Yuletide Altar Card ~ by NomeArt

A5 Giclee Printed Altar Card on Watercolour Paper by Nomeart
 
Yule is rooted in ancient Germanic and Norse cultures, and is a celebration of the winter solstice, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year. European Neo-pagan traditions often embrace Yuletide, incorporating customs like decorating evergreen trees, lighting candles, performing rituals, and feasting over several days of the Solstice period. These celebrations emphasise community, connection to nature, and marking the turning of the great wheel.
 
Spiritually, it’s seen as a time of rebirth, renewal, and the gradual return of the sun’s strength and light. Associated with themes of hope, transformation, and the cycle of life, representing a moment of transition from darkness to the gradual emergence of light. 
 
Solstice does not only celebrate the life giving return of the suns rays but also a time to reflect on the dark season’s losses, to honour the longest, darkest of times for the year and for the people. Pre-Christian cultures often viewed the longest night, as a time of great significance, a period of darkness and the climax of winter’s power and is a time when pagan practitioners often work with through parts of themselves holding back personal growth and  understanding. 
 
The Wild Hunt is also often associated with winter solstice and is a mythological theme found across Europe. It was believed that during the winter months, often between Samhain and Yule a spectral procession led by a supernatural figure such as Odin in Norse mythology, Woden in Germanic traditions, or Herne the Hunter in British folklore, would cross the night skies. The Wild Hunt was often perceived as both awe-inspiring and terrifying, symbolising the untamed forces of nature, the cycle of life and death, and the liminal period between the old year and the new. The hunt was thought to collect souls or portend events such as war, plague, or natural disasters, so during this time, rituals were performed to protect against its chaotic energies. People would light fires, hang protective herbs, and perform ceremonies to ward off malevolent spirits, seeking safety and protection until the return of light and the gradual lengthening days, reminding us the growing season is returning.