Yule & Solstice Links

Happy Solstice & Blessed Yule

A List of Yule & Solstice Links

On Solstice night, the winter comes
Stalking through the antlered trees,
Riding on the frozen wind.
With hoof and horn, this longest night
Brings round once more
The ancient, endless joust:
Light and Dark contest for power,
And Light, this night, shall triumph

- Deirdre Pulgram Arthen (This Winter's Night)

These holidays occur between December 21st and 23rd). They are also known as: Nollaig; Yuletide, Alban Arthan; Juul; Jul; Jiuleis; Joulupukki; Children's Day; Dies Natalis Invicti Solis; Saturnalia; Mid-Winter; Brumalia; Sacaea; Festival of Kronos (Cronos); Dazh Boh; Chaomos; Inti Raymi; Dong Zhi; Soyal; Sada; Touji; Zagmuk; Sacaea (from Winter Solstice Festivals by Christina Aubin)

General Information - Yule & Solstice Links

Alban Arthan - Druidic Festival
The terms is Welsh for "light of winter"

A Brief History of Solstice Celebrations

Celebrating Druidic Yule at Tribe.net

Celebrating the Winter Solstice by Selena Fox

Exploring the Holiday Evergreen

Greetings & Lore for Yuletide - from the wonderful people at Myth*ing Links (this page is graphic rich)

I'm Pagan -- Can I Still Have A Holiday Tree?

Mean Geimridh (Moon gerry) AKA Druidic Yule

Midwinter's Eve by Mike Nichols

Mistletoe: Myths, Mysteries and Legends

Mother Wit for Yule

Nurturing Your Spirit: Questions to ask during the Winter Solstice Season

Pagan Yuletide Greenery

Plants of the Winter Solstice (w/ color photographs)

Sacred Plants of the Winter Solstice

Scandanavian Yule Celebrations

Solstice: Season of Light and Dark

Swedish Yule Goat AKA The Julbock AKA the Gavle goat

You Call It Christmas, We Call It Yule by Peg Aloi

Yule Elf or House Elf

Yule: The Longest Night of the Year (A great page with lots of links at About.com - complied by Patti Wigington)

Yule Origins, Lore, Legends and Customs

The Yule Tree

Yule & Solstice articles at The Witches Voice

Winter Solstice - detailed, multicultural overview at Wikipedia

Winter Solstice Websites: A List at Religious Tolerance.org

(See Also: Pagan Origins of Christmas Traditions below)

Yet More Links - Topics Listed Alphabetically

December is the twelfth and final month of the Gregorian calendar and the first month of winter. It derives it's name from the Latin word decem, meaning ten, as December was the tenth month of the oldest Roman calendar. The Latin name is derived from Decima, the middle Goddess of the Three Fates who personifies the present - from Daily Lore, December

Ancient Sites:

Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming, USA

Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA

Goseck Observatory - the German Stonehenge

Carnac, France

Maeshowe and the Winter Solstice

Nabta Playa, Africa

Orkney Standing Stones at Yule

Newgrange, Ireland - Live pictures will be available for the first time this year

Stonehenge at the Solstice (Flickr photos with notes about the winter solstice meet)

The Megalithic Portal

Winter Solstice: Ancient Sites (A comprehensive list)

Winter Solstice Page: Architecture, History & More

Astronomy & Weather Information for Yule & Solstice

Australian Aboriginal Astronomy

Astronomy and the Winter Solstice

Archaeoastronomy: The Seasons

Earth & Sky Website

Solstice Dates & Times

Stonehenge (archaeoastronomy)

The Solstice Project

The Sun in Time (slideshow from NASA)

Weather and the Winter Solstice - Youtube

Charity & Good Works

Gaia's Guardians

Pagan and Earthwise Groups Doing Charity work

Wanted: Citizen Scientists for the Backyard Bird Count

Cutting Holiday Costs

The Freecycle Network

Tips for a frugal & sensible Holiday Season

Crafts

Cinnamon Ornaments

Creating A Journal

Creating a Yule Log

Herbal Yule Trees, 12 Herb Sachet & Kissing Balls

How to Make Yule Logs, Yule Wreaths as well as Peanut Butter & Pine Cone Wreaths for the Birds

Scented Pine cones

Solstice Dream Pillow

Shadow Boxes - Make Your Own

Twelve Herb Yule Sachet

Yule Crafts

Craft Supplies:
Editors Note: Full Circle does not receive any gifts, donations of fees for listings on our site(s). Sia

Columbia Pine cones & botanicals
Our National Forest permit fees directly fund reforestation efforts.

