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On Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:45:41 -0800 (PST), "."
wrote:

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice occurs on December 21,
2008 at 7:04 AM EST and 12:04 UT (Universal Time).

For thousands of years, people all over the Planet Earth have
celebrated the Winter Solstice, the time when the Sun returns after
the winter's cold and darkness.

In pre-Christian Northern Europe this festival was called Yule. The
celebration of Yule in Scandinavia predates the Christian holiday by
thousands of years

Winter Solstice, the time of the year when the days get longer and the
sun begins to return was truly a cause for celebration among our
ancestors in Scandinavia. Their Midwinter Feast lasted at least twelve
days (12 day of Christmas).

Most Christmas traditions are rooted deep in ancient Yule rituals,
many coming from the Vikings. Historic evidence indicates that Jesus
was not born on December 25, but in the Spring. Why is then Christmas
celebrated on December 25? A common theory is that the Christian
church designated this date as the day of Christ's birth to coincide
with the Nordic Midvinter Solstice celebrations, as well as with a
Roman midwinder fest called Saturnalia, in order to "facilitate" the
conversion of "heathens" to Christianity.

At Midwinter, or Solstice, the Vikings honored their Asa Gods with
religious rituals and feasting. They sacrificed a wild boar to Frey,
the God of fertility and farming, to assure a good growing season in
the coming year. The meat was then cooked and eaten at the feast. This
is the origin of today's Christmas ham in Scandinavia.

During the festivities they burned a giant Sunwheel, which was put on
fire and rolled down a hill to entice the Sun to return. According to
one theory, this is the origin of the Christmas wreath.

Another Viking tradition was the Yulelog, a large oak log decorated
with sprigs of fir, holly or yew. They carved runes on it, asking the
Gods to protect them from misfortune. A piece of the log was saved to
protect the home during the coming year and light next year's fire.
Today, most know the Yulelog as a cake or cheese log rolled in nuts.

Even the Christmas tree goes back to pre-Christian times. The Vikings
decorated evergreen trees with pieces of food and clothes, small
statues of the Gods, carved runes, etc., to entice the tree spirits to
come back in the spring.

Ancient myths surround the Mistletoe. The Vikings believed it could
resurrect the dead, a belief based on a legend about the resurrection
of Balder, God of Light and Goodness, who was killed by a mistletoe
arrow but resurrected when tears of his mother Frigga turned the red
mistletoe berries white.

The Yule Goat, is one of the oldest Scandinavian Christmas symbols.
Its origin is the legend about the Thunder-god Thor who rode in the
sky in a wagon pulled by two goats. An old custom was for young people
to dress up in goat skins and go from house to house and sing and
perform simple plays. They were rewarded with food and drink. The Yule
Goat at one time also brought Yule gifts. This character was later
replaced with "jultomten" (Santa Claus).

Our pre-Christian ancestors would dress up someone to represent Old
Man Winter, who was welcomed into homes to join the festivities.
Dressed in a hooded fur coat, Father Christmas traveled either by foot
or on a giant white horse. Some think that this horse may have been
Odin's horse Sleipnir and that Father Christmas was originally Odin,
who was often depicted with a long beard. When the Vikings conquered
Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries, he was introduced there and
became the English Father Christmas.

Today, Viking Yule is celebrated in reconstructed Viking Villages such
as Foteviken in Skåne and Jörvik in England, where visitors in
December can make Christmas decorations with the Vikings, listen to
Viking legends and hang their wishes in Odin's Yule Tree. Viking Yule
is also celebrated by Asatruers, who revive the old Nordic religion,
called Asatru.

Of course, our Scandinavian forefathers were not alone in celebrating
the Winter Solstice. All over the world, and throughout history,
people have celebrated the sun's return after the winter with a wide
diversity of rituals and traditions. And still are.

http://skandland.com/vikxmas.htm

I love my white ancestry!

Wassail comrades! Happy Winter Solstice to all!

All hail our Folk!

ted

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