December 21st is the shortest day and longest night of this year here in the North. Winter solstice is a celebration of the turning of the sun that falls on the 20th, 21st, 22nd or the 23rd of December. This particular celebration goes way back; The pagan Scandinavian people celebrated a twelve-day “midwinter” (winter solstice) holiday called Yule (or rather – “Jól” in old norse or “Jul” in Norwegian). Winter solstice has a deep, personal meaning to me because it marks a spiritual energy increase with new hope for the future. Indeed, Winter Solstice is a “funeral” where I bury the darkness of the past, but it is also a celebration where I focus on the light of the future. Urd, Skuld and Verdande are significant to my celebration, and I do not base that particular part on any sources. Little does man know about the Viking Ways – so much of The Heathen traditions were lost in the awful Christianization of Norway.
However you celebrate this season, and whatever your religion or lifestyle might be; I wish you peace, blessings, hopes and visions this Winter Solstice night.
Viking bear hugs,
Sól Geirsdóttir