Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

[Serria]

So, I was raised in a Catholic household with a very close-knit extended Catholic family... Now, this isn't any normal Catholic family.... We're giagantic. I have 32 first cousins on my mom's side alone. The reason I'm saying this is because I celebrate Yule on the 21st as a spiritual holiday but Christmas is my family holiday and I can not put into words how much I love the Holiday Season. I'm singing Christmas Carols all over the place. I'm just kinda putting this thread out there for anyone else who absolutely LOVES the Holiday Season!

Yule
Christmas
Hannakuah
Saturnalia(please someone get what this is)
etc.

[Amadi]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

Winter is my favourite time of the year! All my family live local, though we're nowhere near that big it's the only time of year we get to see each other ^^ I've not celebrated the solstice before, but I play to this year. The 25th itself will still remain Xmas day and all the other crazy stuff =3

[iris]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

I love the season I love the songs, and the christmas lights everywhere I love giving presents... I must admit, the way we celebrate christmas eve is not something I enjoy very much. But I absolutely love the season

[Ula]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

I am pretty excited this time of year. Halloween to New Years is all good vibes. I took the week before Thanksgiving off to clean and up the tree. Went and got a live one this year. Making some god and goddess ornaments. I don't care for the music but the rest if great.

[Noir]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

This time of year has always been a favourite of mine. Although I will only be having my mother (maybe an aunt over for the holidays), it's still very much special to me. My mum and I both love to decorate and cook, so it's a great bonding time for us.

Also, It always snows heavily during mid-December here, and after each snow fall during the evening, I'll take a stroll around town plaza or the neighbor; by this time all the seasonal lights & decor have been put up around the light posts and trees, and it's simply breath taking. A sight I look forward to seeing ever year.

[habbalah]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

Although I'm not crazy about this time of year (love looking at snow, hate driving in it), I do enjoy giving gifts to the people I love. I also like being able to spend time with my mother, brother, and sister (the last one is via Skype, because she lives across the country from me).

[Heka]

I dont even like xmas...

[anubisa]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

Besides Samhain, X-Mas is one of my favorite holidays. I celebrate Yule personally, but I have a Catholic family and have to celebrate X-Mas with them. Not that I don't want to. I have good memories of X-Mas when I was little. I still sing X-Mas carols as well.

[Medusa]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

I came home from work at noon! Yeah loong day since 4am. Anywho...it's Santa's village in our home! We have the tree up and the lights are on it now. Inside we have lights around the ceiling rim. And bows up the stairs. All the knick knacks are out on the table at the front door. Our lights are going up outside. And the house smells like pine! Weeeeeeee!

[Carlin]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

I love Winter Solstice. It's a moment of peace inside all the chaos. I love all the lights and sparkly things that are around just now. It snowed today for the first time in about three years here, and I felt like a kid again.

I don't like Christmas itself much, though, which I do celebrate as an extended family day. All the pressure to buy things for people that you know they don't want but you have to do it anyway? All the anticipation for a day that usually turns out to be pretty miserable? It's such a relief when it's over.

My son has decided he no longer wants to celebrate Christmas, only Solstice, so that does make things different this year.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

I'm celebrating Channukah, Yule, and Christmas this year, thanks to my multi-spiritual household.

Roomie is jewish, I'm pagan, and the partner and I love celebrating Christmas anyhow. Three holidays in one!

[Thorbjorn]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

I hate to be a wet blanket in all this, but I absolutely detest Christmas. I used to love it, I used to love decorating and shopping, but in the past few years it's become a colossal pain in the ass. It may be because there are no little ones in the house whom I think Christmas, as traditionally celebrated, really is for. I do love seeing all the lights and decorations. In fact, I think the lights should stay up all through January and February.

I don't begrudge anyone else celebrating it. If I can donate or help someone, I will. I know this is a time of year that is very meaningful to people, and sadly there are people who are alone but don't want to be. My company gives out gift cards to a local supermarket chain. I don't need it, so I give it away. One year to the SPCA so they could buy some things for the animals, one year to an old lady I saw in the store. I wanted to volunteer at a soup kitchen sort of facility, but guess what? There are none in my area. I called the county food bank and local Salvation Army... "nope, we don't do that, don't know of anyone who does". What the ... !?

Anyway, I plan on doing a little something for the Solstice (6:03 pm 12/21). I will probably put some candles and lights outside, and make an offering to the landvaettir, alfar and disir. If local ordinance didn't prohibit it, I'd make a small bonfire. Of course, I could use a kettle type bbq grill, and no one would be the wiser.

[Kay J]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

I am curious about celebrating the Winter Solstice and Yule in the Wicca way. For many years we have always done the traditional on the 25th except for church. I have just started to read about the rituals. How do you separate the two? I love my family and x-mas eve is the day we set aside that is special. Christmas day is a family day and not really celebrated.

[Kyrie]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

I celebrate Yule and Christmas. Usually for Yule I just to a private ritual, but considering that Christmas and Yule have a lot of the same traditions, my fiance and I are doing all of our gift-giving to each other on Yule. We'll still do all of the family stuff on Christmas, but at least we won't have to worry about trying to get everything done on the same day. Besides, the spirit of Christmas seems to have changed since I was growing up. All the excitement has faded away and now it isn't much more than marketing and propaganda. Just another way for big businesses to make money.

The warmth and light of the holiday season, for me, happens at Yule. So I'm glad we have decided to make that our main focus....at least in my home. Now if I could just figure out how to avoid all the family drama of the holidays, I'd be doing okay!

[thalassa]

Re: Yule!!!!/Christmas!!!!!

I am curious about celebrating the Winter Solstice and Yule in the Wicca way. For many years we have always done the traditional on the 25th except for church. I have just started to read about the rituals. How do you separate the two? I love my family and x-mas eve is the day we set aside that is special. Christmas day is a family day and not really celebrated.

When the hubby and I (with the kids) lived nearer to my family, we did Yule at our house, just the four of us, and did Christmas with my family.