YULE Winter solstice Gwyl Canol Gaeaf /|\
June 22010
Gwyl Canol Gaeaf (Winter Solstice) Yule
Druid ar Môn
22nd DEC 2007
Holly King / Santa Claus: There are as many theories of a “historical” Santa Clause (or “Saint Nicholas”) as there are ethnic cultures. As an Keltic folk archetype however, the old man wreathed in holly is the Holly King. He represents the “waning year”, the “old year”, or the “dark half” of the year. At winter solstice the Oak King (or the Sun, or the New Year) is born, and the Holly King’s reign is over.
Mistletoe: The mistletoe was sacred to the Druids. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe may derive from the custom of enemies refraining from killing each other if they should happen to meet under its sacred branches. Presumably the custom became friendlier and friendlier with time. Other scholars say that the lusty connotations of the plant derive from the belief that the clusters of white translucent berries were drops of the God’s (or the Oak King’s) semen. The Oak King takes the place of the Holly King, and rules the waxing year, or the “New Year
Candles: The extinguishing of candles at winter solstice rituals (including Amaltheia’s) represents the deep darkness of the longest night. Their relighting shows us that the light will return to us. In the moments of total darkness, we are “between the worlds”: between the old year’s death and the new year’s conception. Yule Log:
The word “yule” is from the Saxon word for “wheel”. The Yule Log,O.E. geol, geola “Christmas Day, Christmastide,” from O.N. jol (pl.), a heathen feast, later taken over by Christianity, of unknown origin. The O.E. (Anglian) cognate giuli was the Anglo-Saxons’ name for a two-month midwinter season corresponding to Roman December and January, a time of important feasts but not itself a festival.
Burned at Midwinter, is a magical bridge between one year and the next. The fire under the Yule log is lit with a piece of last year’s Yule Log, symbolizing the continuity of the cycles of life. The ashes of the Yule log were scattered on the fields to ensure fertility
WEB PAGE TO KATE
http://www.witchcraft.org/kate.htm
LINK TO LISTEN TO
Emma Restall Orr, Joint Chief Druid of the British Druid Order; Kate West, a Wiccan High Priest of the Hearth of Hecate and Richard Thomas, an Anglican priest discuss modern Paganism.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/autumnequinox.shtml
PAGAN WICCA LINKS FROM THE BBC
http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/searc…
YEAR CHART YOU CAN PRINT
The Pagan seasonal cycle is often called the Wheel of the Year. Almost all Pagans celebrate a cycle of eight festivals, which are spaced every six or seven weeks through the year and divide the wheel into eight segments.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/
Duration : 0:2:54
The mistletoe symbolized the reconciliation between God and man. And since a kiss is the well known figure of compromise, which is how “kissing under the mistletoe” became a tradition both were tokens of indulgent. 
The mistletoe symbolized the reconciliation between God and man. And since a kiss is the well known figure of compromise, which is how “kissing under the mistletoe” became a tradition both were tokens of indulgent. 
Extras: http://linguaspectrum.com/lessons/language_lessons/Symbols%20of%20Christmas/
Extras: http://linguaspectrum.com/lessons/language_lessons/Symbols%20of%20Christmas/ 
A reminder that Christmas is based off od Yule.. The event that predates christmas.