Happy Midwinter!

Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and a holiday many thousands of years older than Christianity. It is a day that has directly influenced traditions all across Earth. Midwinter was referred to as “Yule” by Scandinavian Norse mythology, and Germanic pagans. Yule logs were lit to honor Thor, the god of thunder, with the belief that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year. Yule included the sacrifice of a pig for the god Freyr, a tradition which survives to this day through the Christmas ham. Yule continued through the Middle Ages in Iceland, but was eliminated when the Protestant Reformation arrived.

Happy Midwinter with much Yule Joy from Nature’s Graffiti to you and your loved ones!

Picture from acoupleofartists.com