Yule

What does Yule evoke for you? Blazing fireplace log? Hot cider and eggnog? Solstice bonfire? Christmas carolers in the snow?

Yule gets its name from a pre-Christian Germanic winter observance, called jól in Old Norse and geola or giuli in Old English. Alleged details of jól gatherings to stave off the darkness are mostly speculative. In the cold and dark of northern Europe, one constant of the holiday must have been fire in some form. Another likely constant was feasting on roasted meats, since farmers would not have had enough feed to keep all their animals alive through the winter.

The Venerable Bede, an English monk and chronicler in the early 700s, wrote of a one- or two-month period called guili on the Anglo-Saxon calendar: “The months of Giuli derive their name from the day when the Sun turns back [and begins] to increase.” The later Icelandic Saga of Hákon the Good called jól a three-day celebration that began at mid-winter.

According to the saga, King Hákon of Norway (died 961) tried unsuccessfully to convert his entire nation to Christianity. Knowing the pagans would not willingly abandon their traditional holidays, he changed the date of jól to coincide with Christmas. Thus those who link Yule with the Solstice are historically correct, and so are those who equate it with Christmas or the season.

Whatever you may or may not celebrate this winter, glad Yuletide to all!