Hearthside

  Glad Jól! I find Yule to be such an interesting holytide for Heathenry because of the diversity of modern traditions. Some choose to celebrate it at Christmas, some at the solstice, some at the midwinter moon. Some choose to celebrate it as one day/night, some as 3, some as twelve, or even as a season. For me the Yule season encompasses 2 lunar months. The Yule moon in December, and the Midwinter moon in January. But when I say Old Jól, I mean specifically the 3 days surrounding the full moon in the Midwinter month. For me this is the most focused time of festivity in the Yule season, although other traditions are interspersed throughout the 2 lunar months.  Thinking about Jól, we are coming out of the Dark Time, looking forward to a new cycle. The sun is returning. We think back on all that has happened in the past year, we take stock of our luck, we remember those who have passed, and then we look forward to the next cycle. We gather together with kin and feast, and remini...

Historically, Midwinter or Jól would have been celebrated according to the lunisolar calendar, so the date of the Midwinter moon would have been in January. Jól traditions were moved after the introduction of christianity to fall around Christmas, which had been influenced in its date by the solstice practices of other pagan groups. In modern times, many heathens celebrate Midwinter at the solstice. That is not my own tradition, but I do recognize the solstice as an important day in the heathen calendar. To me the Yule month (December) and the Midwinter month (January) are ripe with festivity. The Wild Hunt is shrieking through the night skies, the frost and snow is settling everywhere, and the dark time extends itself over everything. The urge to retreat from the busyness of the rest of the year is strong. It is time to slow down the pace, and enjoy the warmth of hearth and home. Still, the Solstice day is a day to be outside, hailing Sol, knowing the light will be returning.  It ...