Advent: 24 December 2022
Greetings…
…on Christmas Eve. It’s the penultimate day in our Advent Calendar, and so the second last letter in the English alphabet – Y. Y is for… Yule. Yule was a midwinter festival observed by Germanic and Norse peoples in the past, possibly connected to the god Odin. As northern Europe became Christian, celebrations of the birth of Jesus borrowed from yuletide festivities, such as a yule log, a specially selected log burnt over midwinter. Nordic and other languages use versions of Yule to signify Christmas, hence God Jul – Norwegian for Merry Christmas.
As for as my box of quotations is concerned, Yuletide festivities are a source of suspicion. A newspaper clipping says:
Did You Know?
A 1640 Act of the Parliament of Scotland made the celebration of ‘Yule vacations’ illegal. Despite the law being repealed in 1686, celebrating Christmas was effectively suppressed in Scotland for 400 years, and it wasn’t until 1958 that 25 December became a public holiday.
Indeed my own father worked on Christmas Day in his office in Glasgow. But it wasn’t only Scotland. Seven years later, the English joined in the dousing of joy:
The puritans were opposed to Christmas, and indeed the town-crier in Canterbury proclaimed on Dec. 22, 1647, that by decree of the English parliament, Christmas would no longer be celebrated. (Book of Days)
There are few survivals of that 17th Century opposition to Christmas celebrations. And how good it is to enjoy midwinter festivities, regardless of faith, culture, tradition or philosophy of life – a rest from work, coming together as families and friends, eating seasonal food (goose in the Chaplain’s house), mulled wine and hot spiced apple juice, evergreen wreaths and Christmas trees, cards on the mantelpiece, visits from Santa, lights over streets, singing of Rudolph, sleigh bells and roasting chestnuts, unwrapping presents, and wearing so-uncool-they’re-cool Christmas jumpers.
The Chaplaincy’s yuletide celebrations continue today with three services of Carols by Candlelight in St Leonard’s Chapel, in the grounds of St Leonards School (not the Church of Scotland on Hepburn Gardens). The services are at 2 pm, 4 pm and 6 pm, and will largely be the same – we offer three to increase the number of people who can come. There will be carols, readings by young people, talks mainly for children and grown-ups, and a children’s choir at 2 pm. Y is also for the young and not so young at these services. Doors open for the 2 pm service at 1.30 pm. Then for the later services, they will open as soon as we have the chapel ready following the previous one. Festive knitwear, onesies and light-up antlers all welcome. Here is St Leonard’s Chapel last week with a hint of yuletide.
With all good wishes for your yuletide celebrations.
Yours,
Donald.