Yule

What is Yule?

The name comes from the midwinter feast of the Germanic and Norse peoples, jól in Old Norse. It was a time for gathering, feasting and keeping fires burning through the dark, and many of its customs, from the Yule log to evergreens brought indoors, were folded into Christmas.

At its heart is a simple turning point. After the solstice the days lengthen again, a little each morning, so Yule is as much about hope as it is about darkness.

The winter solstice in Ireland

At Newgrange in the Boyne Valley, a passage tomb built more than 5,000 years ago, the rising sun on the mornings around the winter solstice shines down the long stone passage and lights the chamber inside for about 17 minutes. It is older than Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza.

So many people hope to see it that places inside the chamber are given out each year by lottery.

Ways to mark Yule at home

• Keep a candle through the longest night

  Light one at dusk on the solstice and let it burn through the evening, in place of the old Yule log.

• Watch the sunrise

  Get up for the first sunrise after the longest night, however grey it is.

• Bring the evergreens in

  Cedar, fir, holly or ivy on the mantle or the table, for the green that lasts all winter.

• Share a winter meal

  Something slow and warm, with the lights low and good company.