A Different Type of Holiday

I am not Christian, therefor I do not celebrate Christmas.

I am Pagan, drawing heavily from Celtic and Wiccan roots.

I celebrate Yule.

There is information here about the holiday, which is one of the greater Sabbats.

It falls on December 21st, the Winter Solstice. It is the longest night of the year.

This year, two other marvelous things happen on the 21st.

First, it is a full moon, the last of the year. This moon is known as the Long Nights Moon, but rarely does it fall on the longest night of the year, making it an extremely charged and powerful moon.

In addition to it being a full moon, in my area of the world, there will also be a full lunar eclipse that morning, around 3am. You can find one interpretation of the significance of this celestial event here.

In any case, I have set up my altar, previously seen in my Focused Energy blip.

I moved it out of my room and into the living room, as Yule truly is a communal holiday, one of family and friends.

Yes, those are presents under my altar. There is a certain level of gift exchange at Yule, much like Christmas. Plus my family is Christian and still send me Christmas gifts, regardless of my faith.

I will never look a gift horse in the mouth....^_^