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The Assembly of The Elder Troth would like to welcome you to our website. Please click on the links to the left to enter the relevant area of our site. Just as with many organisations and faiths, the Assembly of The Elder Troth too has special days and events which are celebrated by many Asatruar. The links below provide a list of months and the events that you will find occur during those months. We hope you find the information both informative and useful. Yule - Winter Solstice The following work is a product of many years of activity and research into the nature of our ancestral Folkway, and is presented here as a resource for anyone whom is interested in the Germanic Folkway practices involved with Yule. Whilst it is Copyright to Dirk Schmitt, permission is given to post it on online lists, and appear on other websites, or be printed out for non-profit & personaly usage only, as long as this Copyright notice and pre-amble are kept intact. This work has been produced for an on behalf of the AET, and may be found on the AET Website, www.aetaustralia.org/yule.htm Historical Context and Symbology Of all the celebrations of the Germanic Folkway, there is perhaps the greates amount of information, and dis-information, on the Internet with regards this time of the year. The exact nature of ritual activity been lost in the centuries since Christianisation, however, the very fact that Christianity sought to subvert the symbology of Yule, rather than eradicate it totally, means that the vast majority of the symbols which are still used for Christmas, have their origins in Yule. Various countries have held different Yule traditions, and this is a factor of local cultural practices mixed with the process of Christianisation. Yule is identified with the Germanic peoples, but has filtered thoughout the world on the back of Christmas. Symbols such as the Christmas Tree (traditionall a Yule Tree), etc, can be found around the globe. As any good archaeologist will tell you, everything is about context, and Yule is no different. The context that Yule developed within was the coldest and darkest time of the year. The further north, or the higher the altitude, the longer the time-frame for being snow-bound, before the spring thaw would bring back the pastures and the frentic activity of the planting, growing and harvesting seasons would arrive, in quick succession, to return to the dark time of snow and cold. Clearly then certain things are felt to be far more important at that time of year than at others. Symbols of continued life through the dark times, such as the Yule Tree, the evergreen trees of the north whom retained their leaves and braved the cold winds and snow and stayed alive through the whole of the winter were a symbol of the steadfastness of life, even in these harsh conditions, were subverted by Christianity to symbolise the everlasting life of Christ, even though he, according to the Bible, died and rose again. A bit of a difficult symbol to tie in, but done none-the-less. These Yule Trees were decorated with fruits, breads, biscuits, and even candles. Exactly what these were done for is open to speculation, but one could assert that these were offerings to the ancestors and the spirits of the land. Clearly the candles, and Yule-Fire, a symbol of the power of light and warmth to bring back the spring, and the returning sun is vital to the process of Yule and candles are a big part of Yule celebrations all through the north. I know from personal experience as a child that candles were a very big part of the Christmas traditions of Germany, and one could easily infer that such is a derivation from traditional beliefs of our Germanic Ancestors, in the Yule season. The following provides some interesting insights for Yule, and comes from the Dictionary of Old Icelandic by Cleasby Vigfusson:
Clearly eating and drinking, the Yule-Feast was an important part of the celebrations. Traditionally this was associated with a process of sacrifice, something which was banned by Christianity. The Yule Feast and drinking however, managed to be so popular that it was retained. It would appear that from the quote below, that sacrifice was a common practice, and no doubt Yule was a time of great sacrifice. Noteably Yule commenced on the night of slaughter, being the 14th December, which then lasted for 3 days, so a full 10 days prior to modern timing of Christmas. Now, we need to be careful here, that the interpretation of date may in fact be inaccurate, due to changes to the Gregorian Calendar, and so what the author/translator here states regarding December 14, may in fact be inaccrurate. This said, it can clearly be seen that the Yule time-frame was only 3 days, as opposed to the 12 or 13 days of modern Christmas, hence clearly showing that Yule as a festival in and of itself, only ran for 3 days.
