Merry Yuletide to All Who Celebrate!
I seriously could not be happier to welcome in a new season. Fall 2022 was a complete and total PITA (pain in the a$$).
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How I Observed Yuletide for 2022
I celebrated the Sabbat this year by:
- Finally getting all my outdoor holiday decorations up (and they’re STAYING UP until Imbolc!)
- Doing two readings for the Bell Street Chapel Unitarian Universalist Church’s Yuletide service this past Sunday
- Taking a BIG step to (hopefully) usher in better changes for me at my job (hoping the higher ups see the [Yule] light…ha! — thanks to my friend Ellen for the pun idea)
- And, as always, writing a post for my blog for the Sabbat. (I am not the self-ascribed “Notebook Witch” for nothing!)
Where the Heck Did the Flying Reindeer Come From, Exactly???
At the Yuletide service this weekend at the Unitarian Universalist church I started attending in October (and I really need to do a blog post about this!), we also learned about the origins of the Christmass tropes of reindeer, red and white furtrimmed attire, and flying through the night sky.
Of course, it is all related to pagan customs from Arctic-adjacent regions. According to Danielle Prohom Olson’s essay, “Doe, a Deer, a Female Reindeer: the Spirit of Mother Christmas,” the female reindeer drew the sleigh of the Sun Godesss at Winter Solstice and “the Ancient Deer Mother flew through winter’s longest darkest night with the life-giving light of the sun in her horns.”
The red and white fur trimmed costume of Santa comes from red and white amanita mushroom, which was ingested by female shaman in far north, and that is how they would “take flight.” 
Fascinating!
Merry Yuletide!!!
Whether you’re flying through the night sky on mystical fungi or just cozying up with a thick sweater, hot cocoa and cookies, I hope you have a very Merry Yule!
Five Hours of Holiday Music
PS If you’re looking for a pop-genre-expansive holiday playlist, I make one up each year, and it’s called “Yule Love This Playlist 2022” (or whatever year). Here’s the link to this year’s: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7oN6qUdxYpMzbHKEGD6JydZ6ev-417R1&feature=share