Yule is a midwinter festival rooted in Norse and Germanic traditions celebrated around the winter solstice on December 21 or 22.
The festival marks the solstice, the longest night of the year, symbolizing rebirth, light, and the return of the sun after the longest night.
Yule tradition includes decorations of holly, mistletoe, ivy, pine and fir trees representing life’s enduring presence throughout the long dark Winter,
The burning of the Yule log, candles, bonfires and light symbolizes the welcome return of the Sun after the darkness of Solstice.
Feasting, merriment, shared meals, toasting, community celebrations and gift giving also feature prominently throughout Yule, all of which would later emerge within the Christmas celebrations of early settlers in North America in the centuries that followed.