Pagans - what are your Yule traditions?

[SuperBunny]

I'm just being nosey really - I'd love to hear what other people do.

And, how do you deal with christmas?

LOL the pagans dont do posts eh,

Well I am a christian and I don't celebrate christmas as it is a pagan celebration. It is really the winter solstice whitewashed by the catholic church because they failed to 'stamp out' pagan practices so they decided to incorporate them like with Easter and All saints day.

Jesus was a Jew and observed Jewish festivals.

The Yule log is not christian, nor are christmas trees, the golden balls that you hang on the tree are supposed to be from nimrod worship. The wreaths and father xmas is also pagan.

Prob not want you wanted but felt sorry for no posts.

Will not be returning here as I will now be flamed by christians and pagans alike LOL

Er, thanks

I do all the things you mentioned - Yule tree, Yule log and candles and stuff. I hoped someone might come along with, "Ooo, we do X, Y & Z and it's fab" but alas.

Thanks for posting!

Do you really not observe christmas at all? Not even a tiny little thought about baby Jesus? I'm curious.

Beeper - why on earth would you be flamed? Your post was both interesting and informative

golden balls?

okay -honey to the bee

Yes Golden Balls!!!!

Firstly, let me say this you know where I am.

I am a bible following christian who leans towards the Jewish roots of the faith. I am what you might call 'fundamental'. So if you choose to follow the link I will put up and read all of it, please don't flame me, I know its radical but thats just where my journey has brought me. I agree with everything except the birthday thing.

Happy Reading....should you choose the blue pill or whatever it was in the matrix.

blue pill

OK I've read some of that and I have a question - are Catholics not Christians? I always thought they were.

I've read some more now. This time I have an observation - I read a very thought provoking Christian thing about Fr Xmas; to paraphrase hugely it said that there was nothing wrong with children believing in him when they were very young, as it was training/practise for faith. Yes we all learn that Fr Xmas doesn't really exist and, some years later, that he derives from Nicholas (3rd/4th century?) and his doings, which is how the rewarding good children began; but we don't learn that Jesus didn't exist or that God doesn't in the same way because no one knows about God and Jesus certainly did exist.

Sorry to have hijacked your thread Superbunny. I would be really interested to know what pagans do too.

Thread hijack sorry.

The catholic thing well thats another discussion, i think what he meant was he was not going to accept unbiblical teachings from the catholic church.

F xmas. well its all about keeping the commandments of Jesus and about 'not lying'.

A friend of mine told her son when he was 8 no f-xmas he was devastated that she had lied to him and its affected the level of trust they had. She is not a christian.

My DS has always hated f-xmas anyway, I only became a christian when he was 3, and we did xmas until he was 6 with no f-xmas.

Fascinating discussion. No help to me but interesting nonetheless.

One last try... any pagans around?

Hi here I am in my pagan hat. With the Green Willow!!

At Yule we do all the tradition stuff that is part of our society's celebration of a Mid-Winter festival.... Tree, prezzies, crackers, stockings, santa, Cake and Pudding, Mince Pies etc etc.

Also carols and christmas songs, we attend a Christmas service so the children understand why it's important for Christians.

We then have a ritual in which we recognise that there is the promise of rebirth in the darkness of mid winter.

www.goddessgift.com/pandora's_box/winter-solstice.htm

Winter Solstice
The Winter Solstice is a magical season . . . one that marks the journey from this year to the next, journeys of the spirit from one world to the next, and the magic of birth, death, and rebirth. The longest night of the year (December 21 in the Northern hemisphere), is reborn as the start of the solar year and accompanied by festivals of light to mark the rebirth of the Sun. In ancient Europe, this night of darkness grew from the myths of the Norse goddess Frigga who sat at her spinning wheel weaving the fates, and the celebration was called Yule, from the Norse word Jul, meaning wheel. The Christmas wreath, a symbol adapted from Frigga's "Wheel of Fate", reminds us of the cycle of the seasons and the continuity of life.

www.spiralgoddess.com/DMWinterRiv.html

www.celticmoon.co.uk/

I'm sure everyone does their own thing.
The best part for me is being with friends and family, even when we aren't formally celebrating that feels like a ritual in my heart.

I'm new here. Been lurking for a while but I keep finding messages I want to add posts too...so

I regard myself as pagan/polytheist with leanings towards a druid direction. Previously I would have said Christian but I have have a problem with the denying other faiths as invalid so technically can't be Christian.

