| Gwyl Canol Gaeaf (Winter Solstice) Yule Druid ar Môn 22nd DEC 2007 Holly King / Santa Claus: There are as many theories of a "historical" Santa Clause (or "Saint Nicholas") as there are ethnic cultures. As an Keltic folk archetype however, the old man wreathed in holly is the Holly King. He represents the "waning year", the "old year", or the "dark half" of the year. At winter solstice the Oak King (or the Sun, or the New Year) is born, and the Holly King's reign is over. Mistletoe: The mistletoe was sacred to the Druids. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe may derive from the custom of enemies refraining from killing each other if they should happen to meet under its sacred branches. Presumably the custom became friendlier and friendlier with time. Other scholars say that the lusty connotations of the plant derive from the belief that the clusters of white translucent berries were drops of the God's (or the Oak King's) semen. The Oak King takes the place of the Holly King, and rules the waxing year, or the "New Year Candles: The extinguishing of candles at winter solstice rituals (including Amaltheia's) represents the deep darkness of the longest night. Their relighting shows us that the light will return to us. In the moments of total darkness, we are "between the worlds": between the old year's death and the new year's conception. Yule Log: The word "yule" is from the Saxon word for "wheel". The Yule Log,OE geol, geola "Christmas Day, Christmastide," from ON jol ... |
![](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yDXZLt6EqQM/3.jpg "YULE Winter solstice Gwyl Canol Gaeaf /|\")