Ecology:

Environmentally Friendly Gifts

How to Have a Green Christmas (this goes for Yule, too)

Humor:

The Night Before Yule, Nordic Style (humor)

Incense and Oils

How to Make Incense from scratch

Incense Making: An Overview

Making Winter Incense - recipes

Winter Nights Incense- recipes

Winter Solstice Incense, Oil & Potpourri recipes from Tribe.net

Multicultural Information - Winter Customs Around the World

Dieties of the Winter Solstice

Greetings & Lore for Yuletide - from the wonderful people at Myth*ing Links. This is a great interfaith page - highly recommended)

Shamanic and Nordic Goddesses

Hogmanay—Then and Now

Protecting Native American Medicine Wheels & Other Sacred Sites

Welcome to Winterval

Winter Customs Around the World

Winter Solstice - detailed, multicultural overview at Wikipedia

Winter Solstice Celebrations at Religious Tolerance.com

Winter Solstice Festivals

Winter Solstice: The Gift Givers (Multi-cultural overview)

Music, Chants & Carols
Editor's Note: Carols originally were association with dancing. The very word 'carol,' traceable to ancient Greek drama, once meant to dance in a ring. But since the frivolity of dance was frowned upon by the medieval church as carols developed, the old connection faded, though not completely. (From the liner notes for A Victorian Christmas, courtesy of Gourd Music)

Boars Head Carol

Meaning behind the verses in The Holly and the Ivy

Pagan Chant Library

Pagan Yule Carol Collection: Pagan words for the traditional carols & new songs for the community.

Revels, Inc - These are called The Christmas Revels but they incorporate older music, costumes and instruments and celebrate the solstice. Pagans and other non-Christians will feel quite at home.

Serpentine Music Productions - Pagan Music Catalog

This Winter's Night (CD) by MotherTongue

Yule Carols (Adapted)

Wassailing: A list of Songs & Chants

Myth & Folklore:

New Grange: Empowering the Salmon of Wisdom

Solar Folklore

News & Information - a Pagan Perspective:

The Wild Hunt Blog

Wren's Nest News at The Witches Voice

Pagan Family Links:

Coloring Books & Word Searches (free downloads)

Family Friendly Yule information from Mystical Cauldron with recipes and easy crafts: 2007, 2006 and 2005

Winter Solstice Activities & Trivia for Kids

Winter - Teacher Resources

Yule Coloring Pages

Pagan Origins of Christmas Traditions

Ancient Egyptian/Christian Holy Families (with notes about the Christmas Tree/Tree of Life)
As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes " Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church...The first evidence of the feast is from Egypt" (about 200 CE)

History of Christmas (Christes Maesse) from the Catholic Encyclopedia

History of Christmas Carols

How Britain Invented Christmas

In This Sign - A wonderful article on the stag and other sacred emblems of Old Europe by Ellin Anderson

It Was Yule Before Christmas

Lapp of Gods - A Visit to the Land of Santa Claus

Nordic Yule & Christmas Traditions (from the Nordic Receipe Archive)

Yule: A Finish website notes that "The Swedish, Norwegian and Danish word for Christmas, jul, the Estonian jõul and the Finnish joulu all have their origin in the old Viking word hjul, meaning sun disk." In the pre-Christian Nordic countries, it was a custom to celebrate the "return of the light" in time of the winter solstice in December, which marked the beginning of longer days...the Swedes, the Norwegians, the Danes and the Icelanders — celebrated the coming of the sun by sacrificing for their gods, eating and drinking well, playing games, burning bonfires and exchanging gifts during a three-day feast.

