Yuletide Blessings to the Northern Hemisphere!
My love for the fairies has been with me all my life. Over the last few years, as part of the expansion of my spiritual journey, I have set the intention to honour the fairy festivals, marking the dates in my diary. My celebrations have not reached the levels of extravagance and dedication I aspire to, but I have always tried to mark the occasion in some small way. At the very least, I light a candle, pull out my copy of The Fairy Bible and take a few minutes to read about the festival and its traditions.
I live in Australia, so technically I am celebrating Litha/Summer Solstice. Most of the mainstream traditions and imagery we experience around this time of the year reflect those of the Northern Hemisphere. Here in the South, while we swelter through heatwaves and shelter from summer thunderstorms, we dream of colder places and experiencing a White Christmas. In our imaginations, we leave Litha, and escape to Yule.
It is the most wonderful time of the year, and also one of the busiest and most stressful, especially for those in the service industry. The days are longer- extended trading hours bring earlier starts and later finishes. In between my shifts, I have drawn on nature to refresh and reset, by taking long walks on the beach near my house, deeply breathing in the sea air and blowing out all my frustrations of the day.
Fairy festivals always draw back to honouring the cycles of nature. Honouring these festivals, even just by taking some time in nature, can help us to ground and reconnect in these hectic times.
Yule is the Midwinter Solstice, when the sun again appears to stand still, as it did at midsummer, but the season is poised to return to light.
As you deck your Christmas tree, remember that the evergreen is powerful symbol of the enduring life of nature. Yule is a fairy festival, and at this time the Fair Folk rejoice in the sun’s rebirth. Decorating your tree is an important magical art, for the decorations are fairy charms. Every member of the family should hang at least one special charm of their own, to enable a wish to come true. Don’t forget the fairy on top!
Father Christmas
By far the best-known and most powerful fairy at Yule is Father Christmas. He is recognised all over the world, as Kris Kringle in Germany, and Père Noël in France. In Brazil he is Papa Noël, and Dan Che Loa in China.
Today we know him by his robes of red and white, but in the past he was known to wear green and other colours. Red is the colour of life and death, and many fairies wear red caps. The red that Father Christmas often wears is a sign that he is an Otherworld being, very much alive, but not of this earth. He is the essence of Yuletide mystery, joy and renewal, and, like many traditional fairies, comes in and out via the hearth (fireplace).
When it is quiet this Christmas Eve, get ready to welcome Father Christmas by looking at the stars, and listening for the sleigh bells. Pledge a gift for a friend and one for the world, and ask for a special gift to answer your heart’s desire. Write your wish on a piece of paper and ‘post’ it up the chimney if you have an open fire. If not, light a candle and burn the paper in the flame.
Kate Kelsen 