The Haven

Yule, also known as the Winter Solstice, is the longest night of the year.  After the Solstice, the days begin to grow longer again as the Sun begins its return.  Yule is a time for introspection and planning of the future as well as a celebration of the rebirth of the Sun. Customs and Activities: caroling burning the Yule log (or candle) kissing under the mistletoe baking sweets Colors: red, green, gold, white, silver, yellow, orange Decorations: Yule log (or candle) evergreen boughs or wreaths holly & mistletoe candles clove studded fruit poinsettias stars stags Foods: pork or poultry dishes fruits & nuts ginger tea cookies eggnog cider Scents of the season: pine cedar rosemary sage peppermint cinnamon

The Summer Solstice, also known as Litha or Midsummer, is the longest day of the year.  After the Solstice the nights gradually begin to grow longer again.  Litha is a fire festival and a classic time for magic of all types. Customs and Activities: spend the day outside wear the colors of the Sun lighting a blaze (or candles) on Midsummer's Eve and maintaining it until midnight brings luck and blessings to the home Colors: red, orange, yellow, green, and white Decorations: sunflowers bees lanterns or twinkle lights wreath of ivy with yellow & red flowers or ribbon intertwined Foods:  due to the Summer heat in FL, I like to serve a light meal that doesn't require the oven. summer veggies grilled meat, poultry, or fish Sangria anything lemony or citrus Spellworkings: love divination protection inspiration any fairy magic

From Better Homes & Gardens I may not be around much for the rest of this week.  Busy with last minute preparations and all.  I'll be popping in to read everyone's posts but I may not be leaving comments or writing my own posts.  So just in case, I want to wish everyone a very Happy Yule and Merry Christmas!  Enjoy the lunar eclipse tonight if you're lucky enough to see it.  I don't know if I'll be able to stay up that late...work starts pretty early. Happy Holidays! ~ Heathen

The Holidays mean something different to each of us.  Whether you celebrate Yule, Christmas, both, or something else entirely.  To that end, I'd like to share a few of my favorite things about the Holiday Season. Candy canes, greenery, pomanders, and twinkly lights... Stockings, Christmas trees, bayberry candles, and mistletoe! All these symbols have meaning and work well for either Yule or Christmas!  Enjoy the holiday season! ~ Heathen

This year we will have the Full Cold Moon or Full Long Nights Moon on December 21st, for Yule and the Solstice.  Not only that but there will also be a total lunar eclipse on the 20th, just hours before winter officially begins.  According to the article at space.com , those of us in the states will be able to witness the eclipse either during the middle of the night or in the predawn hours, depending on your location.  The last time these three events happened at the same time was in 1638! I had a bit of a struggle finding additional info on this topic.  However, there's a very informative, and thought inspiring article about this over at Llewellyn.com for more.  I don't want any issues with copying someone's work, so head on over there and give it a read! ~ Heathen