Hi lovelies,
I'm so excited to offer you this Inner Circle post today - Honestly, I've been looking forward to it for weeks! I'm not sure if you know this about me, but Winter is my favorite season and the Winter Solstice/Yule is my favorite holiday! Every year since I was a baby, my family has celebrated the Solstice with a wonderful annual party, filled with Yuletide festivities and family traditions. So today I want to share with you just a few of these traditions, in hopes that you find some inspiration leading into the holiday season.
Have any questions? Have an idea for next week's Inner Circle post? Let me know in the comments!
Many blessings,
Marin
1. King Cake
Often attributed to a Christian ritual celebrating Jesus, this is actually a tradition dating back to the ancient Germanic celebration of Yule. In my family, it's the method we use to choose who is the "king" or "queen" of the Solstice each year.
First, you prepare the batter for a plain cake. After you pour the batter into the pan, drop a single uncooked bean randomly into the batter. After you cook the cake, cut out the pieces and hand them around to your guests or family (if you are able to celebrate with others this year). Whoever gets the piece with the bean becomes the King or Queen, and they get to choose their Queen or King to rule by their side. For the rest of the night, they are in charge of directing the festivities, and all other guests have to treat them like royalty.
2. Crafting & Decor
The best way to decorate for Yule is with dried natural material. Every year around this time, I take a long walk through the woods and forage for pinecones, fallen evergreen branches, birch bark, and anything else that calls to me. Just be sure to stay away from any poisonous plants on your foraging walk!
Ideas for natural crafts:
- Make hanging bird feeders by stuffing pinecones with peanut butter.
- Slice oranges and bake them in the oven at 200F for 3-4 hours. Your house will smell delicious, and you can then lace the dried orange slices onto a garland.
- Tie together cedar, crystals, candle, and pinecones to make beautiful ornaments and centerpieces. Get creative!
3. Predictions
Every year for our Solstice Party, my family includes a fun game of reading predictions from last year, and writing predictions for the upcoming year. We read last year's prediction cards out loud, to see if any of them came true, and keep secret our written predictions for next year. I'm not entirely sure if this came from a historical custom or not, but it's definitely in keeping with the Yule traditional idea of making wishes for the upcoming year. It's said that you can see glimmers of the future in the sparks of a Yule bonfire...
4. Candle Lighting
Another important Winter tradition in my family is candle lighting. The Solstice/Yule marks the end of a year, so it's time to let go and say goodbye to those we've lost or ideas that no longer serve us. Every Winter Solstice, we light candles for those who have passed, and let the candles burn bright for the rest of the night until morning. This ritual is a bit on the heavier side, but can be a very healing experience that brings people together in a very powerful way.
5. Wassail
If you've heard of Wassail before, you likely know it as a type of mulled cider. But did you know that it was also the origin of Christmas Caroling? In medieval Europe, the act of "Wassailing" described the act of going door-to-door in a merry crowd, drunkenly singing and well-wishing with their "Wassail" mulled cider. Nowadays public drinking is frowned upon, but we can still make the cider and celebrate with songs and toasts!
To make Wassail, simply toss the following ingredients into a slow cooker or a simmering pot for a couple hours, then spike it with brandy or your liquor of choice (or drink it without):
- 1 gallon of apple cider
- 1 fresh sliced apple
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- a small piece of ginger root, chopped
- 1 tsp of coriander seed
- 8 whole cloves
- 6 allspice berries
- 2 star anise pods
- 6 cardamom pods
- a sprinkling of fresh ground nutmeg