Celebrating the Seasons: Winter Solstice
Lore and Rituals by Selena Fox

Winter Solstice also known as Yule, Christmas, and Saturnalia, occurs in mid December. It celebrates the birth of the new Solar year and the beginning of Winter. The Goddess manifests as the Great Mother and the God as the Sun Child. The God also appears as Santa Claus and Old Man Winter. Colors are Red, Green, and White. This is a festival of inner renewal.

Strengthen bonds with family and friends by visiting and/or exchanging gifts and greetings. Decorate your home with lights, greens, and holiday colors. Bless your home with a Yule wreath on your front door and sprigs of mistletoe inside. If you are part of a group, take up a collection of food and/or clothing at your Yule gathering and give what you collected to a social service agency to distribute to the needy. Place sunflower seeds outside for wild birds to feast upon. Greet the Sun at dawn on Solstice morning by ringing bells. Do magic for a more peaceful planet.

  • Celebrating Winter Solstice
  • Sacred Plants of Winter Solstice
  • Pagan Yuletide Greenery
  • Pagan Yuletide Chants
  • Winter Solstice Celebrations for Families and Households
  • Saturnalia: Winter Solstice in Pagan Rome
  • Saturnalia Poem
  • Wintertime Wassail
  • Riding with Holda: Winter Solstice Goddess by Selena Fox
  • About Circle Sanctuary's Annual Winter Solstice Celebration in Madison
  • About Circle Community Yule at Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve