Hello everyone, and welcome to the Jingle JAM!
No, not that one- this is the Jarrow Archaeological Mission Yuletide celebration!
As the Winter Solstice races towards us, now is the perfect time to take a closer look at where many of our current festive traditions find their origins. So put down your baubles and tinsel; that homemade model of Mortimer Wheeler can be put atop the Christmas tree later! Gather round your phones or laptop screens, and dive into the exciting origins of Yule……
Yule is believed to have been a festival that was common to Germanic groups though-out northern Europe, including Anglo-Saxon Britain. The Norse Sagas’ give one of the best insights into the possible Pre-Christian tradition of Yule, as they depict the festival as a time of spiritual observance, as well as of great celebration and feasting; a festival of light in the darkest time of the year.
There is some debate about when the Yule Period began, but general consensus suggests around Midwinter, or the Winter Solstice, lasting for 12 days. Yule has historically been linked to other festivals such as The Wild Hunt where ghostly huntsman, sometimes led by Woden or Odin in Scandavia, ride across the night sky accompanied by Hellhounds, snatching up the souls of the dead and the less than careful living,
Picture: ‘The Wild Hunt of Odin’ Peter Nicolai Arbo (1872), Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design, The Fine Art Collections (available here).
as well as Mōdraniht ‘or Mothers’ Night’, which historians believe may have been a type of votive festival. Mōdraniht is described by Bede in his De Temporum Ratione;
“… began the year on the 8th calends of January [25 December], when we celebrate the birth of the Lord. That very night, which we hold so sacred, they used to call by the heathen word Modranecht, that is, “mother’s night”, because (we suspect) of the ceremonies they enacted all that night”
Wallis, Faith (Trans.) (1999). Bede: The Reckoning of Time.
The modern word ‘Yule’ likely finds its origins in the Old English word ġēol which is believed to come from the word hwēol, which ultimately came from the Proto-Germanic Word jehwl meaning wheel and may refer to the cyclical movement of the sun. In old Norse Yule may come from Jól, which is believed to come from the word hjól meaning wheel, which also comes from the Proto-Germanic word jehwl. Ġēol and Jól are cognate words, meaning they come from the same linguistic origin, in this case jehwl. Linguistics is one of the many ways we can trace the movement of people and culture through history.
In both languages, Yule is also used to name the month of winter that we now consider December or January, geola or giuli in Old English as noted by Bede in his De Temporum Ratione, and ýlir in Norse.
Interestingly, the Norse God Odin is also often called by the name Jólnir or ‘Yule One’, connecting him with the winter festival.
Picture: ‘Odhin’ Johannes Gehrts (1901) (available here).
However, all historical sources MUST be taken with a pinch of salt, and the Venerable Bede is no exception.
The majority of evidence used to describe a Pre-Christian Yule festival comes from two places; the accounts of Bede and the accounts of Icelandic historian, poet and politician Snorri Sturluson. Both of these people were Christian writers, and recorded their accounts of the Pagan festival of Yule in the 8th and 13th centuries respectively, well after Pagan traditions had been displaced by the Christian faith in the case of Snorri Sturluson. Bede, in particular, was denouncing these pagan festivals, and despite his credibility as a scholar this is still a form of bias that may have led him to misrepresent aspects of the historical narrative. For this reason it is important to maintain a critical eye when reading anything written about Pre-Christian beliefs or values, especially online articles where it is more difficult to determine what source material the information was taken from (even this one, yes I do see the irony).
Some historians have even argued that Yule as a word and concept was introduced to Britain as a synonym for the Christian festival of Christmas by the Danish in the High Middle Ages.
Picture: ‘Bringing in the Yule Log’ Sir John Gilbert (1817-1897), Pen and Black ink on wove paper, Royal Academy of Arts (available here).
Regardless, the continuation of festive traditions such as feasting, the Yule Log, Wassailing and bringing evergreen trees into the home are still practiced today. These traditions help corroborate Yule as a prolonged season of midwinter celebration, combining Christian and non-Christian elements, regardless of whether it has an Anglo-Saxon or later medieval origin.
There is one more thing we can be sure of; Yule is here to stay!