The Celebration Of Yuletide Part I

When Neblung (November), the month of the dead, has passed, the time of Yuletide is starting, with its knowledge of the rising of the sun from its sleep, of the renewal after the wintry death, of the birth of the light from the darkness of the long nights. Although we who live in the far North now can alleviate the depressing feelings through electrical light and heating theese days, the old experiences of our ancestors are very strong and vivid in us. We still feel that Yuletide is the greatest celebration of our year. Therefore we make every effort to celebrate it in style with our family.

The Timetable

Firstly you have to look at the whole of this festive time. It used to last from the 6th day of Jul (December), which was Wotan's Day and is now St. Nikolaus's Day, to the 6th day of Hornung (January), which was the old Frigga Day and is now Epiphany, with the main celebration at Midwinter Night, the night of 21st of Jul, when all the mountain tops would have been alight with fires.

We have become accustomed to some alterations to this timetable. The preparationtime, Advent, now lasts from the first Sunday in Jul to the 24th of Jul. Advent contains 4 Jul Sundays, Wotan's Day (6th), and the Winter Solstice (21st). The Twelve Sacred Days of the season start with Yuletide Night on Jul 24th and end on Frigga Day on Hornung 6th. These 12 days are filled with special celebrations, especially on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.