How to Celebrate a Wiccan Christmas

Christmas is traditionally viewed as a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Christ, but the holiday is actually an adaptation of the Wiccan holiday of Yule. The season's emphasis on Christian and Western tradition can make celebrating with Wiccan traditions a bit difficult, but there are actually several forms of celebration shared by both holidays. Here are some suggestions for celebrating a Wiccan Christmas.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Make wreaths. The wreath is a traditional Christmas decoration but is comprised of elements that have strong symbolism in Wicca. Make wreaths of your own and display them as a circular representation of the life cycle and in celebration of renewal and rebirth, one of Yule's meanings. Use traditional elements like rosemary and evergreen to represent the foliage of the season or be creative and add your own elements.

2. Light a Yule log. A roaring fire is a great way to celebrate Christmas, but the Yule log is really a Wiccan tradition. The Yule log is a traditional representation of the rebirth of the God by the Goddess. If you burn a Yule log, choose one from a tree traditional to the season, like fir or pine, and mark or carve it with a sun or other appropriate symbols.

3. Create a Yule tree. This can be a fun way to include family members that may not be Wiccan in your traditional celebration. Choose a young fir or pine tree that you can later plant outdoors to help the environment and to celebrate new life in the earth. Decorate it with quartz crystals that symbolize light and energy or opt for strands of cranberries and dried slices of apples, oranges and lemons which were traditional decorations for Yule trees in ancient times.

4. Hang evergreen boughs. Arrangements of these seasonal trees hung over doorways celebrate the cycle of life that Yule commemorates and are intended to bring good luck to any who pass under them. This may be where the tradition of kissing under a sprig of mistletoe originated from.

5. Prepare traditional foods. Foods such as cider, mulled wine, gingerbread and dried fruits are all foods that would have been found at a Yule celebration in ancient times. Add cloves to ripe apples and oranges and give them as traditional gifts. Incorporating these traditional foods into your modern recipes will help you feel close to the old ways of Yule.

6. Share your traditions. If you are celebrating Yule among family members who celebrate a more Christian version of the Christmas holiday, share some of the commonalities between the holidays with them. Both holidays are about family and togetherness so sharing some of your Wiccan beliefs with them may be a great way to let them see what your faith is about.

Resources

• Learn about all the Wiccan holidays and their traditions at wicca.com.
• Find out how other Wiccans celebrate Yule at beliefnet.com.

[trinya]

on 11/19/2009 wicca is a pagan religion predating christianity. it is therefore the "old religion". gardnerian wiccan was introduced in the 1950's but is by no means the beginning of wicca. this is important to remember to be true to pagan roots. i myself follow an eclectic path where i can feel free to combine the new age with my old beliefs. therefore, my family celebrates christmas in a traditional way without the emphasis on the christian bible. in other words, we have a tree, a family dinner, candles, pine boughs & wreaths, but none of the "christ was born on cristmas day...". we agree to celebrate the season of enjoying the fruits of the harvest and the warmth of the hearth as the family stays together and rests through the winter months. this works for us. let me know if it works for you too. merry yule!

[akumaxkami]

on 10/20/2009 Actually, Wicca really wasn't founded until the 1950's. Wicca is a relatively new religion that takes many practices and beliefs from ancient pagan faiths but the current incarnation of Wicca is in no way itself "ancient".

[moonchild1989]

on 10/10/2009 entroki, a correction if I might. A common misconception is that Wicca was 'founded'. Not true. Wicca is a part of paganism that has been around since pre-christian times. It wasn't PUBLICIZED or well known until 1954 when that one guy developed his own method of the religion. It has been around for centuries. The year in which it was 'founded' as you say was actually the year in which a man came out with his own version. Its a very common misconception but its just not true.

[entroki]

on 12/22/2008 While Christmas is an adaptation of pagan holidays, it is NOT an adaptation of the "Wiccan" holiday Yule, since Wicca was not founded until 1954.

[Chaddy]

on 11/23/2007 Excellent article - thanks!