I still believe

This was written in December 2005, some four months after Hurricane Katrina. I couldn’t sleep last night, so many things on my mind and I couldn’t shut it off. I had a moment of panic when I realized it was Christmas Eve and I hadn’t bestowed a single thought on a certain jolly old elf. […]

My Personal Yule Ritual

I’m trying to write a post on the legend of the Holly King and the Oak King, but it’s slow going… most of the explanations I’ve read tend toward the scholarly – i.e., boring – and I’d rather write something you’ll enjoy reading. In the interim, if you don’t mind being bored a little, just […]

The Yule Log

The Yule Log started out, we believe, as part of Norse Winter Solstice celebrations. Back then, the longhouse would have a huge fireplace, and the flooring would be either stone or packed earth. Tradition says that the Yule Log began as a huge log, big enough to burn for the entire twelve-day festival. One end […]

Here We Come A-Wassailing

The word “wassail” comes from the Middle English toast waes hael – “good health”. It refers both to a drink and a pair of customs associated with the drink. The drink itself started out as something similar to mulled cider, but there were plenty of regional variations, and even now, if you Google “wassail recipes”, […]

The Legend of the Mistletoe

Frigga, queen of the Aesir gods, wife of Odin, loved all her children; but most of all she loved her son Baldur, called the Beautiful, god of vegetation and the Sun. So great was her love for him that she went through the whole world and made every thing promise that it would never harm […]

What is Yule?

What is Yule? Yule is the Pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice. What is the Winter Solstice? “Solstice” is a Latin word that means “sun-standing-still”. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Why is it significant? To our ancestors, living in a largely agrarian society, the Winter Solstice […]