Favorite Part of Yule/Christmas and Traditions - Guest Blogger Velody

Today is December 1st and that means it's time for some guest bloggers to tell us what their favorite part of Yule/Christmas, and what they will be doing to celebrate. First up is the wonderfully creative Velody of Treegold & Beegold

Velody and her lovely family

Favorite Part of Yule/Christmas and Traditions

My family's Winter Holiday festivities are a huge mash up. They include Hubby and mine favorite childhood traditions calling with the new additions from our faiths.

      Starting on December 1st

The munchkin's begin thirty countdown calendar. Their calendar is a plain winter house scene and each day they add more decorations. It holds 25 spots to Christmas but on Yule they light the fire in the fireplace they've created.

Throughout December we do the typical American holiday activities. The kids meet Santa, we watch Holiday movies ( of the non-secular sort), and do loads of crafts.

      Yule

On Yule we have a large family dinner.Sometimes we invite over friends too. It is the first night we light our Yule Log Candle holder which we will light every night for 12 days. The candle holder holds 3 candles. We light the first one for something in the past we are thankful happened, we light the middle for something in the present we are grateful that we have and we light the third for a wish we have for the future. We also tell the munchkins a Yule story before bed and let them open a single handmade gift.

      Christmas

We Celebrate Christmas in the typical non-secular American way focused on Santa, generosity, good will, and family. We have two traditions from my mother, one is the munchkins open their stockings first and when they are older they can open them anytime after midnight without waking Mommy or Daddy. The second is I always make from scratch cinnamon rolls to go with breakfast on Christmas morning. We also always have a large meal but where it is and what is in it changes sometimes.

      Little Christmas / End of Yule

Hubby is from Puerto Rico and their they have a tradition we are attempting to adapt. 12 days after Christmas on the day the Wise Men would have arrived to see the baby Jesus children put out hay and grass for the camels before bed and awake to find a small gift in it's place. We want to adapt this for our children but are still debating what to do. We're considering incorporating The Wild Hunt, as the end of Yule is when Odin finishes the Wild Hunt and returns to Asgard on his 8 legged horse, Slepnir. Up until now we didn't need a good explanation but this year our oldest is at that point where we really do. I have to think of something quick.
I hope you enjoyed learning about some of the things my family does. I'm excite to learn about all of your families too.

Velody

Velody is a mom of 2 little ones who blogs and creates handmade items for Pagan and Alternative families. Her sites is www.treegoldandbeegold.com