{"collection":"Internet Book of Shadows","full_text_available":false,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/sacred_texts_v1_bos_bos024_htm/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/sacred_texts_v1_bos_bos024_htm","id":"sacred_texts_v1_bos_bos024_htm","license":"unknown_pending_legal_review","rights_basis":"sacred_texts_v1_preview_gate_primary_text_only; acquisition-method/ToS and compilation-copyright questions still open, not resolved by this gate","source":"sacred_texts_v1","source_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/bos/bos024.htm","summary":"This is a short folkloric essay from the *Internet Book of Shadows* (1999), a Neopagan/Wiccan community reference collection, written from within the British-Celtic Pagan tradition. It surveys the pre-Christian origins of midwinter customs in Britain \u2014 the use of evergreens, mistletoe, holly and ivy, caroling, and wassailing \u2014 tracing the wassail tradition specifically to Viking-era England and the greeting *\"Ves heill.\"* The piece broadens its scope to compare parallel solstice celebrations across cultures: Roman Saturnalia, Persian Mithraic rites on December 25th, the Swedish feast of Lucina, and Norse bonfires for Odin and Thor. Its central claim is explicitly polemical \u2014 that midwinter has \"always been a Pagan holiday,\" a point it underscores by noting that Christmas was outlawed in 1600s England and colonial America precisely because its Pagan character was recognized. The text closes with practical content: a traditional \"Monthly Rune\" poem mapping agricultural tasks to each month, and full recipes for Wassail and Plum Pudding intended for use in Yule ritual observance. It reads as a practitioner's guide as much as a historical survey, blending scholarly-flavored history with instructions for actually celebrating the holiday.","tags":["Book of Shadows","House Cleansing Ritual","Neopagan Practice","Wiccan Ritual Instructions"],"text":null,"title":"Internet Book of Shadows: Yule in Britain (Tana)","tradition":"Internet Book of Shadows","translated_text":null,"word_count":1018}