Simple Folk Traditions to Make Winter Magical
How to make the most of Yule
Winter has always been a strange and liminal time right at the intersection of survival and celebration. Through the centuries, people have marked the season with traditions steeped in folklore, spirituality, or simply just necessity. From gathering evergreens to divination and crafting charms, each tradition attempts to make sense of the dark months and draw comfort from the promise of spring that will return once more.
It’s hard for us to imagine now, well-fed and warm inside our modern homes, but winter would have been a dark and difficult time of year. A time when food may be scarce and the threat of illness and death was very real.
A lot of the winter celebrations therefore celebrate warmth, light, and the sun, and look ahead to the promise of spring days to come. Let’s explore these customs and where they came from, and get some ideas for how we can celebrate in the modern day.
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Gathering Evergreens: Ancient Symbols of Life
The practice of bringing evergreens indoors during winter dates back millennia, with evidence found in both Roman and Celtic traditions. Evergreens like holly, ivy, and mistletoe remained lush and green when other plants withered, making them symbols of immortality and renewal.
The Roman festival of Saturnalia, celebrated around the winter solstice, included decorating homes with greenery to honor Saturn, the god of agriculture. Writers like Pliny the Elder noted the symbolic use of holly, which was believed to ward off evil spirits and mistletoe, sacred to the Druids. He wrote that it was cut with a golden sickle during rituals, demonstrating its reverence in Celtic culture.
Medieval Christian traditions absorbed these customs, potentially using evergreens to represent eternal life through Christ. Songs like The Holly and the Ivy reflect this blending of pagan and Christian symbolism. Nowadays, we still enjoy putting up Christmas trees in our homes or trailing evergreens on the mantelpiece as a symbol of the life and vitality in nature. Simply decorating a tree or making your own wreath can be a really great way to continue this tradition in your life.
The Yule Log: A Light Against the Dark
The yule log tradition is well-documented in European cultures. Yule, or Jól, was the midwinter festival of the Norse people, where a log would be burned for the duration of the celebration. To let it go out was said to be a dark omen and a sign of bad luck to come, and they would save a piece of the log for next year's fire. This custom was thought to have been brought to Britain by Viking settlers and integrated into local practices.
Medieval chronicles like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and folklore collections from the 18th century describe the ceremonial aspects of the yule log. It was often an oak log, chosen for its strength and symbolic ties to fertility and protection. Ashes from the burned log were scattered over fields to ensure a good harvest, a tradition noted in accounts from rural England.
This year, I made my very own yule log for the first time, searching for the right log, adding beeswax candles and decorating it with more greenery to symbolise the light and warmth of the sun.
Wassailing: Blessing Orchards
Wassailing, a custom with Anglo-Saxon origins, was both a communal celebration and an agricultural blessing. The word "wassail" derives from the Old English waes hael, meaning "be well." The earliest written references to wassailing date back to the 12th century, but the practice likely predates this.
Medieval texts and agricultural records reveal two forms of wassailing: the household wassail, which involved toasting friends and family with spiced ale, and the orchard wassail, a ceremony to ensure a good harvest. Wassail songs, preserved in oral tradition and later transcribed, include lyrics about blessing apple trees and driving away spirits.
One surviving account from 16th-century Somerset describes villagers pouring cider onto the roots of apple trees while singing to the “tree spirits.” The practice remains in cider-producing regions of Britain, showing its endurance over centuries.
Wassailing is making a bit of a comeback, with events popping up all around the UK, you can head to the Trad Folk website to find a wassail directory and find an event near you.
Food Offerings to Spirits: Feeding the Invisible World
The tradition of leaving food offerings during winter has roots in many ancient cultures. Archaeological findings, such as hearth-side deposits of food remains in Iron Age sites, suggest that offerings have long been left for gods, spirits, or the dead.
The Celts believed that the winter months brought them closer to the Aos Sí, the otherworldly spirits of their mythology. Historical texts, such as early Irish sagas, describe rituals of hospitality to these beings, including leaving portions of meals by the hearth. Similarly, Norse mythology speaks of offerings to house spirits or vættir during Yule.
Nowadays, even those who wouldn’t dream of calling themselves pagan can be found leaving mince pies for Father Christmas. Perhaps you’d like to leave an offering to your very own household spirit or for those who have passed on.
Divination: Seeking Answers in the Dark Nights
Winter’s long nights invited reflection and the practice of divination. In Celtic culture, the festival of Samhain, marking the start of winter, was closely associated with prophecy. Ogham sticks—used for divination—are mentioned in Irish mythology, including the Táin Bó Cúailnge.
Roman and medieval sources also describe wintertime divination practices in Britain and Ireland. A 14th-century manuscript recounts divination games played during the Twelve Days of Christmas, such as interpreting wax dripped into water. Hearth-related divination, like placing nuts on the fire to answer questions about relationships, is documented in collections of Scottish and Irish folklore.
The Christian church attempted to suppress these practices during the Middle Ages, viewing them as superstitious, yet many persisted in folk traditions, passed down orally or in secret.
Perhaps you could do a bit of a fire scrying, where you gaze into the flames to look for messages, or simply pull some cards and do a tarot reading for the new year to see what is to come.
Winter Charms: Protection From the Cold
The creation and use of charms in winter have historical backing through texts, artifacts, and oral traditions. Rowan, known for its protective properties, was a common feature of winter charms. Archaeological evidence includes rowan branches found at Iron Age sites, and medieval herbals often list its use against malevolent forces.
Hagstones—naturally holed stones—appear in folklore collections as protective talismans, hung in homes to guard against spirits. In 17th-century England, diaries and pamphlets describe winter rituals using charms to ward off illness, often combining Christian and pagan elements. Bells, another common charm, were associated with driving away evil spirits, a belief reflected in parish records of their use during winter ceremonies.
The folklore traditions of winter, from gathering evergreens to crafting protective charms, are deeply rooted in historical and archaeological evidence. These practices served as acts of survival, celebration, and connection to the natural and spiritual worlds.
As we engage with these customs today, whether lighting a fire or hanging holly, we participate in a centuries-old dialogue between humanity and the season. In honouring these traditions, we preserve a vital link to our ancestors and celebrate the warmth and light that is surely to return. Let me know if there’s anything you do that I’ve missed, I’d love to hear about your traditions!
I hadn't even considered that putting cookies out for St Nick would be a form of "feeding the spirits" It's wild how normal that seems but I can totally see the parallel there! Thank you for this beautiful article!