Yule

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For other uses, see Yule (disambiguation).
This article is about the purported pagan festival and its modern revivals. For the Christian festival, see Christmas.
"Joulu" redirects here. For the album, see Joulu (album).

Yule
Hauling a Yule log in 1832
Also calledYuletide, Yulefest
Observed byVarious Northern Europeans, Germanic peoples, Heathens, Wiccans, Neopagans, LaVeyan Satanists
TypeCultural, Germanic pagan, modern pagan
SignificanceWinter festival
DateSee § Date of observance
FrequencyAnnual
Related toMidwinter, Christmastide, Christmas
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Yule is a winter festival historically observed by the Germanic peoples. In Anglo-Saxon England, Yule (ġeōl) was linked to the winter solstice and Christmas. In Old English, the months of December and January were named after it. In medieval Scandinavia, Yule (jól) was a Norse pagan feast, which seems to have been originally held in January. Yule is claimed to have been merged with Christmas during the Christianisation of the Germanic peoples.[1]

The term Yule and Yuletide, along with their cognates, are still used in English and the Scandinavian languages, as well as in Finnish and Estonian, to describe Christmas and the season of Christmastide.[2] Furthermore, some present-day Christmas customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar and Yule singing may have connections to older pagan Yule traditions.[3]

Today, followers of some new religious movements (such as Modern Germanic paganism) celebrate a holiday they call 'Yule', independently of the Christian festival of Christmas. While some scholars have linked the original celebrations of Yule to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin and the heathen Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht ("Mothers' Night"), others have questioned the existence of a pre-Christian festival called 'Yule', holding that the term arose in the Christian era as a synonym of Christmas.[4]

Etymology

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The modern English noun Yule descends from Old English ġēol, earlier geoh(h)ol, geh(h)ol, and geóla, sometimes plural.[5] Both words are cognate with Gothic 𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃 (jiuleis); Old Norse, Icelandic, Faroese and Norwegian Nynorsk jól, jol, ýlir; Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian Bokmål jul, and are thought to be derived from Proto-Germanic *jehwlą-.[6][7] Whether the term existed outside the Germanic languages remains uncertain, though numerous speculative attempts have been made to find Indo-European cognates outside the Germanic group, too.[a] The compound noun Yuletide ('Yule-time') is first attested from around 1475.[8]

It has been thought that Old French jolif (→ French joli), which was borrowed into English in the 14th century as 'jolly', is itself borrowed from Old Norse jól (with the Old French suffix -if; compare Old French aisif "easy", Modern French festif = fest "feast" + -if), according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology[9] and several other French dictionaries of etymology.[10][11] But the Oxford English Dictionary sees this explanation for jolif as unlikely.[12] The French word is first attested in the Anglo-Norman Estoire des Engleis, or History of the English People, written by Geoffrey Gaimar between 1136 and 1140.[11]

Anglo-Saxon

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Old English forms of the word 'Yule' included ġeōl, ġeōla, ġēohol, iūla and giuli.[13]

In the 8th century, the English historian Bede wrote that the pagan Anglo-Saxons called both December and January Giuli. Bede links this term with the winter solstice, writing that "The months of Giuli derive their name from the day when the Sun turns back [and begins] to increase".[14][15] Other Old English writers call December ǣrra ġēola (the former Yule) and January æftera ġēola (the latter Yule).[13][16][17] In Anglo-Saxon England, the winter solstice was generally deemed to be December 25, following the Julian calendar.[18][19]

The usual Old English name for December 25, Christmas and the winter solstice, was midwinter.[18][19] In the Doom book of Alfred the Great, written c.890, Christmas is called Ġehhol (Yule).[20] Some later Old English texts call Christmas Day Ġeōhel-dæg (Yule Day).[16] It is suggested that the Vikings who settled in England introduced or popularized 'Yule' as a name for Christmas among the Anglo-Saxons.[4][19]

Bede also wrote that the pagan Anglo-Saxons had celebrated the festival Mōdraniht (Mothers' Night) at the winter solstice, which marked the start of the Anglo-Saxon year.[19]

Old Norse

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Illustration of an ancient Nordic Yule festival (Die Gartenlaube, 1880)

In Old Norse literature, Jól (Yule) is often described as a pagan feast. Among the many names of Odin is Jólnir ('the Yule one').[21] The 13th century Morkinskinna refers to hugins jól, 'feast of Hugin' (one of Odin's ravens).[22] In chapter 55 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, different names for the gods are given; one is "Yule-beings" (jólnar). A work by the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir that uses the term is then quoted: "again we have produced Yule-being's feast [mead of poetry], our rulers' eulogy, like a bridge of masonry".[23]