We do Christmas here. I love it. Tree, greenery, cake, pudding, crackers, presents etc. We have Christmas dinner on Christmas day as many others do. However I know in my heart why I am doing it so my ritual is often a silent/mindful one. SInce I starting walking this path we now have some kind of solstice thing which starts it all off. For me thats when the festivities start. This year we have friends coming for a christmas celebration. It is also the day I bring holly etc in from the garden. For me 25th December brings back the light. I read somewhere that in ancient times that following solstice when the sun stands still, by the 25th it can be noticed that the light is increasing. I can honour the child concept because most paths have a festival of light returning from dark and so to my mind all seem to have a similar mythology. This seems natural to me. I can't say what anyone else in my household thinks. That is up to them. I try to give my son balanced explanations if he asks why we do certain things. He will decide for himself when he is older. Hopefully he and his sister will appreciate the rituals that lead up to the festivities as family traditions whatever reason they give to them in the future.

Woohoo! I'm so glad you posted

We do a Yule dinner/ little ritual and talk about the solstice on the 21st and the rest is pretty much like both of yours. I go to a candlelight service on Christmas Eve, because I have always done and because I love the music and the story of Christmas even if it is not exactly what I believe.

Thanks for the links.

I need to find a Yule Log!

I have known my path was a pagan one for many years but untill 2007 I lived with my family who did not share my views, so I looking forward to a true traditional yule celebration when I moved out. It was not to be as I fell pregant and what would have been my first full yule but instend ended up with a big family frist christmas with my son and constant questions for older members of the family on when my son would be christened (which will not be happening unless he wants to when he is able to make his own mind up)
I have to say a big thank you to the people on this thread untill now I had felt that I was cheating some how celebrating christmas. I am much happier thinking of yule as the start of chanage and the 25th being when the first real chanage in day light begins to show and celebrating that. So this year Im planing a tradtional yule meal for the three of us at home and treating it as the start of a season of change and if we can get away with it a small tradtional christmasday full of home made presents, holly decoration and a big home made lasagna for tea.
Thank you helping my not feeling so much of a cheat

am liking and very interested in the daylight changing of the 25th!!! I always get really down in winter, and my birthday is the 8th of january (which i have always loathed the timiong of). So i could look at itthat by the time my birthday comes, we are on our way further into spring!!!

MincePirate I love your name!!

i'm sure I could be accused of being pick and mix in my spirituality but I'm fine with that. I feel that some things are cultural, societal and others have a deep meaning for me.

To be with people you love is the best thing and much of my celebration will be in thanks of that.

My mum died this year so it will be bittersweet and we'll all think of her and talk about her funny ways.

Blessings and merry part, I'm off to bed.

Said very well Earthymama.

When I changed direction and started reading about my new path - witch/wicca - ish to begin with - I was delighted I could still do the things I really like about the festive season because they were pagan in origin in the first place. And as I would sort of call my self a hedgedruid I also pick and mix. Not choosing what I like but what holds most truth for me, and as earthymama said, the people you love.

Going back to superbunnies original post about dealing with christmas....

I prefer cards that don't have merry christmas on the front usually pick stars, trees, animals. Have made my own in the past usually with festive wishes written on or best wishes for the festive season. Covers a variety of things and embraces everyone without giving away your position if you are a pagan on the quiet

I tend not to buy foiled wrapping paper and avoid papers with Merry Chrismtas on. Preferring snowflakes or something. I can't ditch the wrapping entirely. I like doing it, the patterns cheer me up and I myself love opening presents!!! Last year we had recycled paper from oxfam. This year I bought sheets of paper from our local market trader.

We had brown recycled paper last year and DP just announced there is some left so that's that.

Did you see River Cottage Christmas recently? Hugh F-W met up with a local witch and they 'dowsed' a Yule log for him.

I was out on this glorious day and thought i'd like to do that, so may be on a quest this weeekend.

I used to be a born again christian but I am all right now

Sorry.

I don't know what I would call myself now, but I am very turned off by organised religion as a whole. Looking at it its all the pagain bits of the Christmas season I do. I do go to the Christmas eve service, with the inlaws, keeps them happy and I do lke the atmosphere. It is at a church where I actually respect the minister very much, but enough about that.

I also avaid religious imagery on cards etc and really just enjoy the seaason. Like to find out more about pagan rituals too.

We have a Solstice dinner (and then sometimes Christmas dinner with family as well). so much of "Christmas" is pagan that I find I don't have to dither too much about it iykwim. Mithras (Roman) was actually said to be born on Dec 25th - theologians put Jesus' birth somewhere around August I believe.

Dh and I like to play a lot of music about the sun just to have fun. Like Sunshine on my shoulder, Sunny, Sunshine Superman, etc

I avoid cards, wrapping paper etc with an overtly Christian theme but as Mary is also considered a goddess by some I have no problem with Madonna and Child type things.

We talk about the days getting longer, etc. and we do Santa Claus. I have done a Yule log in the past as well.

Oh, I'm so glad people have added to this thread.

We made cards this year with snowflakes on the front and printed holly leaves on brown paper to wrap our gifts in. A parcel arrived today from my mum and contained a mini nativity scene! Oh well, DS is quite taken with babies at the moment and I am happy for him to know the Christmas story.

Thanks for posting more.

We're having an early Yule celebration this week