd
I want a party calendar that shows every holiday from every culture with a brief description of them so we can always have a reason to celebrate. That would be a neat gift.
They are very similar, makes you wonder who was copying who
I find it interesting that the two celebrations are so similar. I had previously been taught that Christianity adopted some of the practices of other religions in order to convert believers of that religion to Christianity. I always believed that the celebration of Christmas was meant to replace the pagan holiday while still retaining some practices of both religions. Is this at all valid?
Courteney Hedicke, Anth 101
I'm not a scholar of religions, so I cannot answer that question. Dr. Kyle Simmons might be a good person to ask.
The winter Solstice has everyone gather at the table to enjoy each others company and for a feast as well. They both have different means and are to be represented as a cultural thing. Yule commemorates the rebirth of the Oak King, while Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. I like this article beause it remind me of back home we use to do feast for the birth of christ.
briana banuelos
anthro 102 1001
It is interesting how similar cultures can be with their holidays. People don't usually watch the sunrise on Christmas day though, it is much too cold outside. Opening of present and big family dinner are similar though. I would love to learn more about this holiday.
Thanks for the post!
Zachary Forrester
antrho 101 3001 summer
I do not consider the solstices and equinoxes as pagan! They provide a great deal more than a "promise of a future life after death".
I've always loved a bûche de Noël or Yule Log cake. It seems this traditional cake comes from the Yule/Winter Solstice tradition. This cake seems to now have become a traditional Christmas cake for a lot of people. I haven't seen any in bakeries around her but I haven't looked. It's interesting how a tradition can evolve and change through cultures.
My mother always celebrated the Winter and Spring Solstice. Mostly with dancing around bonfires and placing her plucked gray hairs into an envelope, burning the envelope in this fire. This was the extent of her celebration. It is so interesting to read the more extensive rituals in celebrating.
Lauren Busby
Anthropology 101
I never thought Pagans had legitimate holidays like Christmas. I feel like people judge paganism as being just a hippie thing. Also I am curious to know more about paganism it sounds interesting since it probably has so many deities and faiths.
Pagan simply refers to any religion that acknowledges more than one deity. There are several different types of pagan faiths around the globe and they do vary by culture. Yule is primarily practiced by Wiccans, although some other pagans (and nonpagans) also celebrate the holiday.
i really liked that the Pagans have a similar holiday like we do in the untied states. i really thought that the Oak King is pretty cool image. i like there holiday because its almost like Christmas they have dinner and exchange presents. i really wish i could learn more about this culture.
If you look at pagan holidays and christian holidays they correspond on the same days with different Saints if you will. Take Easter and the Easter Bunny. The Easter bunny is in fact a pagan deity that promotes fertility whereas in the christian faith Easter celebrates the rise of jesus from the grave
Every major Christian holiday falls on or near a Pagan holiday. My daughter, who studied both history and Greek and Roman Classics is particularly interested in religion (is heading off to do her masters in religious studies) has studied this and it is a fascinating history. It makes sense that one group who is invading, conquering or quietly infiltrating another and wants converts won't completely take away the local traditions. You see this in South America where the people have incorporated Christianity (usually Catholicism) into their older belief systems and celebrations. It is a different group of traditions than you will see among Catholics in Italy or Romania. Ostera became Easter, the Yule became Christmas, it is a transition. I am sure many people celebrated at these times of year regardless of beliefs, the passing of the shortest day of the year and the coming of spring are a cause to celebrate! I love Yule, it is a peaceful way to celebrate and often involves some form of fire which all people enjoy watching. A fire out in the yard brings everyone in the family together around its perimeter. As we stare into the flames and converse it brings us closer as a family and helps us enjoy old stories or just catch up on each other's lives since some of us live so far away.
Yule/Winter Solstice is a similar way to celebrate Christmas with different meaning. The same happens to the Ostara festival, is very similar to the spring celebration.
Eliana
Anth 101
The descriptions of this holiday sounds a lot like Christianity Christmas only celebrating Oak King. They lite a tree, they make a resolution like we do on Christmas. It is interesting to me that it is the longest day.
Ashley Jacobson
A colleague of mine who was a Religious Philosopher, as well as several other scholars, have pointed out that many current holidays, including some Christian holidays (e.g. Christmas), contain elements of pagan traditions. This was done to more easily convert early pagans to the faith, moving from polytheism (belief in multiple gods) to monotheism (belief in one god). This move would have seemed strange, so the incorporation of some of their own traditions into the new, seemingly strange faith would have made the transition easier. Similar methods were employed by the the Romans, who incorporated and adopted several Greek and other traditions into their religious ideology.
Also, the summer and winter solstice are naturally the longest days and nights (respectively) of the year due to the orbit of the earth around the sun.
Where was the Yule Holiday founded? Its neat to know that the Winter Solstice is the day when there is the least about of sunlight in the day.
From what I know and remember Yule traces its roots back to Pagan religions, such as Celtic and other religions.
It is interesting to see how close these two Holidays resemble each other with what they do. But then it's interesting to see the differences as well. This was a very informative post.
What is Pagans/Neopagans? Is that another type of religion?
