Yule vs Winter Solstice: The Viking Origins of Christmas
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Yule (Jul, jól or joulu) is a winter festival historically observed by the Germanic peoples that was incorporated into Christmas during the Christianisation of the Germanic peoples.
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In present times adherents of some new religious movements (such as Modern Germanic paganism) celebrate Yule independently of the Christian festival. Scholars have connected the original celebrations of Yule to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and the heathen Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht. The term Yule and cognates are still used in English and the Scandinavian languages as well as in Finnish and Estonian to describe Christmas and other festivals occurring during the winter holiday season. Furthermore, some present-day Christmas customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others may have connections to older pagan Yule traditions.
I once read that Christians chose to put place Jesus' birthday on the third day after the solstice (~ 24th Dec). Which results in Jesus being "born" on the same day that the sun is "born" - ie. the day when the sun begins its rise into the sky (at midday) after having stood still for three days. This was supposedly to make it easier to convince Pagans to convert to Christianity.
Ya if you actually break down Jesus' birthday in the Bible. None of the parts of the story align with him being born in December in ancient Israel at all. The star that the wise men from the East followed can't be in the sky at the time of Dec. The shepherds tending their flocks of sheep don't line up with historical records of when shepherds would've actually been doing this task at that time of year. And if you dig deeper, the speculation is that he was likely born sometime in August. When you get into Ancient Astro Theology, you'll figure out that the title Jesus was given "Lion of Judah" isn't just for the animistic association of Lion's being powerful, but also that moniker fits well with him potentially being a Leo.
@@michaeldoerksen2841 Additionally to all of your great points, the timing of the census, which is why they traveled from Galilee to Bethlehem.
The documentary “Who Stole The AllFather?” by Thomas Sheridan, along with all his interviews, paints a detailed picture of how Christianity was used to forbid and destroy our indigenous traditions and cultures. It is a control-system designed to bastardise and replace us. Islam is simply a more aggressive version of the same agenda.
@@michaeldoerksen2841 The 3 wisemen actually didn’t visit the new born Jesus until he was nearly a year old. King Herod ordered all male babies one years old or younger to be killed.
"Úti vill jól drekka" (drinking Jul, or celebrating Yule) is a description in the Hrafnsmál poem, a homage to King Harald Fairhair, written by Þorbjörn Hornklofi, a well known Norwegian skald that lived the 9th century. While the foreign Christianity came to the Nordic countries only centuries later. We still have plenty of Norse elements in our Jul, we eat basically the same food as our forefathers did a thousand years ago... The main dish for Jul here in West Norway, Pinnekjøtt (side of lamb or sheep, salted, matured and dried), can be dated back more than 1,000 years, when it was frequently exported by ship from West-Norway to Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Pinnekjøt (in Nynorsk) and Pinnekjøtt (in Bokmål) is even a officially protected word, as regulated by the state of Norway in the "Forskrift om beskyttelse av Pinnekjøtt fra Norge som geografisk betegnelse" (protected as a geographic word/designation of West Norway), due to its very old origin. Tørrfisk (dried fish, cod) is mentioned in Egil's Saga, and testifies that dried cod was a highly valued export commodity from Norway since the Iron Age, and perhaps even earlier. As long as I can remember, at the north-western coast of Norway we traditionally eat at least one meal of tørrfisk (or klippfisk), every Jul. Another example of elements of Jól from the old age is traditional Norwegian gardsøl (farm beer), which has been brewed in both Norwegian highlands and along the fjords even earlier (traces of small rye harvests found in Romerike, East Norway, dates back to ca 2300 years ago). Less than 30% of the Norwegian population believe in the Christian god, according to Norsk Monitor's 2020 poll. We have never called our feast Christmas, and I don't think many people associate Jul with Christianity. No, it is simply Jul (or even still Jól in some Norwegian dialects)... As we salute: God Jul! Haraldskvæði by Þorbjörn Hornklofi, Hrafnsmál, strofe 6. The text, in Old Norse: Úti vill jól drekka, ef skal einn ráða, fylkir hinn framlyndi, ok Freys leik heyja. Ungr leiddisk eldvelli ok inni at sitja, varma dyngju eða vöttu dúns fulla. In modern Norwegian: Ute vil han Jul drikke, om en skal få rå, slår han fast, og leike Frøys leik. Ung ble han lei ilden og inneliv, varm kvinnestue, eller/og dunfulle votter. English translation: ‘He prefers to drink Yule outside/at sea, if he can have his way, and plays the game of Freyr. As young he grew tired of cooking by the fire and staying indoors, of a warm women’s living room, and of mittens soft as down.’
