The Celebration Of Yuletide Part II
The Jul Wreath
On the first Jul Sunday the Jul Wreath is hung up in the livingroom. Its fir branches fill the house with pre Yuletide smells, its red ribbons awaken the joy for the coming celebrations, and its red candles brighten up the dark winter evenings. The Yuletide Wreath is equivalent to the old Sun Wheel, and as it is made from living greenery it reminds us of the old Tree Of Life. Once we have made these connections we will surely make the right preparations for the festival.
One should get a wooden wheel of about 50 to 80 cm diameter. Cut off one side of the hub so the wheel can lie flat. It is then stained dark brown or bright red and so becomes the Jul Wheel of the family, wich should be kept on a low table or the family chest in a corner of the living room.
The Jul Wheel or Sun Wheel with its deep rooted Germanic religious meaning is utilised as the base for the Yuletide Tree.
A small, young, forked tree trunk without branches is stuck into the centre of the hub, so we can recreate the Tree Of Life growing from the Sun Wheel wich will be used by the family at every celebration of the year.
Instead of the cart wheel you can use a wooden wheel with the dividers inset and decorated with Runic letters. The tree should still be fixed in the centre. The green tree may be replaced every year by the trunk of the Yuletide tree at the end of the season. It is important that the wooden wheel has replaced the meaningless cast iron Christmas tree stand, wich has no place in our homes. The same goes for electric tree lights and the horrible glass decorations for the tree.
We now place red ribbon borth ways across the fork of the tree, the ends of wich are tied to the Jul Wreath, wich now hangs freely about half way up the tree.
The Yuletide Tree
The Jul Wreath is made by binding bundles of small pine twigs around a wooden hoop (a child's toy hoop is ideal), and fastening 4 red candles on it.
When the Woman prepares the table for afternoon coffee on the first Jul Sunday, she decorates it with further twigs of pine and lights the first candle on the Jul Wreath. Every following Sunday an additional candle on the Jul Wreath is lit, thereby the lights grow slowly untill there is an explotion of lights on the Juletide Tree by the time of Winter Solstice, portraying the Winter Solstice fires. It is also customary to light 4 candles on the first Sunday, decreasing it every week by 1 candle. This should point to the dying old year, wich is reborn in the many candles on the Yuletide Tree even as its last candle dies away.
On the first Jul Sunday the Jul Wreath is hung up in the livingroom. Its fir branches fill the house with pre Yuletide smells, its red ribbons awaken the joy for the coming celebrations, and its red candles brighten up the dark winter evenings. The Yuletide Wreath is equivalent to the old Sun Wheel, and as it is made from living greenery it reminds us of the old Tree Of Life. Once we have made these connections we will surely make the right preparations for the festival.
One should get a wooden wheel of about 50 to 80 cm diameter. Cut off one side of the hub so the wheel can lie flat. It is then stained dark brown or bright red and so becomes the Jul Wheel of the family, wich should be kept on a low table or the family chest in a corner of the living room.
The Jul Wheel or Sun Wheel with its deep rooted Germanic religious meaning is utilised as the base for the Yuletide Tree.
A small, young, forked tree trunk without branches is stuck into the centre of the hub, so we can recreate the Tree Of Life growing from the Sun Wheel wich will be used by the family at every celebration of the year.
Instead of the cart wheel you can use a wooden wheel with the dividers inset and decorated with Runic letters. The tree should still be fixed in the centre. The green tree may be replaced every year by the trunk of the Yuletide tree at the end of the season. It is important that the wooden wheel has replaced the meaningless cast iron Christmas tree stand, wich has no place in our homes. The same goes for electric tree lights and the horrible glass decorations for the tree.
We now place red ribbon borth ways across the fork of the tree, the ends of wich are tied to the Jul Wreath, wich now hangs freely about half way up the tree.
The Yuletide Tree
The Jul Wreath is made by binding bundles of small pine twigs around a wooden hoop (a child's toy hoop is ideal), and fastening 4 red candles on it.
When the Woman prepares the table for afternoon coffee on the first Jul Sunday, she decorates it with further twigs of pine and lights the first candle on the Jul Wreath. Every following Sunday an additional candle on the Jul Wreath is lit, thereby the lights grow slowly untill there is an explotion of lights on the Juletide Tree by the time of Winter Solstice, portraying the Winter Solstice fires. It is also customary to light 4 candles on the first Sunday, decreasing it every week by 1 candle. This should point to the dying old year, wich is reborn in the many candles on the Yuletide Tree even as its last candle dies away.
posted by Lanz at 12/08/2005
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