Happy Yule to every dedicated member here (and those who will dedicate)! :) It is important to celebrate, as celebration is part of life. Get yourself some treats, spend time with loved ones, have fun :)
Traditionally, Yule being the longest night of the year, was a time of gathering wisdom to prepare for the enlightenment of the soul that the coming Sun will bring. This is a great time to summon your Guardian Daemon to ask for guidance, or to ask for any inspiration for your spiritual advancement.
Touching on the subject of how christianity stole pretty much everything from paganism, this also goes for "xmas caroling". Caroling (going door to door singing carols) comes from the British Wassailing (other cultures had a similar custom). People would sing to the orchard trees in autumn (orchard-visiting wassail) to inspire the trees to produce more fruit for the harvest. Songs have vibration, vibration is energy, you can do magickal workings on nature to help it grow more bountifully. Research has shown that plants respond well to humans talking and singing to them. The wassailing was also meant to cleanse away malefic energies that could harm the trees.
They would again go wassailing at Yule (house-visiting wassail) to spread bountiful harvests to help those who were not so fortunate. The Pagans knew that fortunate times come and go, and by helping others who were going through a less fortunate time, they themselves could count on help if they needed it in the future. (It was not about allowing the lazy to parasitize off the hard work of others, that is a christian concept.)
The wassail was also a blessing prayer for those who lived in the home. It comes from the Old Norse "ves heill", meaning "be in good health" or "be fortunate". In the traditional song "Here We Come a-Wassailing", one of the lyrics is:
We are not daily beggars that beg from door to door,
But we are friendly neighbors whom you have seen before.
The residents of the home would give the wassailers food and drink in exchange for their blessings.
Even the famous carol "O xmas Tree" was originally a traditional Pagan folk song about a fir tree. "O Tannenbaum" is the original, here are the original lyrics with English translation, and you can see how it was altered into the xmas version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Tannenbaum
So to sum it up, this is not an christian holiday. It has always been Pagan and spiritual. Have a very happy Yule, my dear Brothers and Sisters :)
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