Heitstrenging

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The 13th century Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar and Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks tell of the custom of heitstrenging. They say that on Yule Eve, people placed their hands on a pig referred to as a sonargöltr while swearing solemn oaths. In the latter text, some manuscripts explicitly refer to the pig as holy, that it was devoted to Freyr and that after the oath-swearing it was sacrificed.[24]

Saga of Hákon the Good

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The 13th century Icelandic Saga of Hákon the Good credits King Haakon I of Norway, who ruled from 934 to 961, with the Christianization of Norway as well as shifting Yule the date of Jól (Nordic Yule) to the date of Christmas. The saga says that when Haakon arrived in Norway he was a Christian, but, since the people were still heathen, Haakon hid his Christianity to receive the help of the "great chieftains". In time, Haakon had a law passed that Yule celebrations were to be held at the same time as Christmas, "and at that time everyone was to have ale for the celebration with a measure of grain, or else pay fines, and had to keep the holiday while the ale lasted".[25]

According to the saga, Haakon's popularity led many heathens to be baptized, and some people stopped making sacrifices. Haakon spent most of this time in Trondheim. When Haakon believed that he wielded enough power, he summoned a bishop and other priests from England. On their arrival, "Haakon made it known that he would have the gospel preached in the whole country." The saga continues, describing the reactions of various regional things.[25]

A description of a Nordic Yule is provided (notes are Hollander's own):

Old Norse text[26] Hollander translation[27]
Þat var forn siðr, þá er blót skyldi vera, at allir bœndr skyldu þar koma sem hof var ok flytja þannug föng sín, þau er þeir skyldu hafa, meðan veizlan stóð. At veizlu þeirri skyldu allir menn öl eiga; þar var ok drepinn allskonar smali ok svá hross; en blóð þat alt, er þar kom af, þá var kallat hlaut, ok hlautbollar þat, er blóð þat stóð í, ok hlautteinar, þat var svá gert sem stöklar; með því skyldi rjóða stallana öllu saman, ok svá veggi hofsins utan ok innan, ok svá stökkva á mennina; en slátr skyldi sjóða til mannfagnaðar. Eldar skyldu vera á miðju gólfi í hofinu ok þar katlar yfir; ok skyldi full um eld bera. En sá er gerði veizluna ok höfðingi var, þá skyldi hann signa fullit ok allan blótmatinn. It was ancient custom that when sacrifice was to be made, all farmers were to come to the heathen temple and bring along with them the food they needed while the feast lasted. At this feast all were to take part of the drinking of ale. Also all kinds of livestock were killed in connection with it, horses also; and all the blood from them was called hlaut [sacrificial blood], and hlautbolli, the vessel holding the blood; and hlautteinar, the sacrificial twigs [aspergills]. These were fashioned like sprinklers, and with them were to be smeared all over with blood the pedestals of the idols and also the walls of the temple within and without; and likewise the men present were to be sprinkled with blood. But the meat of the animals was to be boiled and served as food at the banquet. Fires were to be lighted in the middle of the temple floor, and kettles hung over the fires. The sacrificial beaker was to be borne around the fire, and he who made the feast and was chieftain, was to bless the beaker as well as all the sacrificial meat.

The narrative continues that toasts were to be drunk. The first toast was to be drunk to Odin "for victory and power to the king", the second to the gods Njörðr and Freyr "for good harvests and for peace", and third, a beaker was to be drunk to the king himself. In addition, toasts were drunk to the memory of departed kinsfolk. These were called minni.[27]

Academic debate

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Significance

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Scholar Rudolf Simek writes the Nordic Yule feast "had a pronounced religious character". He says "it is uncertain whether the Germanic Yule feast still had a function in the cult of the dead and in the veneration of the ancestors, a function which the mid-winter sacrifice certainly held for the West European Stone and Bronze Ages." The traditions of the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar Sonargöltr, Yule singing, and others possibly have connections to pre-Christian Yule customs, which Simek says "indicates the significance of the feast in pre-Christian times."[28]

Scholars have linked the Nordic Yule to the Wild Hunt (a ghostly procession in the winter sky), the god Odin (who is attested in Germanic areas as leading the Wild Hunt and bears the name Jólnir), and increased activities of draugar (undead beings who walk the earth).[29]

