Sabbats

by Gordon Ireland

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Yule, pronounced "you all", or jol is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Yule, in Old Norse means, Wheel. As the Wheel of the Year is significant in pagan culture, it is important to note that Yule of the year means wheel. Which, if having read the previous article, Samhain, in the 99, October issue of The Seeker, it was noted that Samhain, may not have been the Celtic New Year, but rather Yule. Yule, starting with the birth of God, and a celebration of beginning of longer days, makes sense as the beginning of the New Year.

Yule, of all the Sabbats, is the one that causes the most confusion among those who follow the pagan path. Specifically those who are new to the path and are breaking away from their Christian faith and way of life. Yule, is, has, and always will be a pagan holiday. With that said, I guess I need to further elaborate.

Yule has many pagan elements and more pagan history in it's foundation and pagan rites than Christian has. Yule has been celebrated since the beginning of time in the Northern Hemisphere. Many of the cultures located in the Northern Hemisphere celebrate Yule, all with a common theme, the birth of a God. Most of these Gods are associated with the Sun or with death and re-birth. Yule, like Christmas, celebrates the birth of God. Several pagan Gods, have Yule as their birth date:

Ra

Cronos

Lugh

Mirthra

Odin

This list is my no means complete, but does give you a general idea, that more than one God has celebrated his birthday during Yule. However, the Roman God Mirthra plays a most important role in the preservation of Yule, and it's other name, Christmas.

Approximately in the year 312, Constantine, Emperor of Rome, declared Rome Christian. This however was not done because Constantine was Christian, he was not baptized until 337, it was more do to the fact, that Rome was declining, and Constantine saw in Christian religion, what Rome lacked, moral fortitude and the ability to self organize. To attempt to persuade his fellow pagan Romans, he choose Mirthra's birthday (Yule) as the same a Jesus', and from there just let human nature take its course. It didn't hurt that after many hard fought battles, of which he won, had all armor and shields painted with Christian symbols, and that he told the populace that the Christian God granted Rome these Victories. In Rome, whoever controlled the Army controlled Rome. Which raises the question of confusion again. Did the Christians steal Yule, or did they preserve it for us? It is important to understand that while historical facts and data are important, they are not necessary to enjoy the Sabbat. If one believes that Yule is a celebration of the coming of light, warmth, and the birth of (insert god of your choice) that whether we call it Christmas, Yule or the Winter Solstice is unimportant. Yule is the one Sabbat that allows us to celebrate with other faiths without compromising our own. There are many pagan/pre-Christian customs that are still part of the Christmas celebration. The giving of gifts was first founded in Rome to celebrate Saturn's Festival. The use of jingle balls is and Old Norse custom to drive away the evil spirits, in a time and place where night was longer than day. Mistole is an old Celtic custom and is commonly part of every household during Yule. The wreath, the complete circle, representing the Wheel of the year, is also still a custom.

Which brings us to the Yule tree. The tree of choice is the Fir, Evergreen or Pine. The reasons these particular trees where probably use is because that these where the only trees that were considered to be still alive, eternal. According to McCoy, these trees where sacred among the Druids, as they were the trees that didn't die. The Druids would decorate the trees with images that represented their wants and desires for the coming year.

It should be noted that while Yule is considered a primarily Christian Holiday, it does not do anyone any good, declaring their theft. Rather we should be thankful that they have done such a great job of preserving it for us, and relish the fact that you know, and understand, why they decorate the tree, give gifts, and use bells. It might make Yule at the homestead easier on those families of mixed religion philosophies. So when someone wishes you a "Merry Christmas", don't tell them I am not a Christian but rather say, "Merry Yule to you also", and know that Jesus wasn't a bad guy, but rather in a very elite group of Gods, who all celebrate their Birthday on Yule.

Ritual

The Yule ritual of course would involve a Yule log. As stated earlier, Yule logs are best made of Pine, Fir or Evergreen. The custom of lighting a Yule log is the classic representation of the birth of a God from the fire of the Mother.

Tools:

Boline

Chalk

Myrrh oil

Sea Salt

Wine

One candle- green

Wood matches

First, one needs to say a prayer of thanks to the spirit of the tree before cutting it down. (It is always best if you can cut down your own tree if possible.) After you cut down the tree, cut approximately 1-2 feet for the log. From the bottom, leave the rest intact to decorate.

Depending upon which ritual tools you have, you can either take a piece of chalk, and draw the symbol of the sun on the log. Or take you Boline and carve a representation of the sun.

Place the log in your fire place or burning pit. Open a circle around it, calling the four corners, starting with the

South: (air) rub the oil onto the carved sun figure, saying: "The Wheel has turned, full circle, we call you back to warm us."

West: (water) pour the wine on the log, saying: "You, who have died, is now reborn."

North: (earth) sprinkling salt over the log, saying: "Since time began we celebrate the birth of God. The darkest of nights, gives birth to the new sun."

East: (fire) Taking the wood match light the fire, saying: "I light this fire in honor of all, Thank you God for the light you will bring us, thank you mother for the warmth of you son. Live within us."

"So mote it be!"

Close circle. This ceremony can be conducted using candles, either by themselves of by placing the candles on top of the Yule log. Though the latter can be a fire hazard and the usual precautions should be taken.

Preheat over to 300 F. Grease and line a jellyroll pan with waxed paper. Mix the cake according to package instructions and pour a thin layer-no more than 1/4 inch thick-into the prepared jelly roll pan. Bake the cake until just underdone. If you can't tell by looking then use the knife test. When the knife emerges not quite clean from the center or the cake, and when a light touch does not bounce back easily, it need to come out. Check the cake a 7 minutes and then every 2 minutes after that. Do NOT over-bake or the dough will be dry and hard to work with. Remove the cake from the over and let it cool slightly. The remove the cake from the pan by lifting out the wax paper. With the dark frosting, coat the top of the cake with toothpicks and let it cook for about 5 more minutes. Cool the cake for 30 minutes, and then frost it with the dark brown icing. Next, take the tubes of colored cake decorating frosting and make holly and mistletoe over the top. You can also use artificial greenery until it is time to eat the cake. To finish, take a toothpick and etch lines into the frosting to resemble tree back. (McCoy, page 70)

Combine egg yolks, sugar, and spices in top of a double broiler. Place over simmering water and cook, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, until mixture reaches 165. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Combine yolk mixture, egg whites, apricot nectar, half-and half, evaporated mile, and rum flavoring: beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Pour chilled not into serving cups and sprinkle with orange rind, if desired. Yield: 2 quarts

Put the leg of lamb on a grid in a roasting pan and pour (2 pints) of water into the pan. You can also put the Leg of Lamb in a roasting bag without a liquid. Place into oven. Heat over to 150-175 de. C (280-325 de. F) And roast for one hour for each kilo (2 lb.) of weight. Baste occasionally with the stock from the roasting pan. For the last half-hour of cooking switch on the grill, (US broiler) and grill the Leg of Lamb on both sides. If you use a roasting bag, remove it from the bag for the last half-hour and grill in the same way.

Strain the stock into a casserole and skim off the fat. Thicken the sauce with flour, or your favorite thickening, season and color with gravy browning. Add the cream and remove from the heat. Serve with your choice of vegetables and caramel potatoes.

Beltane