Geol(yohl) in Old English is parallel with Gool in Cornish. It means celebration, feast, and festival in Cornish.
I had never realized my gran passed the food at holidays counter clockwise until you mentioned that lol. Her family immigrated in the late 1800’s from the Hamburg area. She grew up during the First World War in Detroit and told me her gran only spoke German at Xmas time to sing, decorate and bless the meals. I’m curious now if the political climate made my great great gran or possibly her daughter, decide to eradicate their heritage for their safety. They were never openly Xian either. The shortbread & oats cookies with date filling in half moons, making suit cakes and hanging orange halves & fruit in the trees outside for the birds. Lighting a candle in the window through the night starting a few days before Xmas Eve day, but not lighting it on or after the Eve. Decorating the tree on the day coming into the solstice. All things gran did every year.
It should be counter clockwise the sun comes up in the east and sets in the west that's counter clockwise .
Beautiful
Great video. This needs to be said. Modern Christmas (Yuletide) traditions are predominantly Germanic in origin. Lots of Scandinavian, continental, and Anglo-Saxon elements: Yule-boars, Christmas trees, and Wassailing, for example, all have nothing to do with the Christian aspect of Christmas. Santa Claus is not a Christian saint (despite the name): just look at the imagery. The Christian saint Nikolaus was Greek, wasn't married, didn't have reindeer or elves, didn't live at the north pole, didn't fly around in the sky, etc., etc. It's all staring us right in the face... 🤷♂
Also this guy named Jesus was not born in December. It is all made up crap.
Glædelig Jul å Hævy nyt hår, from Jutland.
Thank you for sharing some of the many traditions that have been celebrated by many for millenia.
I was born on December 13th. I'm the eldest daughter and was named after the holiday. The church in town always has a big celebration. It's the best birthday party ever!
Hello! Good to see you! Thank you for sharing, I'm Norman my mom side and Dad side Rollo!! I've learned this 1992 , I'm 60 now not alot of information , learning from you, thank you, now I'm finding more I don't speak Norman, in America All my life so far, wish I could see the world like our ancestors have tho !! Still enjoying alllllll!!
Germania tribes used to hang fruit on trees to give thanks for the bounty from the forests.
1:50 *Vetrnætr, drengr Elptirdahl.. Christmas grammartroll inoming 😂 I like the modern sound of "Vintersolvarv", winter-sun-round/turn/lap. Thanks for yet another interesting video. Best to you and yours, and all other heathens having a party in the den, honor to the warriors (with or without swords) that made it possible for us to experience life.
Thank you so much for this video just loved it ‼️ It’s surprising that most people don’t know that Christianity incorporated the Pagan traditions so that people would convert to it. Just sad 😞
The name may be wrong for the yule-kringle, but if I remember correctly, the shape is pretty cool: It's of a yule-vätte. Not the house gnome, but of a character similar to the yule goat. In similar yule goat traditions, it went from house to house to "scare" people with a face covered in soot, a burning kindling in it's mouth, covered in fur and 13 horns(!) If you managed to put out the kindling the yule-vätte would leave, otherwise you needed to give it treats to eat. Apparently the (new?) kringle-shape is supposed to be a yule-vätte... I'm happy every time I see one used as logo on a bakery :D
Appreciate the knowledge as always🤟
Nice to see your channel growing and videoediting improving, while still keeping the same concept of being true to the real sources. God jul from Sweden!
