Yuletide: A Compendium
Over the years, I’ve posted quite a bit about my Atheopagan Yule traditions. I thought I’d pull links to them together here for easy reference.
Yule, overlapping so heavily with the Christian/secular holiday of Christmas, is a time when many of our Pagan traditions are widespread, and with many old threads of lore and practice layered over one another. Whether your household goes all out, with a tree and gifts and parties and the Holly King in his guise as Saint Nicholas, or simply lights candles to call back the light into the world, it is a time of both hope and fear, a time for reflection on what has gone before, a time for thinking about new projects and initiatives.
Personally, I like to do All The Things except buying and receiving gifts. The commercial consumption frenzy at this time of year really offends me (except for children, where I feel it is simply cruel to deny them what they see their peers experiencing every year), and I have enough stuff, so we dispense with that piece. But I like to drink the nog and mulled wine and seasonal ales, and erect and decorate a tree, and burn a Yule log with wishes for the new year, and eat too much and too well, and watch Hogfather, and sing carols (including the Atheopagan filks I’ve included in the hymnal) and listen to Renaissance Christmas music (This is my favorite album)…or jazz Christmas music…and visit with dear friends. And to tell ghost stories on Solstice night–an old tradition I hope will come back into fashion.
Plus, of course, a Yule ritual and feast thereafter.
So here are the various posts I’ve made on Yule practices, rituals and traditions over the years, with some Yuletide poetry as well. I hope they serve you in good stead and that yours is a warm, comfortable, joyous and love-filled Yuletide season.
An Atheopagan Life: November and December
The Yule Log: a Winter Solstice Ritual
Mulled Wine: A Poem for the Yuletide Season
Atheopagan “Advent” Calendar: a fun project for the holidays
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Thanks for sharing. Renaissance music seems so Christmassy. My favourite is the Nonesuch version of Psallite, Unigenito. Can’t find it but this comes close https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY1daVNEJyk
Such a wondrous season – actually they all are!
“Wondrous” – I remember us discussing some semantic differences between Pantheism and Atheopaganism where you preferred “sacred” to “divine”.
How about “Wondrous” instead?
Hi Mark, I thought you would like this, if you haven’t already seen it: the Venn Diagram of Yuletide traditions.
Also, you might like this collection of solstice viewing that I put together, including my story, The Gift of Naughtiness.
Oh my! Thanks for the Jazz Christmas music links. I find that Fourplay and Manheim Steamroller have the best holiday music, but I’ll be adding Oscar Peterson to my list.
Certainly! Enjoy!