|
the sheet concealing the man who carried it. The Mari Lwyd was led about by five or six
men wearing colored ribbons or rosettes.
They started out at dusk and carried on until late and night. They went door to door, asking permission
to sing and then entering into a singing contest with the householders. The troop would then be invited into the
house to bring in good luck. The
“horse” would gambol about the house, snapping at the women. Once they were done the Mari Lwyd troop
would sing a song in blessing and go on to the next house. The modern celebration of Christmas has been turned into a commercial
rat race where people bankrupt themselves attempting to buy everyone that
they know presents to prove how much regard they have for one another. Christmas decorations appear in stores as
early as September and Christmas sales catalogues even earlier. With all due respect to the merchants who
make a living selling all this, I think that this is utter nonsense. You can and should demonstrate your love
and feelings to others without having to “buy” it with lavish gifts. Yule is about celebrating our community and
our peace and good will towards one another, not about trying to outdo one
another. In my Yule celebrations we go out before the dawn and sing up the
sun. Each participant carries in a
piece of holly or willow. As each
participant enters the Circle, they are marked on the forehead with a feather
dipped in clay paste or mud and smudged with incense. The Earth Mother and Father are honored in
song, with both group songs and individual offerings of song and poetry. The participants bestow a kiss upon the
earth with their fingertips (you can bestow this kiss directly if you want,
but it can be very uncomfortable kissing frozen ground). Celtic deities like Birgita, Gwion Bach,
Cerridwen, Mannanan, Belenos (the “Sun King”), the Magda,Ogma, the Morrighan
and the Dagda are invoked. Heathens
make offerings to Hertha, the Mother Earth, Tiwaz, the Father Sky, and Njord,
the Guardian of the Sea. Druid groups
will make offerings of silver to the well and oil to the fire, the tree and
the Gods or Shining Ones, a cup of ale to the Outsiders, cornmeal to the
ancestors and the land, water to the sea, incense to the sky, and herbs to
the nature spirits. Druid and Heathen
groups also often accompany their songs with toasts with the Waters of Life,
represented by a cup of water, cranbery juice, whisky or a horn of ale. Each participant offers some to the ground,
makes a statement or boast, then drink from the cup. The holly or willow branches are offered to
the fire. When we return, we have a Yule breakfast and a gift tree: Each person brings only one inexpensive
gift with no label and puts it under the Yule tree. They may also bring an ornament to hang on
the tree and make a wish for the coming season. When they leave the celebration they take
one gift from under the Yule tree with them.
No one ends up paying off massive credit card debts and no one feels
pressured to get “just the right gift” for anyone. Kerr Cuhulain |
Real Yule pg 2
|
|
e-mail: webmaster@officersofavalon.com |
|
To contact us: |
|
Yule is about celebrating our
community and our peace and good will towards one another, not about trying
to outdo one another. |
|
Dispatches: Volume 2 No. 7 Yule/Alban Arthan/Mean Geimhridh/La
Ceimbroadh 2007 |