Thanks for your video. Increasingly I dislike using the term Pagan as the word comes from the Church of Rome referring to old rural customs. The Term Norce Animist, Celtic Animist or so on is far more descriptive and useful for spreading the culture. Blessings
Love seeing the eight pointed Bethlehem Star pattern on your blanket.
Thank you for this video! God Jul from Sweden! ✋🏻🍻☕🍗🍖🧀🥨
Funny, in the religion I was raised in (christianity), we did not celebrate christmas due to the orgins being pegan. I fully enjoy christmas now in the secular way.
There are certain Christian denominations that correctly hold that Christmas and other such holidays are derived from Pre-Christian celebrations and as such refuse to celebrate them. I also know another man who did not celebrate foe the same reason.
Wonderful video as always! On one of your slides, though it refers to the spelling YULE as the bastardized American version, but that is the English way of spelling, the same holiday. It comes from the old English GEOLA, which comes from the same original root word that the other Germanic languages use. YULE is not an American invention; it’s the result of the natural progression of the English language developing.
Appreciate all you do! 🖤
Tusen takk brodir minn
Well done🎉
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the video ⚔️
Bra video. 👌
I certainly did enjoy, thanks for the vid.
Exelent 👍
All your content is amazing and has really helped guide me in my Pagan journey
I really enjoyed this information. This channel has been helpful in my learning journey.
INTERESTING, iNTRIGUING & FASCINATING!
God Jul! (came from our Norwegian mom!)
Thank you for your informative videos and for citing so many sources. I’ve learned a lot from your videos.
Love these videos. They give me a warm, cuddle. The viewers being critical need to chill with some mead🎉
Ty for continuing your amazing videos my friend …. I hope life is treating you very well as always 😎 ✌️ ❤️
I live in the central USA so Id like to use this knowledge and make my own practice while honoring the tradtions with incorpation of the fact I have 4 seasons. Although right now Idk if we are even going to have snow before the winter solstice hits.
Glædelig jul fra Amerika. My sister has made a Danish Christmas/Jul Roll for45+ years that was a recipe from my Danish grandmother. It still one of the best things about this combined holiday. I prefer the 2 separate celebrations and try to honor Winter Solstice by presenting Aquavit to the gods then celebrate on Júl. One of you best videos in a while. Really appreciate your work and presentations like this one. Going to hold onto this.
I’d add that biblical references suggest Jesus was born in spring (which makes sense since most cultures acknowledge spring as the time of birth and rebirth, and this is the birth of a figure who represents rebirth for his followers). Placing the birth of Christ around the solstice was probably just a means of encouraging conversion by blending preexisting festivals and holidays with Christianity. As the church moved west everyone they encountered would have had some sort of acknowledgement of the solstice. Moving in away from spring allowed them to separate Easter and Christmas. In the medieval Christian calendar, there are holy days every week, but only a handful as important as Easter & Christmas. Resurrection, rebirth, birth. It makes sense to not have them too close together and it gave them the chance to blend paganism throughout the year. Forbidding pagan practices rarely went well for the church. Co-opting was the better strategy even if they sacrificed the truth in their own book.
I don't know what Bible ur quoting but the king james version says he was born during the time of harvest ... we also see depictions of the nativity all covered in snow ...not likely in the middle east and there all painted as why ppl soooo.....lol
I've also heard from a *different* video that a Jól tradition was to dress up in costume and go door to door giving people blessings in exchange for things like food and drink, a practice called *Vasseiling* (probably misspelled that), which's where the name of the drink Wassail comes from; kinda like a cross between modern Christmas Caroling and modern Trick or Treating for Halloween. That same video also said that, like Halloween, Jól was also the day of the dead, when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead was at its *thinnest* allowing the dead to interact with the living more *directly* , with Draugr being believed to be *especially* active during it. I'd *love* to know if this's true or not, because if it *is* , Jól would essentially be *three* holidays in one; a proto Christmas, Norse Lunar New Year, and Halloween, and that honestly sounds more convenient *and* more interesting.
