The Twelve Days of Yule

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...


Wait. That's not quite right. I don't celebrate Christmas.

The Twelve Days of Christmas, possibly one of the most annoying carols ever (definitely up there with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer), can be traced back to the late 1700's as a memory and forfeit game. At least, that's about all historians can agree on, though some believe it may be French in origin.

The carol itself refers to the oft-forgotten Christian tradition of the Twelve Days of Christmas - which begins the night of December 25th and runs until January 6th - spanning the supposed time of Christ's birth and ending upon the arrival of the Three Kings.

(Advent, on the other hand, is the number of weeks preceding Christmas. Advent has seen a surge in popularity in recent years with the interest in fun and festive advent calendars.)

Thanks to the Christmas Creep and the commercial calendar treating the 25th as the last day of marketing for the holiday season, people sometimes consider December 14th as the beginning of the Twelvetide festivities. Which is....wrong. But I digress.

Yule, Jul, or Jól?

The Germanic mid-winter festival of Yule dates back much further than Christmas and according to the Norse Saga of Hakon the Good, Yule typically lasted for three days beginning on the solstice and ended more or less 'when the ale ran out'. Probably not for an entire twelve days, if we believe any of the tales on how much these Germanic heathens enjoyed their booze.

But modern pagans seeking to blend old Yule traditions with today's Christmas trappings have taken to celebrating the Twelve Days of Yule - often beginning on the winter solstice and ending with the start of the new year.

From Beginning to End

The problem with cultures that favored oral storytelling and never wrote anything down is that so much of history is lost and those invading cultures that did document rituals or daily habits can't be fully trusted. That said, it's hard to pinpoint exactly how pagans and heathens back in the day observed Yule.

What we do know is that the festivities began on Mother's Night or with the Winter Solstice and while a lot of pagans do not have any specific observances between that and New Years Day, some choose to light a candle or honor a different deity all twelve days of Yule.

New Traditions

I love the idea of Advent. There's something to be said for the anticipation of counting down to a big event or holiday, so even as a witch this is something I observe. I'm not sure my Advent Calendar from David's Tea is traditional, but neither are my beliefs or practices.

I just think it's silly that we put away our festive mood and get on with life as usual the morning of the 26th when we could really keep the party going well into the beginning of the new year. And that's how I intend to do it going forward.

I can celebrate the Solstice my way (and maybe incorporate some of those fascinating Mother's Night elements as well) before taking the time to honor my loved ones by observing Christmas with them. Maybe I'll revive some old Victorian holiday traditions and read ghost stories by the crackling (fake) fire to while away the last few days of the year before kicking off 2020 in style.

With booze. Of course.