British historian Ronald Hutton wrote of the term "Yule" that there is "doubt over whether it was originally attached to a midwinter festival which preceded the Christian one [of Christmas]".[4] Hutton writes that the earliest Scandinavian literature, before Snorri, makes no reference to Yule as a pagan feast.[4]

British author Nicholas Page noted that all the first mentions of yule-candle (1808), yule-game (1611), yule-log (1725), and yule-tide (1572) are well into the Christian era, in reference to Christmas customs.[1][3]

Mōdraniht (Mothers' Night), a festival seemingly focused on females or female supernatural beings, attested by Bede as being held at the winter solstice, has been seen as further evidence of fertility rituals during Yule.[30]

Date of observance

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Bede, writing in the early 8th century, linked the Anglo-Saxon Yule (ġeōl) to the winter solstice. In Old English, the months of December and January were named after it.[14] In Anglo-Saxon calendars, the winter solstice was December 25,[13][19] the same day as Christmas, which was usually called midwinter in Old English.

The date of the Nordic pagan Yule (jól) is debated among scholars. Snorri, writing in the 13th century in the Saga of Hákon the Good, says that Yule (jól) was originally a three-day feast beginning on midwinter (miðvetr) in Scandinavia. Snorri says jól was moved from miðvetr to Christmas by king Hákon in the mid-10th century. This led scholars to believe that it was originally held during the winter solstice. However, the Nordic midwinter was about one month after the solstice. In Scandinavia, winter is deemed to last longer than in southern Germanic regions. In medieval Scandinavian sources that divided the year into two seasons, winter was deemed to begin with the "Winter Nights" in mid-October and to end in mid-April.[31] Andreas Nordberg places Nordic midwinter on 12–14 January in the Julian calendar and 19–21 January in the Gregorian calendar. Nordberg proposes that the Nordic pagan Yule was celebrated on the full moon of the lunar month following the winter solstice. This could range from 5 January at the earliest to 2 February at the latest in the Gregorian calendar.[32]

Modern traditions

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Relationship with Christmas in Northern Europe

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In modern Germanic-speaking areas and some other Northern European countries, 'Yule' and its cognates denote Christmastide.[2] As well as 'Yule' and 'Yuletide' in English,[33] examples include jul in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, jól in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, joulu in Finland, Joelfest in Friesland, Joelfeest in the Netherlands and jõulud in Estonia.[citation needed]

Traditionally, Yule or Yuil is also the main name for Christmastide in Scotland. In 1573, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland punished a number of people for "observing of superstitious days and specially of Yuil-day". In 1583, the Glasgow kirk sessions ordered that those who celebrated "Yule" were to be excommunicated. However, this did not stop secular revelry at Yuletide.[34] In 19th century Orkney and Shetland, Yule celebrations lasted for 24 days.[35]

Modern paganism

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As contemporary pagan religions differ in both origin and practice, these representations of Yule can vary considerably despite the shared name. Some Heathens, for example, celebrate in a way as close as possible to how they believe ancient Germanic pagans observed the tradition, while others observe the holiday with rituals "assembled from different sources".[36] Heathen celebrations of Yule can also include sharing a meal and gift-giving.[citation needed]

In most forms of Wicca, this holiday is celebrated at the winter solstice as the rebirth of the Great horned hunter god,[37] who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun. The method of gathering for this sabbat varies by practitioner. Some have private ceremonies at home,[38] while others do so with their covens:

Generally meeting in covens, which anoint their own priests and priestesses, Wiccans chant and cast or draw circles to invoke their deities, mainly during festivals like Samhain and Yule, which coincide with Halloween and Christmas, and when the moon is full.[39]

LaVeyan Satanism

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Some members of the Church of Satan and other LaVeyan Satanist groups celebrate Yule at the same time as the Christian holiday in a secular manner.[40]

See also

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  • Dísablót, an event attested from Old Norse sources as having occurred among the pagan Norse
  • Julebord, the modern Scandinavian Christmas feast
  • Koliada, a Slavic winter festival
  • Lohri, a Punjabi winter solstice festival
  • Saturnalia, an ancient Roman winter festival in honour of the deity Saturn
  • Yaldā Night, an Iranian festival celebrated on the "longest and darkest night of the year".
  • Nardoqan, the birth of the sun, is an ancient Turkic festival that celebrates the winter solstice.

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ For a brief overview of the proposed etymologies, see Orel (2003:205).