Julebukk, was still a thing when I was growing up
Hi. The word "Wassail" comes from the Old English (West Saxon) words "Ƿes hal" (Wes hal) which simply means "Be well" or, literally "Be whole". So, in the times of Ælfred cyning (King Alfred the Great) you might greet someone with, "Ƿes þu hal, mīn frēond!" and maybe even, "Glæd Gēol".
@@Oinnelstan I see.
Question for anyone: My mother was Wiccan. Really more an Animist but her mom was Wiccan. She raised us with the Wiccan sabat calendar, which my dad’s catholic family just loved, aware that it’s roots were modern but that it reflected something ancient. She told me that the Christmas holly (red) & mistletoe (white) represented menstrual blood & semen, and were meant to encourage fertility in the darkest part of the year. Hence kissing under the mistletoe. I’ve never been able to find reference to this in Wiccan books or primary sources like the venerable Bede. It feels true, but I have no evidence & I HAVE found other explanations & opinions on what the colors symbolize. Blood & purity ect… Has anyone else read or heard the menstrual/semen symbolism?
Amanita Muscaria is red and has white dots.
❤❤❤
I wonder where the expression " Yule" comes from? Is this merely yet another " american translation" of the norse jôl/jul?
God Jul
In uk we give food to santa and his deers, which just sounds like giving food to the spirits lol.
I recall reading that the word Jol/Yule was cognitive to the modern English word Wheel. Just as Kring, circle, cycle.
Had someone in a saxon fb group tell me yule 'was always on solstice'. Shoot if you read the new testament and know anything thing about keeping sheep, it's clear that according to those accounts JC was in the spring. (Most of the year you put sheep away at night, but when it's lambing time of the sheep are bunched up the lambs get trampled so keep them out and the shepherds stay out to watch them)
Wow this turned out long. Seems like I had quit a lot more to say then I tought. In my own soul searching I've always come to the conclusion that Christianity was never that popular of a folk movement in Scandinavia. It was implemented more as a political decision for the sake of "international" relationship. The Scandinavian kings and jarls were obviously impressed by the stories of the infrastructure, castle, churches, mosques etc in the Byzantine, Francia and the Caliphate and realized it was just a matter of time before such cultures would devour the more primitive cultures across Europe as well. By converting to Christianity they could avoid the inevitable of being overrun by a massive force, in favor of a peaceful transition that also came with a lot of geopolitical benefits. But as I see it there was a massive resistance among the population. In order to get people on board they would essentially redress pretty much every single Pagan tradition and ritual and shoehorn in Jesus Christ there. In that way the people could keep living their lives as they always have done. As the literacy rate was more or less non-existent, replacing mythological words wouldn’t have so much of an impact in the long run. The rituals and festivities were more or less the same. It’s in fact rather typical of Northern individualism and pragmatism. The drinking is there, the dancing is there and the feeling of celebration is there. As long as you don’t screw with the rudimentaries you won’t hear too many complaints. If you start telling them they need to pay tribute to X, Y and Z you get a rather unpredictable and explosive reaction. My theory is that the Catholic church grew impatient and wanted to see more homogenous traditions and festivities across all Christian land. So when the ceremony started to revolve more around paying tribute to the pope in Rome in combination with a growing frustration that some men had the privilege to simply buy themselves out of it and spend time doing what they prefer they started to see a folkish push back. Northern individualism, why should they dedicate so much time to someone so far away and why should they accept traditions that’s not implemented equally? This is what Martin Luther intended to solve by implementing a pragmatic solution. To shift away the main focus from Rome and the pope to the scripture and remove the letter of indulgence to better reflect the folkish sentiments and ethics. But it wouldn’t take long before people of the North rediscovered their connection with nature, elements and stellar bodies and once again started doubting the authority and stories about one god and his son and other prophets. The enlightenment is very much a naturalistic ontology just like Paganism, Shamanism or whatever you wanna call it. The world is created by the mixture of elements. Our destiny is more or less predetermined in such a way that our gene compositions and how we react due to chemical processes and reactions in our body alters our will to things. The history is full of important people that have mastered, altered and through wisdom can explain these natural compositions, elements and stellar bodies. These are the people we hail as mythshapers today similar to how we would pay tribute to Thor, Frey or Njord in the past. The enlightenment is simply the rejection of the middle eastern Abrahamic philosophy and a way back to our ontological roots. Northern Pagansim 2.0 if you will. The lucky part for us here in the North is that we still have a lot of the wisdom intact due to the folkish resistance and reluctance toward the Christian political and cultural conversion.
