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YULE IN BRITAIN
Copyright 1987, Tana Culain
Midwinter has long been a traditional time for celebration and
merrymaking in Britain. All of the activities at midwinter were
meant to ensure that the season would renew itself and the days
would begin to grow longer again. Greenery was brought into
decorate the house: evergreen to symbolize the promise of life to
come even in the darkest winter; the mistletoe, believed to hold
the life of the host tree even when the tree itself appeared to
be dead in winter; and the holly and ivy, symbols of male and
female, both of course necessary for new life. Carols, some of
which survive to this day, such as the Gower Wassail, were sung.
The earliest carols consisted of taking hands and singing while
dancing in a ring or around a bush, May tree, or even an apple
tree (as in the case of the Apple Tree Wassail, sung in hopes of
a good crop of cider the following year).
The Wassail Carols in particular date back to the Viking
invasions of England, about 700 A.D. , when the greeting was Ves
heill. By Anglo-Saxon times, the greeting had evolved into Waes
thu hal, meaning "be whole" or "good health". The response was
"drink hail" , meaning "I drink and good luck be to you". People
would travel from house to house in the village bringing good
wishes and carrying an empty bowl. The master of the house being
wassailed was expected to fill the bowl with a hot spicy ale and
then it would be passed around to the carolers.
Midwinter was also a time for exchanging gifts and for feasting.
Turkey only dates to the 1500's. Much more common were boar,
geese, capons, swans, and pheasants. Minced pies were originally
made with meat, and with the coming of spices to England during
the Crusades, plum pudding became quite the traditional dish.
Plum pudding makes a great dish for cakes and wine in the Yule
circle, especially if you pour warmed brandy over it and set it
afire before the blessing.
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While I am writing about midwinter customs in Britain because our
heritage in .K.A.M. is largely Celtic in origin, the Isles do not
have a monopoly on Yule. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia for
seven days around the Solstice, and it was a time to look ahead
and rejoice in the longer days to come. Slaves and masters
switched places at table, and presents were exchanged. The
Persian Mithraists held December 25th as sacred to the birth of
their Sun God, Mithras, and celebrated it as a victory of light
over darkness. And in Sweden, December 13th was sacred to the
Goddess Lucina, Shining One, and was a celebration of the return
of the light. On Yule itself, around the 21st, bonfires were lit
to honor Odin and Thor.
Midwinter has always been a Pagan holiday, so much so that during
the 1600's the Christian Christmas was recognized as a
celebration based on Pagan customs and was outlawed in England
and many of the colonies in America.
(Text version of the Journal has "Gower Wassail" here)
A Monthly Rune (Traditional)
January By this fire I warm my hands
February And with my spade I delve my lands
March Here I set my seeds to spring
April And here I hear the birds to sing
May I am as light as bird in the treetop
June And I take pains to weed my crop
July With my scythe my mead I mow
August And here I shear my corn full low
September With my flail I earn my bread
October And here I sow my wheat so red (Winter wheat)
November At Martinmas I kill my swine *
December And at Yule I drink red wine
* Martinmas, November 11, is a christianization of the Pagan
Celtic Hallows when the herds were culled
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Recipe for Wassail for 8
3 red apples
3 oz brown sugar
2 pints brown ale, apple cider, or hard cider
1/2 pint dry sherry or dry white wine
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
strips of lemon peel
Core and heat apples with brown sugar and some of the ale or
cider in an oven for 30 minutes. Put in large pan and add rest
of spices and lemon peel, simmer on stove top of 5 minutes. Add
most of the alcohol at the last minute so it heats up but does
not evaporate. Burgundy and brandy can be substituted to the ale
and sherry. White sugar and halved oranges may also be added to
taste.
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Plum Pudding
1/4 lb. flour
1/4 lb. currants
1 tsp. salt
1/4 lb. sultanas (small raisins)
1 tsp. allspice
2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 tsp. ginger
1 ounce cut mixed (citrus) peel
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 oz. shredded almonds
pinch fresh grated nutmeg
Juice and grated rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon
1/4 lb. fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 lb. molasses (treacle)
1/2 lb. shredded suet
4 large eggs
1/4 lb. brown sugar
2 tbsp. brandy
1/4 lb. dried chopped apricots
1/4 lb. prunes
1/4 lb dates
Sift flour, salt and spices into a large bowl. Stir in
breadcrumbs, suet and sugar. Add fruits, peel and rind. Beat
lemon and orange juice, molasses and eggs together and add to
other ingredients. Steam for 6 hours -- a coffee tin filled with
the mixture and placed in a steamer in a covered pan does well.
A little vinegar and lemon juice in the water will prevent the
pan from discoloration. After steaming cover in a cool place and
let age as long as possible -- usually about 5 weeks. To serve,
re-steam for another 3 hours. Remove from tin, douse with warm
brandy and set it ablaze!
If you haven't got six weeks before Yule to prepare a proper
pudding (I never do) a tinned one from Crosse & Blackwell will do
fine. Just be sure to always heat the pudding first, no matter
who made it, or all the warmed brandy in the world won't help.
And don't forget the hard sauce!
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