Mushrooms and Flying Reindeer - Don't try this at home

The Origins of Santa Claus

The Stag and Earth Mother: Pagan Beliefs in Ancient Britain

Recipes

A Winter Solstice Feast - Soup, pesto, and more

A Yule & Solstice Feast

Chili and corn bread for Solstice

Chinese recipes for celebrating Dongzhir

Fruitcake & Mulled Cider

Indian recipes for celebrating Deepavali

Lutefisk - Traditional Nordic Yule dish

Nordic Receipe Archive

Norweigen flatbread

Solar Cookies, Solstice Stew & Pumpkin Bread

Solstice Cookies

Vegan Recipes for Yule

Mulled Cider II

Wintertime Wassial

Yule Food from Scandanavia

Yule Log Cake

Yule Log Cake - Decorating Same - Video at Youtube

Yule Log - Spicy

Yule Logs - Various Kinds

Rituals & Ceremony:

Building An Altar

Cleansing Ritual

Interfaith Yule Ritual & Other Ideas (at Tribe.net)

Yule Log Ceremony

Yule Wreath ritual

Surviving the Holidays

Dealing with Loss - Rememberance Gifts

Getting Through Christmas With Your Non-Pagan Family

Help for Stress during the holidays

Seasonal Depression

Start a Healthy New Holiday Food Tradition

Support Group that welcomes Pagans, Wiccans, Druids and others

Surviving family gatherings

Too Much Of A Good Thing?: Spending & Hording In the Pagan Community

Travel

Sunpath Sacred Site Tours

Winter Solstice at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Winter Solstice Temples Tour - Malta

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From: A Celtic Solstice

My research on Celtic Solstice rituals has provided me with illumination and guidance as to why my life seemed in limbo. Ancient Winter Solstice festivals consisted of four rituals:

1. Rites of mortification, austerity. This is the natural cycle we are in at this time of the year. The sun is in stasis. Sol = "sun," and stice = "still." There is a suspended animation that happens at the end of one cycle (death of the old), before the New Year (birth of the new sun/son) begins. This explains my feeling of limbo, but what is its purpose?

2. Rites of purgation: expelling bad moral or physical habits. Fasts, abstinence; getting rid of the old so the new can flow in. Then, having surrendered to austerity for the purpose of purification (preparing for the new ) we move on to:

3. The rites of invigoration, rejuvenation of energies. Ancients did this through ritual combat (much like stage combat of today); battles between death and life, old and new, winter and spring. And last but not least:

4. The rites of jubilation: comes from an overwhelming sense of relief that death has been beaten and the continuance of life has begun.

I believe that my world was turned upside down recently because it is only within the fertile ground of chaos that creation, renewal, and transformation can happen. I feel that I am on the verge of letting go of old ways that no longer serve me so that I may loose the chains that have held my heart in bondage. I am on the precipice, about to cross the threshold into that portal which is my own heart. I am about to discover a new world, abundant with possibility, as generations of fathers and mothers before me had done. Their journey was physical. Mine is spiritual.

As I shed my old skin and reinvent myself and my life, I also have a sense of advancing my ancestors' legacy: to bring freedom of thought and new ways of being into the present moment; to create my life as the highest form of art, and to share all of this with others in the interest of Unity.

- by Kathryn Preston

The blessings of the season to you and yours,

Sia

Off the Shelf: Books for the Holidays

When Santa Was A Shaman: The Ancient Origins of Santa Claus and the Christmas Tree by Tony Van Renterghem

Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth by Dorothy Morrison

The Solstice Evergreen:The History, Folklore and Origins of the Christmas Tree by Sheryl Ann Karas

Celebrate the Solstice: Honoring the Earth's Seasonal Rhythms through Festival and Ceremony by Richard Heinberg.

Unplug the Christmas Machine by Jo Robinson & Simplify Your Christmas: 100 Ways to Reduce Your Stress and Recapture the Joy of the Holidays by Elaine St. James (These are good books people of all faiths)

DVD's

I strongly recommend Rick Steve's wonderful European Christmas DVD
This lovely, tolerant man includes a great deal of information about the old, Pagan ways of celebrating the holiday and you'll see scenic wonder and lovely old world rituals here that you won't see anywhere else.

