Only a week till Christmas! And after Sunday, the days will start getting longer again! The December Solstice will happen here on Sunday, December 21 at 5:03 p.m. – that is the time when the North Pole is tilted the furthest away from the sun. And after that, gardeners, officially, the days will start getting longer again! I know it will be a few weeks until we can see any noticeable difference, but the idea of it can give us hope!
The December Solstice is connected to so many festivals and celebrations in various cultures; imagine how ancient people must have dreaded the increasing darkness leading up to the solstice. No wonder the turning point became cause for a big party!
The yule log is probably the most familiar symbol connected with the December solstice. The tradition began in Scandinavia, prior to Christianity, when the people lit fires to celebrate the return of the sun in the feast of Juul. A Juul log (later becoming what we know as “yule” log) was brought into each home and burned in honor of Thor. Scandinavians kept a piece of the log to start next year’s fire, but as the tradition spread through Europe, other countries burned the yule log completely, then scattered the ashes in their fields as hope of a good crop in the coming year.
An interesting little factoid: the yule celebration was originally a twelve day long party, beginning with the December Solstice on December 21 and then ending on January 1. Guess what — that’s how the “twelve days of Christmas” evolved!
I did some homework and I read in various places that the yule log was originally an oak log, and it had to be a good, sturdy size because it was supposed to burn for the twelve days of the festival. Good luck chopping that down and dragging it home!
Another tradition that started with the Norse is mistletoe. The story begins with Frigga, the Norse goddess of love and beauty, and her son Balder. As all these stories go, there is always the bad guy lurking around, and in this story he is Loki. Loki wanted to harm Balder and shot him with an arrow made of mistletoe. The white berries of the plant are said to be Frigga’s heartbroken tears over her beloved Balder. The story has a happy ending as Balder survives being attacked, and in gratitude, Frigga uses her powers to change the mistletoe from being a plant associated with evil into a plant that represents love. Her promise is that she will kiss anyone who passes underneath it. And so began a lovely tradition! Even ancient Druids respected the plant to the degree that if two enemies met under the mistletoe, they were supposed to put their weapons aside and be friendly towards each other, as least for a minute or two!
Mistletoe is an evergreen parasitic plant that belongs to the family Santalales, and is found all over the world. It is a plant with oval leaves and waxy white berries. It attaches itself to a variety of host trees and absorbs nutrients and water from the tree. Eventually the mistletoe can stunt or even kill the host tree. An interesting little factoid: the mistletoe seeds actually germinate on the branch of the host tree, and can sprout several “embryos” that also attach to the tree. No wonder it has long been considered a pesky problem when an infestation begins. But it does have some redeeming qualities, such as being food for birds, and even helping to transfer pollen. So now we know!
The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society is already planning next year’s program. I’ll keep you posted! Have a great week!