-Monique McAllister
Tiffany Heavens
- So do the Pagans & Neopagans believe in the Oak King instead of Jesus?
i don't look at is as who's copying who. i think that searching other cultures and studying how they do things is just you getting bigger and better ideas. who said it was a bad thing to get ideas form other people.
Akwila Cooks
Interesting that theses holidays are very similar to Christians holiday tradition of Christmas. I never heard of neither one of these holidays but the Winter Solstice is interesting. Winter Solstice is the day when there is the least about of sunlight in the day basically the longest night of the year and I did not know that that was a thing.
Kayla Johnson
Christmas is very similar to these holidays, Winter Solstice and Yule. More people should explore other traditions because they won't really contradict their beliefs just open them up to new ideas.
Amber Barnes
With Christmas right around the corner I always find it fascinating on how different cultures spend Christmas. Do the Pagans also have songs or even specific food placed on the holiday?
I am not aware of any songs, but I do know there is specific foods that are preferred to be eaten for this holiday.
In 2015 I spent the winter solstice with a family of pagans who lived in the next city over from me. During this celebration, I was welcomed as family and incorporated into to their traditions. They gave me the task and honor of helping set up the quarter candles for the altar. The candles were placed in cardinal direction with an assigned element to join in to bless the family for the new year. We celebrated with food, presents, and stories about the patron God (Pan) and, Goddess (Gaia).
The experience was new scary, but in the end, Yule celebration was not so different from Christmas. Family and friends gathering around and praying for safe keeping, food, presents, a bit of spice wine, and reminiscing.
Nicole Clements Anth411
Interesting to see how similar Christianity and Paganism are similar . I am surprise that they both have the same meaning however, I believe each culture have it own tradition that people goes by and so use to do every year. I think its kind of cool how with both holidays it will still have the meaning of friends , family to come together as one for the purpose to have a celebration.
The article is actually interesting to see how people celebrate holidays different. They may celebrate it differently, but it's still nice for them to be together as a family and spread love. A lot of people don't experience half of the things that we do as a family. It's nice knowing you belong and feel important. - Alexis Buford
I had never heard of Yule, it's very interesting how people have changed the way one celebrates Holidays throughout the world.
Reading this blog I had never heard of the Yule, But after learning about it I thought it was pretty cool. I like how across the world holidays a celebrated differently and that is what's so unique about it very enjoyable blog . - Mykia Chaney
This is my first time hearing about the Yule. I found this article very interesting. It is interesting that both holidays are meant to be spent with family and friends, however, meaning they are both special holidays to both groups: Christians and Pagans/Neopagans.
-Aide Gonzalez
I have heard of this holiday before but in my community people normally go with the traditional holiday. I wonder if people still celebrate this holiday as often as they used to.
apreshana page
This blog is interesting never really heard of Yule before. I like how the article breaks down the Yule and Christian.Definitely learned something reading this blog.
-Micah Seals
I have ever heard of Yule before, but this blog has me very interesting! I am big into Christmas, and for the real reason for the season. I am happy to learn that there are other holidays that focus on spending time with loved ones. Retail has taken over our holidays and the time we spend with our loved ones.
Kahla Perry
"Yule commemorates the rebirth of the Oak King",what is the story behind the oak king?
-Jasmine Busby
I find it interesting that other cultures holiday is different but similar to our christian holidays. when i first started reading i thought about Christmas, but what is the story of the oak king? is the background story similar to Jesus?
- Lavonza Marshall
I don’t see anything different about Yule and Christmas “Yule commemorates the rebirth of the Oak King, while Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Both are times meant to be spent with family and friends” but I do find it interesting that other cultures holidays are different but the same
Nick Moore
I feel like there is a lot more holidays out there that I still don't know about, but this holiday is a lot like Christmas. They celebrate the same thing but its on different days to me. I feel like we should just combined it altogether or we can call it Christmas but you can just celebrate what we believe in.
-Jaden Clark
Jaden, I find your comment rather ethnocentric. Christians celebrate Christmas as the birth of Christ, whereas Yule is celebrated to commemorate the rebirth of the Oak King, who dies and is resurrected annually, according to specific pagan faiths. I know Christians who do not feel that there are any parallels between pagan beliefs and Christianity. Further more, it is quite inappropriate to say that someone else-be it of another culture or faith-should follow customs or beliefs that are not their own. This is not any different than what Jews, American Indians, or even Africans experienced throughout their histories (for specific examples, see WWII and the Holocaust, American Indian Boarding/Residential Schools, and forced assimilation of Africans during slavery).
Wow, I didn't know there were cultures that celebrate similar similar to Christmas but a different religion and belief system. I always had the understanding, if you did not celebrate Christmas then you did not celebrate anything like it. Reading this blog post, this holiday sound exactly like Christmas.
Never knew what Winter solstice was but I have heard it many times in movies. It's crazy how their winter solstice is kinda similar to our christmas where it's related to the birth of christ. And their holiday is to appreciate someone who gave them life. They also celebrate it very similarly to us with the decorating trees with Christmas colors. Also with the gift giving and usually a large dinner at the end as well.
I had never heard of yule. It was cool to learn about how it involves the rebirth of the oak king. I was only aware of Christmas and how it pertains to Jesus Christ's birth.
Elaine christopher
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