WA Advent Calendar 2025 - Sunday 21st December

byGail-UK

3.8K followers

23 hrs ago

Happy Yule and the Solstice

Day 21 - and we have a log burning fire to celebrate Yule and the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.

Yule and the Winter Solstice: The Return of the Light

Today is 21 December, the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere — the shortest day and the longest night of the year. For thousands of years, people have marked this moment with festivals of fire, warmth and hope. One of the most enduring is Yule, celebrated across ancient Northern Europe by Germanic and Scandinavian peoples long before Christmas existed.

This is one of my favourite days of the year I have to say, and I love all the symbolism and connections to nature that it represents. In the UK, the exact moment of the solstice is 3.03 pm GMT today. In London, we will get 7 hours, 49 minutes and 42 seconds of daylight with the sun setting around 3:53 pm, but this will vary for everyone depending on where you live.

At Stonehenge, the sunrise was at 8:09 am, and thousands of people gathered to watch it as they do every year.

And for those in the Southern Hemisphere…

While we in the north are marking the longest night, people in the Southern Hemisphere are experiencing the exact opposite — the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. In Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and beyond, this date is filled with sunshine, outdoor celebrations, beach gatherings and midsummer traditions. Christmas there has its own flavour: barbecues, warm evenings, light-filled festivals and a sense of vibrancy rather than hibernation. It’s a beautiful reminder that while the world shares the same celestial rhythms, we experience them in wildly different ways. Where we look for the return of the light, others are soaking in its brightest moment — yet both ends of the earth are connected by the same turning of the season.

What Yule truly represents

I actually really love Yule, possibly more than Christmas, because for me, Christmas has become a little commercialised for my liking, but Yule really resonates with me and my love of nature and the natural world and cosmic cycles.

Yule is a real celebration of rebirth. Although the world still feels dark and asleep, the solstice is the exact turning point when the sun begins its slow return to us in the Northern Hemisphere. Ancient communities saw it as a promise that winter would not last forever, that light, warmth and new life were already on their way even when the world appeared frozen.

Traditions included:

• Lighting Yule logs to chase away darkness
• Decorating with evergreens as symbols of life during winter
• Feasting with family and neighbours
• Singing, storytelling and honouring ancestors
• Watching the sunrise as a sign of renewal

Much of this energy later blended into modern Christmas customs, which is why the festive season still carries so many themes of light in darkness, evergreen trees and hopeful new beginnings.

Why the Winter Solstice still matters today

Even in our electric world, if we stop and pause, we can feel something shift at this time of year.
The solstice invites us to acknowledge that pause, to breathe deep, and to notice that we’ve made it through the darkest stretch of the year.

Many people use today to reflect on what they’re ready to release and what they want to welcome as the light returns. It’s a quiet doorway between endings and beginnings, perfect for setting intentions for the new year.

A moment of awe

Across the world, people still gather at ancient sites like Stonehenge, Newgrange in Ireland and Maeshowe in Orkney, where the rising sun aligns perfectly with stones and passageways built thousands of years ago. These gatherings echo the same human wonder our ancestors felt — a reminder that we’re part of something far bigger and older than ourselves.

Yule represents the return of the sun and new life.

Here are some ways to celebrate Yule today if you are inclined:

1. Light a Candle for the Returning Sun

A single candle lit at sunset on the solstice is one of the simplest Yule rituals.

• Focus on renewal, hope, or a personal intention
• Let the flame symbolise the sun’s slow return after the longest night

2. Bring Evergreens Into Your Home

Evergreens represent resilience and life through winter.

• Decorate with pine, holly, ivy, or rosemary
• Create a small Yule altar or a nature‑inspired centrepiece

3. Burn (or Bake!) a Yule Log

• Traditionally, a log was burned to protect the home and welcome the sun
• Today, people decorate a log with candles, greenery, and ribbons — or bake a chocolate bûche de Noël
• You can also write wishes or intentions on paper and burn them safely in a fire pit

4. Watch the Solstice Sunrise or Sunset

A powerful way to honour the turning of the year.

• Sunrise marks the return of the light
• Sunset honours the longest night
  This is a popular modern practice, often shared with friends or family

5. Host a Midwinter Feast

Feasting is one of the oldest Yule traditions.

• Serve warming foods: root veg, bread, mulled cider, spiced desserts
• Invite storytelling, gratitude sharing, or a quiet moment of reflection at the table

6. Exchange Handmade or Nature‑Based Gifts

Yule gifts don’t need to be commercial.

• Dried orange garlands
• Herbal sachets
• Beeswax candles
• Small charms or ornaments
  This echoes the old custom of sharing blessings and abundance

7. Do a Year‑End Reflection Ritual

Yule is a natural pause point.

• Write down what you’re releasing from the old year
• Note what you’re calling in for the new one
• Burn, bury, or keep the notes depending on your intention

8. Craft Yule Decorations

Crafting is a big part of modern Yule celebrations.
Ideas include:

• Salt‑dough ornaments
• Dried citrus slices
• Cinnamon stick bundles
• Evergreen wreaths
• A decorated Yule tree (a pre‑Christian tradition!)

9. Create a Quiet Hearth Moment

Even without a fireplace, you can create a hearth space:

• Candles, blankets, warm drinks
• A book, journal, or meditation
• A moment of stillness to honour the season’s inward energy

10. Hold a Small Gathering or “Yule Party”

Modern Yule gatherings often include:

• Craft tables
• Toasting marshmallows
• Potluck dishes
• Candle lighting
• A gratitude circle
• A sunrise breakfast the next morning

My family and I are gathering to mark my daughter's recent birthday today, but you can be sure that I have a Yule log and some marshmallows to toast to mark the Winter Solstice too!

So whether you mark Yule, Christmas, or simply appreciate the celestial rhythm of the seasons, today offers a small but powerful message:

The light always returns. Even after the longest night.

Wishing you warmth, stillness and a spark of hope this Solstice.

Gail