Druidus
Keeper of the Grove
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]Alban Arthuan[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]The exact date varies from year to year. It mostly occurs between the 20th and 23rd of December. [/font]
Year
Winter solstice (UT)
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]1999[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-22 @ 07:44[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]2000[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-21 @ 13:37[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]2001[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-21 @ 19:21[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]2002[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-22 @ 01:14[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]2003[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-22 @ 07:03[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]2004[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-21 @ 12:41[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]2005[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-21 @ 18:30[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]2006[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-22 @ 00:20[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]2007[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-22 @ 06:09[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]2008[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-21 @ 11:59[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]2009[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]DEC-21 @ 17:49[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]The above dates and times from 1999 to 2003 are as accurate as the astronomical calculations on The Dome of the Sky web site. The dates and times from 2004 to 2009 were taken from Eric Weisstein's Treasure Trove of Astronomy. The latter are based on the Scientific Astronomer computer program which typically gives times that differ up to 15 minutes from the calculations of the U.S. Naval Observatory. Times are in UT (Universal Time). This used to be called Greenwich Mean Time or GMT. In North America, you can find your local time by subtracting:[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]3 hours 30 minutes for Newfoundland TIME[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]4 hours for ATLANTIC TIME[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]5 hours for EASTERN STANDARD TIME[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]6 hours for CENTRAL STANDARD TIME[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]7 hours for MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME[/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]8 hours for PACIFIC STANDARD TIME[/font][font=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]The winter solstice for 1999 was rather special. It involved the coincidence of the solstice, full moon and lunar perigee on the same date. (The moon's orbit around the earth is not circular; it is elliptical. "Perigee" simply means the point in the moon's orbit where it is closest to earth.) At this solstice, the moon was both full and at its maximum size (about 14% larger that at its minimum size). The last time that this happened was in 1866. The following full moon on 2000-JAN-21 was also unusual - it was eclipsed.[/font]
Yule, (pronounced Yeu-elle) is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays just a little longer in the sky. Much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider.
Children were escorted from house to house with gifts of clove spiked apples and oranges which were laid in baskets of evergreen boughs and wheat stalks dusted with flour. The apples and oranges represented the sun, the boughs were symbolic of immortality, the wheat stalks portrayed the harvest, and the flour was accomplishment of triumph, light, and life. Holly, mistletoe, and ivy not only decorated the outside, but also the inside of homes. It was to extend invitation to Nature Sprites to come and join the celebration. A sprig of Holly was kept near the door all year long as a constant invitation for good fortune to pay visit to the residents.
The ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the festival. In accordance to tradition, the log must either have been harvested from the householder's land, or given as a gift... it must never have been bought. Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted with flour before set ablaze be a piece of last years log, (held onto for just this purpose). The log would burn throughout the night, then smolder for 12 days after before being ceremonially put out. Ash is the traditional wood of the Yule log. It is the sacred world tree of the Teutons, known as Yggdrasil. An herb of the Sun, Ash brings light into the hearth at the Solstice.
A different type of Yule log, and perhaps one more suitable for modern practitioners would be the type that is used as a base to hold three candles. Find a smaller branch of oak or pine, and flatten one side so it sets upright. Drill three holes in the top side to hold red, green, and white (season), green, gold, and black (the Sun God), or white, red, and black (the Great Goddess). Continue to decorate with greenery, red and gold bows, rosebuds, cloves, and dust with flour.
Deities of Yule are all Newborn Gods, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, and Triple Goddesses. The best known would be the Dagda, and Brighid, the daughter of the Dagda. Brighid taught the smiths the arts of fire tending and the secrets of metal work. Brighid's flame, like the flame of the new light, pierces the darkness of the spirit and mind, while the Daghda's cauldron assures that Nature will always provide for all the children. Symbolism of Alban Arthuan:
Rebirth of the Sun, the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice, Introspect, Planning for the Future. Symbols of Alban Arthuan:
Yule log, or small Yule log with 3 candles, evergreen boughs or wreaths, holly, mistletoe hung in doorways, gold pillar candles, baskets of clove studded fruit, a simmering pot of wassail, poinsettias, "Christmas" cactus. Herbs of Alban Arthuan:
Bayberry, blessed thistle, evergreen, frankincense holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage, yellow cedar. Foods of Alban Arthuan:
Cookies and caraway cakes soaked in cider, fruits, nuts, pork dishes, turkey, eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb's wool (ale, sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples). Incense of Alban Arthuan:
Pine, cedar, bayberry, cinnamon. Colors of Alban Arthuan:
Red, green, gold, white, silver, yellow, orange.Stones of Alban Arthuan:
Rubies, bloodstones, garnets, emeralds, diamonds. Activities of Alban Arthuan:
Caroling, wassailing the trees, burning the Yule log, decorating the Yule tree, exchanging of presents, kissing under the mistletoe, honoring Kriss Kringle, the Germanic Pagan God of Yule Spellworkings of Alban Arthuan:
Peace, harmony, love, and increased happiness. Deities of Alban Arthuan:
Goddesses-Brighid, Isis, Demeter, Dannu (Gaea), Diana, The Great Mother. Gods-Apollo, Ra, Odin, Lugh, The Oak King, The Horned One, The Green Man, The Divine Child, Mabon.
Other Names:
Yule, Gehul, Haul, Midwinter, Winter Rite