Citations

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  1. ^ a b Page, Nick (29 October 2020). Christmas: Tradition, Truth and Total Baubles. John Murray Press. ISBN 978-1-5293-3409-8. Interestingly, in this account, Yule is a Christian holiday, along with Easter and others. To sum up: There's no evidence for an Anglo-Saxon festival of Yule; it was just their word for the time of year. And by 900 or so, it meant Christmas. In Scandinavia there was a yule-feast, but it was held on 13 December and was a drinking festival 'somewhat compromised by the torrent of fore applied liberally to walls, floors and guests'. All the Scandinavian accounts were written three hundred years after the events they are describing.
  2. ^ a b Akin, Jimmy (19 December 2014). "Christmas, Xmas, and Yuletide: 5 things to know and share". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 29 November 2025. Today, in English, Yule refers to Christmas, and Yuletide refers to Christmas time.
  3. ^ a b Page, Nick (29 October 2020). Christmas: Tradition, Truth and Total Baubles. John Murray Press. ISBN 978-1-5293-3409-8. None of them date from anywhere near that time. All the first mentions of them come from a time when the pagan associations of Yule were way in the past. So we have: *yule-candle (first mentioned 1808 in Scotland); *yule-game (first mentioned 1611); *yule-log (first mentioned 1725); *yule-tide (first mentioned 1572). Cite error: The named reference "Page" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d Hutton, Ronald (1996). The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-19-820570-8.
  5. ^ OED Online (2022).
  6. ^ Bosworth & Toller (1898:424); Hoad (1996:550); Orel (2003:205).
  7. ^ "jol". Bokmålsordboka | Nynorskordboka. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  8. ^ Barnhart (1995:896).
  9. ^ Hoad (1993)
  10. ^ Dictionnaire historique de la langue française (sous la direction d'Alain Rey), édition Le Robert, t. 2, 2012, p. 1805ab
  11. ^ a b "JOLI : Etymologie de JOLI". www.cnrtl.fr. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  12. ^ "jolly, adj. and adv. Archived 16 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine" OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019. Accessed 9 December 2019.
  13. ^ a b c Karasawa, Kazutomo (2015). The Old English Metrical Calendar (Menologium). Boydell & Brewer. p. 126. December. The month was called Ærra iula 'the former Yule' in the vernacular; December and January shared the name Iula (Giuli, Geola) and Ærra 'former' or Æfterra 'latter' was added to distinguish the two
  14. ^ a b Bede (1999). "Chapter 15 – The English months". In Willis, Faith (ed.). Bede: The Reckoning of Time. Liverpool University Press. pp. 53–54. translated with introduction, notes, and commentary by Faith Willis
  15. ^ Simek (2007:379).
  16. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph. "Geóla". In An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online, edited by Thomas Northcote Toller, Christ Sean, and Ondřej Tichy. Prague: Faculty of Arts, Charles University, 2014. Cite error: The named reference "Bosworth" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  17. ^ Dowden, Ken (2000). European Paganism. Routledge. pp. 203–204.
  18. ^ a b Karasawa, Kazutomo (2015). The Old English Metrical Calendar (Menologium). Boydell & Brewer. pp. 36–37.
  19. ^ a b c d e Parker, Eleanor (2023). Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year. Reaktion Books. pp. 69–71.
  20. ^ Preston, Todd (2014). King Alfred's Book of Laws: A Study of the Domboc and Its Influence on English Identity, with a Complete Translation. McFarland. p. 121.
  21. ^ Simek (2007:180–181).
  22. ^ Vigfússon (1874:326).
  23. ^ Faulkes (1995:133).
  24. ^ Kovářová (2011:195–196).
  25. ^ a b Hollander (2007:106).
  26. ^ "Saga Hákonar góða – heimskringla.no". heimskringla.no. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  27. ^ a b Hollander (2007:107).
  28. ^ Simek (2007:379–380).
  29. ^ Simek (2007:180–181, 379–380) and Orchard (1997:187).
  30. ^ Orchard (1997:187).
  31. ^ Jones, Prudence; Pennick, Nigel (1995). A History of Pagan Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 122-125.
  32. ^ Nordberg, Andreas (2006). "Jul, disting och förkyrklig tideräkning". Acta Academiae Regiae Gustavi Adolphi. 91: 155–156. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  33. ^ OED Online (2022).
  34. ^ Hutton, Ronald (1996). The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press. pp. 26–28. ISBN 978-0-19-820570-8.
  35. ^ Hutton, p.32
  36. ^ Hutton (2008).
  37. ^ Buescher (2007).
  38. ^ Kannapell (1997).
  39. ^ La Ferla (2000).
  40. ^ Escobedo (2015).

Works cited

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  • Quotations related to Yule at Wikiquote
  • Media related to Yule at Wikimedia Commons