Related Articles:

A Celtic Solstice by Kathryn Preston

A Solstice Carol: When PC Means Plain Courtesy

Yule Market in Oslo

Art: Reindeer People by Susan Seddon Boulet






Sia

Updated 12/31/08

Updated 12/13/08

12/20 & 12/21/07 more links added

12/19/07 Content Stolen: The person who stole all these links today has since removed them from her page, albeit in a snarky and unapologetic manner. Let us hope that she has now read the information I sent to her on copyright and the web, and will now create her own content, rather than taking the content created by others without their permission.

Page Updated: 12/01/07

Black Cat Adoptions for Halloween and Samhain

I posted this notice about black cat adoptions to The Witches Voice last week and it is getting a good amount of traffic. I hope this means that some black cats in this area will get good homes. (1) Right now, most shelters and rescue groups are full, yet many other cats (and dogs) need help. The home foreclosure crisis has hurt pets, as well as humans. (2)

Give A Black Cat A Home for Samhain

Lots of black cats and kittens are looking for forever homes just now. Why not add one to your family at Samhain? Below is an announcement from the Cat Adoption Team. CAT runs a No Kill Cat Shelter in Sherwood, Oregon and it is a cheerful, friendly place. (Also check the website for an outreach center in your area) . The adoption fees are listed at the website. All cats come with a health check & shots. They also come spayed or neutered and with their own micrcochip. If you already have a black cat, they have lots of other colors, too! The shelter has up to 400 cats and kittens at any one time so you will have lots to choose from. Some cats are in large cages but most are in the many beautifully decorated rooms (like the Jungle Room or the Lavender Room) where the cats can play with each other, roam, relax, and greet visitors. Please allow time to make your choice, and set aside at least 30 - 40 minutes for the adoption process itself.

BLACK CAT ADOPT-A-THON at C.A.T.

Learn what good luck you’ll have when you adopt a ‘dark’ cat this Halloween. Visit the haunted CAT shelter for some Halloween fun: see CAT staff in costume, enjoy Halloween trick-or-treats, have fun with CAT’s Bobbing for an Pumpkin of an Adoption Discount game, and find the ‘dark’ cat of your dreams. You could get up to $20 off your regular adoption fee today. Spin the Ghost Wheel to receive a shopping discount at CAT’s in-shelter Boutique. No ghosts or goblins, but you are guaranteed to have a ghoul of a good time looking for your next furry feline friend. CAT is open from 11 am – 7 pm on Halloween. Date: October 31st Place: CAT’s Haunted Sherwood Shelter 14175 SW Galbreath Dr.

Event Location: Cat Adoption Team in Hillsboro

Event TIME Details: 11 am - 7 pm

Directions: Please see website for directions to the shelter and for the locations of 8 outreach adoption centers in the Portland Metro area and beyond.

Phone: (503) 925-8903

Website: http://catadoptionteam.org/

Mailing Address: 14175 SW Galbreath Dr, Sherwood, OR 97123

Sia

Related Links:

Petfinder.com helps you find adoptable pets and adoption groups in your area

Related Articles:

Those Lucky Black Cats

Halloween and the Black Cat: Superstitution and Urban Legend

You Call It Hallowe'en...We Call It Samhain

Endnotes:

(1) This is unusual. A lot of shelters won't adopt out black cats for fear of weirdos in some cases and , frankly, a bit of uninformed "Satanic Panic" in others. Sadly, they aren't wrong to worry. Shelter workers really do see more of cats harmed this time of year but not, of course, by Pagans most of whom can best be described as "Cat Slaves". It's best to err on the side of caution. Please remember to keep your cats (especially the black ones) safe and indoors this season, and never, ever "give" a cat away for free. If an adopter can't pay a reasonable amount for the cat, they probably a) can't afford to feed and care for it and b) might want it for the wrong reasons.

