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Yuletide or Christmas?
There is a lot of confusion in the secular world about this December celebration. This might help explain some traditions associated with Christmas.
The pre-Christian people of Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Greenland, Denmark, Scotland and the Faroe Islands) called this month Jòl. They still do. "Jul" or "Jol" are cognates of Norse "Jòlnir" or "Ýlir", which are alternate names of Odin-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jul_%28Norway%29 The long-bearded God Odin bears the names jólfaðr (Old Norse for "Yule father") and jólnir ("the Yule one").-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule
The Yuletide celebration is centered around the shortest day of the year, around the 21st of Dec.. The ancients referred to this as the (yearly) death of Sunna, the sun. Today we call this event the Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice is the first day of a 12-day celebration, with a pre-celebration time the night before called Mother Night. This year Mother Night is 20 Dec.. On Mother Night an evergreen tree is lit with candles and memento's of dead family members are hung from the branches. This night they invited the spirits of their departed motherly women to come and enjoy a meal with their living family. They would light a fire in the hearth and have a hearty feast with lots to drink. And they would talk about and rejoice in the lives of these motherly figures, toasting each one as the night wore on.
The next day was the day to bid farewell to the sun and her life-giving light. They would light the trunk of a giant oak - big enough to burn for the 12-days of Yuletide. They would feast on pork and breads and puddings.
During Yuletide Odin would begin the Wild Hunt. Gathering the slain warriors living in Valhalla Odin would set out in the night sky riding his magical 8-legged horse. The children would fill their shoes with food for the horse and Odin would leave a small gift in return.
In New Zealand, this is Summer time (well, it's "SUPPOSED" to be, but with the changing climate things are different) Anyways, down here we celebrate all things "summery" - like BBQ's, partying, going to the beach (which everyone living in NZ can do within about an hour or two from home), walking around in bare feet - even in the towns. It's our "holiday" time. As a non-christian (or any religious faith) I celebrate the pagan rituals based on the seasons of the year. For me, our Winter time is the time of feasting and sitting around warm fires drinking mulled wine and stuff that most Northern hemisphere people do during December. Being part Scottish means that "Hogmanay" is the most important time around this part of the year for me. Even when alone by myself, i always make sure i sit up to see the New Year in.
Christmas.