Little is recorded of the exact nature of the foodstuffs consumed at Yule, but if we refer to our lore, it is quite likely that meat of various forms was eaten, and indeed, one can infer that this is where the modern concept of consuming Pork at Christmas in the form of ham, or roast, has its origins. From references in Heimskringla it is reasonable to infer that all forms of meat were consumed at the time of feast, including horse, something which was banned by Olaf Tryggvasson punishable by mutilation, a rule which still exists today (try getting horse in Australia for human consumption - it's illegal - a hold over from Christian oppression of our ancestral practices). During the middle of Winter, it is said that Odhinn rides through the land with his wolves, ravens and Valkyries in the Wild Hunt, a procession of dark powers which bring terror to the land. According to traditional sources, one should stay indoors during this dark time, lest you fall to the Wild Hunt and join them. A search on information on the Wild Hunt should elicit far more information than can be presented here. The Dísablót some consider to be synonymous with the Mothers Night, a night for worship of the ancestral mothers also known as the Disir, which is said to commence the 12 Nights of Yule, however, references to shorter Yule celebrations suggest that Yule operated separately and singularly from the notion of having Dísablót within the sphere of Yule itself, and all indications provide that Dísablót actually took place around the time of the Spring Equinox or around Winter Nights (Autumn Equinox). What is interesting to note is that we haven't got a firm concept here for the timing of this particular celebration and hence one can infer that it was held at different times for different sub-cultures of the Germanic peoples. Hence we can also consider that it is really up to the individual to determine when this celebration is most appropriate. Modern Thoughts and Considerations Quite clearly there are many elements to Yule as it is expressed in the modern world, and we are hard pressed to determine what is traditional and what is not. Hence, a certain amount of thought and consideration needs to go into Yule celebrations by those holding the celebration. Naturally, the first consideration is that of mundane legal considerations, such as it being illegal to purchase horse for human consumption in Australia. Hiring halls and such is often difficult due to restrictions in the consumption of alcohol, and any number of other considerations need to be taken into account. Will the event be open or closed? Whom will you invite, etc? For our ancestors, Yule occurred at a time when the darkest hour was truly dark. They were in all probability snowed in, and the celebration of Yule was a bright spot on their year, and kept them from getting too dispondant about the lack of light and the ability to go outside without putting on layers and layers of additional clothing. In Australia, even in the most elevated and cold areas, the probability that you will get snowed in for six months, is, well, so far from likely that it is beyond conception. So, what does Yule hold as relevance to we whom live in Australia? Indeed, in, say, a place like Darwin, the average winter temperature being around the low 30 degrees celcius, the only difference is the relative humidity and amount of rain. Other areas in Australia are similar, and in a country where the lowest temperatures get into the single minus figures, our Yule seems a far cry from that to be found in the lands of our ancestors. Do we then look upon Yule differently, especially considering that if one were to celebrate it at the correct Calendar time, it would be the middle of Summer, a ridiculous situation to be sure. So, we need to connect with the spirit of Yule, the core beliefs and symbolism. So, we've looked at what Yule was traditionally, a time to enjoy light and laughter, food and fun in the darkest depths of winter. So what then should Yule be for us? Well, astonishingly enough we Aussies have managed to make Christmas in Australia, into Yule. A time when we get together, cook meat on a BBQ and drink. Amazing how these things work, and how our cultural traditions stick, or perhaps not so amazing, when you consider that such things have been a part of our ancestral traditions long before Christianity got its hooks into our ancestors. Yule then, is clearly about people and relationships. Our relationships with one another, our gods and goddesses, our ancestors and the spririts of the land. It is a time for all to come together in fun and merriment to share food brought by all, to share drink brought by all, and to confirm and build our friendships and kinships in an atmosphere of convivial enjoyment. Guarding against the darkness, and watching over the folk is less of a consideration, although, some things are still important, such as ensuring that people have a warm place to sleep and other such considerations.
Ritual Processes Yule rituals can be found in many forms, and indeed, it depends entirely upon ones social situation, and other factors as to how you'll hold your own Yule ritual. One can go for a very formalised structured format, or something a bit more free flowing and easy to accommodate. You'll find following this pre-amble a number of versions of the Yule ritual, to help inspire you and give you some idea of ways of working. The term for ritual amongst our ancestors is Blót, typically translated as blood, with blood being a vital part of the ritual processes of our ancestors which included sacrifice as a matter of common practice. The usage of sacrifice was designed to turn the natural process of slaughtering an animal into a sacred event, with the animal first being made *Wihaz, and then *Hailagaz. The process of animal sacrifice and butchering is something which few are capable of doing with the skill and ability of our ancestors and as such we have eschewed the traditional method and gone for using things which are symbolic. More often than not this is Mead, a fermented honey drink which has special significance in our ancestral traditions, being known as a drink to create inspiration in the drinker. Other things that can be used are ale, beer, fruit juice (especially apple), milk, etc. It is at the discretion of the people undertaking the ritual as to how they will conduct it, typically a single person, termed a Goði or Gyðja (priest or priestess) will officiate, but others can work together to bring other parts of the ritual process together, undertaking such elements as doing a reading, or passing the horn around, etc. A note on the process of Hamarr Hallowing. It should be noted that there is no historical precedent for this format of Hallowing and it is indeed an adaptation of the Wiccan calling of the Watchtowers, hence you are welcome to use it or not as you will. Elaborate Yule Ritual - Ritual Process done in one process Hallowing
Rede
Call
Loading
Drinking
Blessing
Giving
Leaving
Lesser Yule Ritual
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