In the Northern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice will happen on December 21st, marking the season of Yule. It is the shortest day of the year, while also marking the slow return of longer days. Winter begins, but also heralds the hope of spring.
At Stonehenge, Neolithic builders shaped the standing stones to frame the winter and summer solstices. On the winter solstice, the sun sets southwest of the stone circle.
The Winter Solstice also ushers in the pagan season of Yule which directly follows Samhain. Once again, fire is an important element of the festival, this time to denote the sun’s return. Yule logs were burned to symbolize heat and the returning sun. Of course, the massive fire brought actual heat as well during the cold nights.
According to legend, Yuletide is a celebration of the Holly King’s victory over the Oak King. The two kings engage in a constant struggle related to seasonal cycles. The Oak King of summer gives way to the Holly King of winter until the cycle shifts again.
Yuletide celebrations begin with the Yule Log, a full tree that was brought inside the house. It could be fed into the fireplace and burned from the bottom with the tree extending into the room. As the fire burned, the tree was pushed further into the hearth. Alternatively, the tree could be cut into 12 sections for the 12 days of celebration.
As to the feasting, excavations at Durrington Walls, a Neolithic village near Stonehenge, offer some interesting suggestions. Archeologists have uncovered 38,000 pig and cattle bones, the remains of about 1000 animals. It appears they were slaughtered at about the age of 9 months, so they would have been born in the spring. Animal sacrifices are thought to have been part of the celebrations.
Celts thought that the sun stood still for 12 days during the Solstice. During this time the earth is, in fact, tilted at its furthest point from the sun, which is why the sun is at its lowest point in the sky.
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Illustrations & A Few Sources
Stonehenge at Dawn Winter Solstice by Mike Peel; Wheel of the Year by Imbolc.cerddwr; Yule Log Being Brought into Hever Castle by Robert Alexander Hillingford; Position & Timing of Solstice. “Winter Solstice & Stonehenge” English Heritage. Catherine Boeckmann. “The Story Behind Yule & the Yuletide Season.” Farmers’ Almanac. Oct. 22, 2024.