(2) The Zwillow Blog offers this advice:

What can you do to help? This abandoned foreclosure pets article offers some things you can do if you suspect a pet might be in danger in a foreclosed home:

• If you know that a home in your neighborhood is being foreclosed upon, why not ask the occupants if they have made plans for their pets?
• Some home owners might willingly turn over their pets to an animal welfare agency that specializes in rescuing stray and abandoned pets, if they knew where to take their pets.
• Leave animal rescue literature with the owners; it’s better to offend and apologize than to do nothing.
• After the owners have moved, check on the home to see if any pets were left behind or tied up in the back yard.
• Call your local humane society to find out how you can help to rescue abandoned pets.
• Call a local real estate agent and ask the neighborhood specialist to inspect the home for abandoned pets. Most will gladly oblige at no obligation.
• In some states, animal cruelty is against the law. If you suspect animal cruelty, call the police.

According to a recent USA Today article, the number of pets being released to animal shelters is also increasing by alarming rates in places where foreclosures are high. These pets are the “luckier” ones – at least they have a chance of being adopted. Some shelters are even creating special programs to help foreclosure victims and their pets. The Pennsylvania SPCA, for instance, offers their “good-home guarantee” program, which promises the shelter will keep the pet as long as it takes to find a new home, free of charge for foreclosure victims.

Lammas Old Style: Sharing, Grace & Gratitude

Blessed Lammas/Lughnasa to you and yours. The video I post today includes a chant from the CD titled The Circle is Cast by Libana. Enjoy.

Meanwhile, Hecate has offered the perfect poem for this holiday season - check it out.

These are offered in the hope that they support your rituals and mediations during the season of harvest.

Some Pagans celebrate this holiday at the beginning of August. Some Circles, mine included, choose to celebrate Lughnasadh AKA Lughnasa Old Style AKA Lamas closer to the middle of the month and over a period of several days. Some celebrate around the dark or full moon or according to astrological charts. The choice is yours.

Bernadette Cahill wrote an excellent article on this holiday for the High Country News last year. It's worth quoting again.

....the July/August festival is now mostly forgotten. Called Lughnasadh (with several spellings) in Celtic lands, the festival became known as Lammas in the Christian churches. Today, pagan groups mark the event, usually calling it Lammas.

Lammas means "loaf-mass,” marking the day loaves of bread were baked from the first grain harvest and offered at church altars. In Celtic lands, it was a feast associated – with conflicting details – with Lugh, the god of light, at the point when the amount of light reaching the northern hemisphere begins significantly to decline.

The four great fire festivals follow each other in the wheel of the year at fairly regular intervals – around 12 weeks or so and more or less midway between the solstices and the equinoxes. This timing, the role of the god of light, and the lighting of fires, all point to a connection with the solar year – and Lughnasadh is often described as part of the wheel of the solar year.

But some authorities say it’s actually one of four lunar festivals that alternate with the solar festivals. Fire lighting up the darkness of the night – like the full moon does – and the ancient Celtic name, which sounds like “lunacy” – indicate this may be correct.

This is one of my favorite holidays because so much of it centers on bounty, prosperity, abundance, sharing and gratitude. Every year around this time, I ask myself a question:

What is my harvest this year, and how am I sharing my gifts with others?

The answer changes year to year, depending on which seeds I sow. This year, in particular, I have much reason for gratitude. In such hard times, that may sound loony to some, but a Green Witch will gather grace (1) and gratitude as carefully as any herb. My list of blessings is a long one and it includes the love of friends and family, the chance to do the work I want and the health and strength I need to make my dreams come true. May it be so for you and yours,

Sia

Endnotes:

Grace (from the ADR): The exercise of love, kindness, mercy, favor; disposition to benefit or serve another; favor bestowed or privilege conferred.

Inherent excellence; any endowment or characteristic fitted to win favor or confer pleasure or benefit

Beauty, physical, intellectual, or moral; loveliness; commonly, easy elegance of manners; perfection of form.

Graceful and beautiful females, sister goddesses, represented by ancient writers as the attendants sometimes of Apollo but oftener of Venus. They were commonly mentioned as three in number; namely, Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, and were regarded as the inspirers of the qualities which give attractiveness to wisdom, love, and social intercourse.