Wicca derives from the old English word wicce, meaning witch. IIRC it was Aleister Crowley that popularised it.
It was rather Gerald Gardener who founded Wicca. Wicca is a moden creation that combines witchcraft with high magic and nature traditions. While witchcraft is a component of Wicca, it's not traditional witchcraft. He was a friend & contemporary of Aleister Crowley (founder of the Golden Dawn) & Ross Nichols (founder/former chieftain of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids).
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So to dance around the tree, it cannot be in the corner of the room!
SKOL!!
What are the marks of Yule and midwinter on the primstav? Would love a video on the primstav symbols!
(Even the ones that refer to catholic holidays, which are nearly all, the more you learn...)
Cool hearth.
Was it in 1503 when Luther said no need 2 holiday in december, 6 day was saint nicholas day and 25 saturnalia
Like many of your videos, it also helps with understanding of Christianity and its scriptures. Here you explain the practice of blōt. The scriptural command to new Christians to forsake ‘blood’ is clearly a reference to use of sprinkled blood from sacrifices to associate the guest of the feast with the sacrifice made to a god or spirit. Maybe the JWs merely misunderstood it to somehow refer to use of blood in blood transfusions, or maybe blood transfusions are a modern hidden syncretism between medicine and sacrifices, cloaked in science. All useful for understanding our world today.
Idk if accident but heard someone mentioned a Persian holiday called Yalla, around midwinter. Idk if anyone every researched the connection, maybe Indo-European?
To be fair. It's usually easier for lots of my friends to gather on the 21st or around it to celebrate. We all know the history but you know..Life happens
I live in the southern hemisphere and was wondering, if the winter solstice which we celebrate in July is separate to Yule does that mean it would be celebrated in December here in the southern hemisphere?
You mentioned sacrifice, today in modern times what is the sacrifice?
My understanding of the pagan (anything not Christian) celebration at solstice was roughly the death of the old year coinciding with the birth of the new one. The past was past, & the future is a new beginning. The symbolism of the Reaper and the new Child harken back to those. Christianity was a new religion being introduced with words & weapons. Christmas was created as a competing celebration that, with words & weapons, could usurp some of the old traditions for familiarity, and implant newly invented traditions for control. Anything not "Christian" would not be tolerated.
Always thought it was funny Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on Dec 25 ..when it says in their Bible he was born during the time of harvest ...so fall not winter let alone as specific as the 21st lol
Yeah should be more the lines of August not December. 😅😂. Happy Yule to you all lets selabrate with pride.😊 may the gods favor you all reading this.
Yeah should be more the lines of August not December. 😅😂. Happy Yule to you all lets selabrate with pride.😊 may the gods favor you all reading this.
Roman Pagans loved Sol Invictus and Jesus became that same symbol when they converted. Hence 21st rebirth of sun and light.
Hail ok seal
You displayed a bit where it literally says Yule used to be the three nights after midwinter. So...
The only source that says it's in January doesn't even mentioned yule. And says it's every nine years. Ever considered this is not Yule but something else?
Actually, Jesus's birthday was moved to the Winter Solstice. Originally, they though Jesus was born in April but they really don't know.
Do you think the Norse Gods had/have consciousness? Are they sentient 'beings', or rather an energy personified into Godhood? Hello, I'm new to this topic and I'm interested in hearing various opinions and I'm not sure if there has been a video made on this topic already. Thanks, I'm interested to hear anyone response.
Hehe, you are funny! Bet this video annoys droves of traditionalists. Greetings from Jonas, Gothenburg Sweden.
