12 Days of Yuletide Beats The 12 Days Of Christmas

The 12 days of Christmas ends on December 25 but if you’re celebrating the 12 days of Yuletide which begins today, there is more to celebrate. Yule is marked on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. It’s all uphill from here with gradual longer days of daylight to brighten moods. Yule has its roots in the Norse word yula and means wheel. It points to ever turning cycle of the year and cycles of life, death and rebirth.

In the U.S. the marketing push is relentless until Christmas to buy, buy, buy and then the fallow period until the new year but it’s the reverse in the spiritual sense. The 12 days of Yuletide between now and the new year is the time to celebrate what’s positive and let go of what no longer serves you.  By the time the new year rolls around, there should be a clearer sense of what needs changing. it’s why new year’s resolutions are made around this time.  Sadly, most are destined to fail because the time needed to gain insights into the “whys” isn’t taken.

These are some lovely ways to honor this time of inner and outer reflection from About Religion. Take a moment to breathe, enjoy the warm flicker of a candle or fireplace flame and savor what is truly meaningful in your life and reflect on how to make lasting changes in the new year.

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