Yule

12th December is Lussi’s Night, a Northern European goddess and light bringer in the darkness. She is connected with a wild hunt horde called the lussiferda (lucifer?) rebranded and syncretised with Saint Lucia

lussevaka, the night long vigil, to stay awake in vigil through lusinatt light carried around to ward off evil animals would talk and tell lysis of the evil they’d seen. People rewarded or punished accordingly. By morning mood shifts from vigilant to celebratory with family feasting and lussekatter rolls.

https://wyrddesigns.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/lussi.jpg

The twelve days of Yule are bookended by Mother’s Night and Twelfth Night 

Thought out this time there are other celebrations like Krampusnacht (Saint Nicholas’ Day rebranded as Oski’s Day), Lussinatt, and more throughout December and through the wassailing season, which concludes by early January (12th night)

In modern times, heathens have created a new tradition in the 21st Century known as Väntljusstaken (literally, candles we light to wait) or Sunwait. 

Sunwait began specifically in Sweden, and it quite intentionally was started to echo Christian advent style countdowns towards Christmas. It starts six weeks before the winter solstice, and is an anticipatory lead-in towards Yule. One candle is lit per week leading up to Yule. 

Each candle is also symbolically tied to the first few elder runic letters: ᚠ – Fehu, ᚢ – Uruz, ᚦ – Thurisaz, ᚨ – Ansuz, ᚱ – Raido, ᚲ – Kenaz. (Futhark)

Traditionally Thursday evening’s at sunset is when each candle would be lit, but others have created timings that work for them instead. 

Some Friday’s because of work schedules, 

or choose instead to have each week fall on the same weekday as the winter solstice does in that given year. 

Still others opt to observe it on Sunday, since that day of the week is named for the solar goddess Sunna.