Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth (Holiday Series) [Paperback]

Dorothy Morrison (Author)

Book Description

Series: Holiday Series | Publication Date: September 8, 2000

There’s just something magical  about the Yuletide season, no matter where you live or who you are. As bright candlelight mingles with the smells of pine and warm cookies and we perform our yearly rituals of song and family gatherings, the spirit of peace and goodwill seems to reach the heart of even the most cynical Scrooge.

In the pages of Yule, Dorothy Morrison presents a wonderful potpourri of holiday lore from around the world and throughout history, along with fun crafts, delicious recipe seven a calendar of celebrations for every day in December.

Learn where the traditions of the season originated—for instance, did you know that the ringing of bells was meant to drive away the demons who inhabited the darkest days of the year? That leaving cookies for Santa mirrors the old tradition of leaving a loaf of bread on the table overnight to bring prosperity in the new year? That the Yule log can be traced back to the ancient Greeks?

Need a recipe for wassail or plum pudding? Tips for your holiday party? Want to make the season special by making your own decorative crafts and gifts? That's just a sampling of what’s inside.

Best of all, Yule shows that the spirit of the season is universal and, however we chose to celebrate and worship, we can all join together in the spirit of peace, love, and harmony at this special time of year.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Those who yearn for spiritual meaning but aren't strongly affiliated with a specific religion sometimes feel left out of winter holidays. Yule is like a hot toddy for these chilled and isolated souls. From mistletoe to gift exchanging, Yule explores and exalts the pagan and regional roots to many of our contemporary rituals and celebrations. For example, lights were historically used to decorate winter homes in order to "frighten negative entities and urge the sun to shine," according to author Dorothy Morrison. Many people believe that Santa's reindeer "represent the stags that drew the chariot of the Norse gift-giving goddess, Freya." Beyond all the fascinating trivia, this is also a book that offers fresh approaches to old traditions, such as having a cleaning ritual that ceremoniously sweeps out the old and makes room for the new season or conducting a reverent "tree blessing" ceremony. Morrison also suggests numerous homemade crafts and gift ideas (many are suitable for children), inviting seasonal recipes (such as Yuletide Ambrosia and Dragon's Layer Cake), and a December calendar that lists traditions and rituals for every day of the month. --Gail Hudson

From Booklist

Dorothy Morrison's Yule takes a lighthearted approach to preparing for the holidays. Her prescriptions for making light work of the necessary preseason housecleaning include little rhyming chants that imbue objects with mystical blessings. Most of these verses are based on pre-Christian, pagan North European traditions where trees are divine and celebrations focus on nature's solstice. Morrison's simple recipes cover the usual hearty winter comfort foods. Morrison also offers a daily calendar for the month of December for pagans to substitute for the traditional Advent wreath. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; F edition (September 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567184960
• ISBN-13: 978-1567184969
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Mindlessly written and poorly researched, January 8, 2002

By 

Sho (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth (Holiday Series) (Paperback)

I was deeply disappointed by this book. There are misspellings, inconsistent use of type, and reversed or incorrect words. The bulk of the book is recipes and make-your-own-tradition ideas that still partake heavily of Christian symbolism and practice. The author's sources are academically and intellectually dubious, and out of date. For example, she cites (and misspells the name of) an encyclopedia of mythology in its 1968 edition. The historical information cited is often inaccurate. The attitude toward Christians and practitioners of other religions alike is smarmy and patronizing. Egregiously stupid errors include a statement to the effect that the early Christians inserted the word "Son" in the name of their new holiday because it would make people think of the "Sun" god. Duh-uhhhh--these people weren't speaking English, and "son" and "sun" are not homophones in any languages spoken in that region then or now. This one of the most poorly written non-fiction works I've ever read, and there was no reason it couldn't have been good. One star is too high a rating.

95 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Yule: A Celebration of Misinformation, October 24, 2000

By 

R. Werner "alex_darc" (Boston MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth (Holiday Series) (Paperback)

I was terribly disappointed with this book. Of the littlefactual information in it, most of it is easily found (and morecoherently reported) on Pagan/Holiday sites on the Internet. I thinkmy favorite bit of misinformation was her claim that Pilgrims(?)brought Santa Claus to the New World with them. Perhaps she wasunaware that the Pilgrims and Puritan Settlers of the New World didnot even celebrate Christmas. In fact, between the years of 1659 and1681 Christmas was illegal in the Massachusetts colony. They did notexchange gifts, believe in Santa or "celebrate" the holidayin anyway, it was far too Pagan for them...Sinter Klaas, as hewas called, came with the Dutch, not the Pilgrims, or Puritans, to theNew World when they began to settle New Amsterdam (what is now NewYork) in 1624. This is only one of the glaring mistakes I picked upon. This information is easy to obtain. All it takes is research.Beware. If your are looking for crafts and recipes you've found theright book. If you are looking for accurate information on the historyof Christmas and/or Yule keep looking, I'm sure you can do betterresearch than this.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Buy it for the rituals, not for the history, March 24, 2002

By 

Cynthia M. Caton "minion" (Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth (Holiday Series) (Paperback)

As I read this book, I thought it should be called "Christmas" instead of "Yule". Morrison clearly has an affection for this holiday. However, the beginning history of this book has very little to do with Yule. It seems like more of a justification of pagans celebrating Christmas without Christ. And her 'history' is very suspect - as in referring to the Greek world as Persia. I think there is a danger of doing most of your research off of the internet.

I would recommend this book for the ritual / spells. Morrison can turn a magikal phrase and I was inspired by what she had to offer. To get the most out of this book, skip the beginning fluff and go right to the meat. If you really want a book on Yule, read "The Winter Solstice" by John Matthews. Now that is a pagan book on this great holiday.