Creepy Christmas?! (Image found on Tumblr)
For those of you who aren't familiar with the word, Yule or Yuletide ("Yule time") is a Pagan religious festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later being absorbed into and equated with the Christian festival of Christmas. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indigenous Germanic month names Ærra Jéola (Before Yule) or Jiuli and Æftera Jéola (After Yule). Scholars have also connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt and the Norse god Odin.
Terms with an etymological equivalent to Yule are used in the Nordic countries for Christmas with its religious rites, but also for the holidays of this season. "Yule" is also used to a lesser extent in English-speaking countries to refer to Christmas. Customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule.
What I didn't know about it was that the Yule-tide period could last around two months in length, falling along the end of the modern calendar year between what is now mid-November and early January. The festivities were so important that, in the Svarfdæla saga there's a story in which a berserker put off a duel until three days after Yule to honour the sanctity of the holiday!
So, my dear folks who still bother to read this blog: I wish you a very merry Christmas, and may the light of God bless us all!
Terms with an etymological equivalent to Yule are used in the Nordic countries for Christmas with its religious rites, but also for the holidays of this season. "Yule" is also used to a lesser extent in English-speaking countries to refer to Christmas. Customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule.
What I didn't know about it was that the Yule-tide period could last around two months in length, falling along the end of the modern calendar year between what is now mid-November and early January. The festivities were so important that, in the Svarfdæla saga there's a story in which a berserker put off a duel until three days after Yule to honour the sanctity of the holiday!
So, my dear folks who still bother to read this blog: I wish you a very merry Christmas, and may the light of God bless us all!
~Ally
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