Yule is celebrated on the first day of winter, known as Winter Solstice, which is the longest night of the year. This year, it falls on Dec. 21.
Yule is an ancient Pagan holiday that celebrates the sun’s return and the days growing longer again. The Yule festival was first observed historically in Germanic and Nordic countries and in modern times primarily by neo-pagans.
Burning the yule log is a common tradition which originally was done to bring the light into that night of deep darkness.
WFTS “This is a practice that is dated very far back,” Cris said. “It’s pre-Christian but it does not invalidate one religion or another.”
Cris, who has been celebrating the holiday for decades, hosted a Yule history lesson at Moon Dreamz in Winter Haven.
The Pagan people comprised of agricultural societies, so plants and other greenery, like holly were used as decoration.
During this time of year, the Pagans would bring in the yule log that would be burned throughout Yuletide. The longer the yule log burned, the faster the sun would return to warm the earth. Over time, the yule log would be replaced with the Yule tree, which was decorated with objects gathered from nature, such as berries and pinecones.