What are you doing for Solstice this year?

[LiberalEsto]

My family's Yule/Dec. 21 custom is to eat dinner together with candles on the table, and take turns reading a short ritual from The Spiral Dance by Starhawk.

Lately I've been making potato pancakes for the supper - partly because we love them and partly as a nod to our Jewish friends at Hanukkah season. Dessert is a thing I make involving cherry Jello, cranberry juice, whole cranberry sauce, mandarin orange slices and Cool Whip. We all adore it.

Then I give my daughters and husband each a small gift, because it's my holiday, the pagan celebration.

If I have the energy, I do my own solitary ritual afterward.

We also go to the Unitarian Christmas Eve service and enjoy a more or less traditional Estonian Christmas eve dinner. Sauerkraut, roasted boiled potatos, a small pork loin, the cranberry Jello thing again, and homemade cookies. In accordance with my husband's family's tradition, we exchange gifts on Christmas Day.

An interesting combination of different traditions, but it certainly keeps the holiday spirit going.

Now, tell me about your celebrations!

[roguevalley]

1. so lovely. You sound like you are headed for fun land. :)

We are going to have a great dinner. I'm cooking turkey and the fixings. Then we will go and celebrate my niece's birthday. Lucky her, to be born on Yule.

Solitary ceremony follows thanking them both for our good fortunes. Of course, it will probably be -10 at the time outside so it won't be long.

:)

[LiberalEsto]

6. Actually I've got a tummy virus

and have been sick since Sunday. :puke:

We would have celebrated last night, on Solstice Eve, but I barely managed to eat a little boiled rice before tottering back to bed. I told the kids & Dave to open their Yule gifts and open cans or nuke something for dinner.

Today I'm slightly better, but the older daughter's starting to feel wobbly, the younger one's working at her part-time waitress job, Dave's working late and it looks like boiled rice again.

Darn I hate these holiday viruses.

Wish9ing all of you a fabulous Yule and a virus-free holiday season!




:hi: :hi: :hi:

[Dervill Crow]

2. Two Yules and two Christmases

I'm blessed to have two covens, an eclectic pagan coven that I've been with for several years and a gard outer court, so I'll have Yule with each of them on the 17th and 16th, respectively. On the 21st I'll do something alone to celebrate the actual day, and then I'll have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day both at my house with my grown kids and their boyfriends in and out at different times, depending on what they are doing with the BF's families.

And I haven't even started shopping yet. This year it is going to be simple, low stress, and lots of time with friends and family.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Many American Sufis celebrate Dec. 17

That is the Urs of Melvana Jelalludin Rumi, the famous poet. He died on this date, and the members of his order (the Mevlevi Order) do a special ceremony on this date, one where they turn-this is where the term "whirling dervishes" came from, btw. You can find out more by visiting the Mevlevi Order of America's website. I don't recall the url, but it is listed at www.churchofall.us as one of their links.

I like to either do a sweatlodge ceremony or zkr on New Year's Eve. Zkr is a ceremony of remembrance in which sacred phrases are chanted, sung, and even danced.

[Metta]

4. It's halfway to our next anniversary.

We don't have any formalized plans. We'll do something special, I'm sure. Either I'll cook or we'll go out. This year, we're splitting up for Xmas, our first apart from each other. My wife'll go to her family in central PA. Her sister's up from Clearwater and her neice will bring the baby. I'll be in Detroit for my nephew's bar mitzvah. First time I've seen my brother with his family in eight years. It should be a big blow out.

For New Year's, dinner at our favorite Indian place, weather permitting.

[LibertyLover]

5. Yule this year

I'm joining my coven to celebrate Yule this evening. My husband is watching our daughter. My covenmates and I will exchange gifts and feast afterwards. When I get home, I will put my little girl to bed and tell her about the return of the Sun. Then my husband and I will probably light a candle together. On the 24th my stepdaughter is coming down for dinner and gift exchange. We will give our daughter her gifts from us. Then of course Santa comes during the night and on the morning of the 25th she will get her gifts from Santa. We may try to visit friends and family and then in the evening have a nice dinner. Basically Yule is our religious holiday while the 24th-25th are the social holidays.