All that being said... Will somebody just tell me when to celebrate Jul properly please.
Whenever you like, roughly between the Winter Solstice and early January. 🙂 You can designate different days for your own traditions and needs. I love this flexibility, because my family was pure chaos when I was growing up, and we need a week or so to get everything done and go through all our visits. To have the whole "holiday season" focus on one day, the 25th, is so impractical for most families.
Ver
It was my understanding vikings celebrated important Holiday on the winter solstice. Which makes sense since it's an important time, knowing you gain day light hours from then on. Christians then had a hard time weeding out paganism so placed Jesus birthday on the 25th. Also, Jesus's birthday being on the 25th make no sense and I'm pretty sure I don't even need to explain why
Most americans lived in Europe when modern christmas started be
One point of correction. December 25 is the day Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is NOT his birthday as they might claim. The time of his birth is lost to history. We know not even the year of his birth, let alone the month and day, which may be closer to August 1. Christians tend to lie a lot. 25 December was chosen because it was the day Roman Pagan celebrated the victory of the Sun over winter darkness, this co-opting that festival for Christianity.
Christ has no birthday because he didn't and doesn't exist.
@@heathenhammer2344 How do you know? There is evidence he did.
@@jayejaycurry5485 no there isn't
@@heathenhammer2344 Believe what you will.
It is nice to feel like you play on God's home team huh?
Weird editing.
The catholics took the winter solstice with didn't fall on a sunday that year so they waited 4 more days for there first Christ mass ....lol sneaky fish eaters lol
Isaiah55:6&7,"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon." Repent, receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior today.This is God's invitation for redemption, Jesus loves you so much and he is the only WAY to eternity.God bless you
There is no viking origins to christmas. Sure maybe over the centuries certain cultural customs have been adopted But that's not the same thing as originated. Christmas/Nativity has always been a feast day/ holiday for christianity.
...that they stole from the Egyptians, Romans, and Celts. Most of the Christian traditions around Christmas come from Saturnalia (Roman), Jol (Norse, but specifically Saxon source), and a Celtic solstice festival not much different from the Scandinavian festival.
@@PamperedDuchess You mean the cultures that converted to christianity continued Their own customs. They just Glorify the christian God Instead Pegan idols. It's kinda dumb to say it's stolen When the culture didn't change just the religion did. Unless you're arguing The feast days themselves were stolen. That doesn't follow either because christianity is a derivative of Second temple Judaism Which put great weight on their own feasts. Naturally, Christianity would have Adapted The Jewish feasts As they're own like Passover/Easter/ Pascha
Everyone stole concepts from others religions including Christianity.. the are dozens of ( gods ) that all claimed to b born of a Virginia around harvest time 100s if not thousands of years before the birth of christ ...it just happens to be the longest still running game of telephone on the planet ..
We don't celebrate Christmas, but we celebrate Jul, in Norway. "Úti vill jól drekka" (drinking Jul, or celebrating Yule) is a description in the Hrafnsmál poem, a homage to the Norse king Harald Fairhair, written by Þorbjörn Hornklofi, a well known Norwegian skald that lived the 9th century. We even still eat the same food as our Norse ancestors, when we celebrate: pinnekjøtt (dried lamb side, a Norwegian export commodity 1,000 years ago) and tørrfisk (dried cod, as described in Egil's Saga). And we drink gardsøl (traditional farm beer, a uniquely Norwegian sort of handcrafted beer, secret recipes and variations handed down from father to son through countless generations on the family farm, traditionally brewed for Jul and other important occasions. My uncle and his son still brew their farm's special, every year). And we gather for Jul, we drink together, tell stories and slander by the fire in the dark of the cold Norwegian winter, like our ancestors did. I see no Jesus by my fire... So yes, it originates in the Iron Age. From our Norse ancestors, who you call vikings.
@@norsenomad Do christians in norway celebrate in a Similar fashion? It's almost like it's a cultural thing and not a religious thing
Love the new style/format your doing now! 😊