The Sacred Herbs of Yule and Christmas: Remedies, Recipes, Magic, and Brews for the Winter Season

An around-the-world tour of ancient Christmas celebrations, Pagan Solstice customs, and magical seasonal plants is presented in Ellen Evert Hopman's book, "Celebrating the Dark Days of the Year." She explores the origins of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus, female gift bringers, holiday Spirits, and Yuletide animals, as well as how to make a Yule Log and decorate your house with greenery and grain weavings. She also explains how to perform Winter Solstice divinations and cook traditional foods and drinks, and looks at the medicinal and magical properties of herbs, barks, and berries associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 344 pages
Publication date: 12 October 2023
Publisher: Inner Traditions Bear and Company

Whether viewed as a mid-winter observance of the Winter Solstice or a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ,for millennia cultures have taken time out to honour the darkest days of the year with lights,foods,and festivities. In ancient Egypt,people decorated their homes with greenery at the festival of the re-birth of the God Horus. The ancient Romans decorated their homes with vines and ivy and shared gifts,especially candles,at the midwinter festival of Saturnalia. In Scandinavian and Germanic cultures,the Yule Log was burned in the hearth,fruit orchards were wassailed,and sheaves of wheat were displayed to carry luck into the New Year. In Celtic cultures,mummers and guisers went door to door and European mistletoe ( Viscum album ) was gathered by Druids as a medicinal and magical aid. Presenting an around-the-world tour of ancient Christmas celebrations,Pagan Solstice customs,and magical seasonal plants,Ellen Evert Hopman shares lore,recipes,rituals,and crafts you can make as a family activity to enliven your Yuletide observance. She explores the origins of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus,as well as female gift bringers,holiday Spirits,and Yuletide animals. She shows how to make a Yule Log and decorate your house with greenery and grain weavings. She explains how to perform Winter Solstice divinations and cook traditional foods and drinks such as Wassail and Elizabethan gingerbread cookies. And she looks in depth at the medicinal and magical properties of the many herbs,barks,and berries associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season such as Frankincense and Myrrh,Cinnamon,Nutmeg,Hibiscus,Bayberry,and many more. Woven througho.
An around-the-world tour of ancient Christmas celebrations, Pagan Solstice customs, and magical seasonal plants.

Whether viewed as a mid-winter observance of the Winter Solstice or a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, for millennia cultures have taken time out to honour the darkest days of the year with lights, foods, and festivities.

In ancient Egypt, people decorated their homes with greenery at the festival of the re-birth of the God Horus. The ancient Romans decorated their homes with vines and ivy and shared gifts, especially candles, at the midwinter festival of Saturnalia.

In Scandinavian and Germanic cultures, the Yule Log was burned in the hearth, fruit orchards were wassailed, and sheaves of wheat were displayed to carry luck into the New Year.

In Celtic cultures, mummers and guisers went door to door and European mistletoe ( Viscum album ) was gathered by Druids as a medicinal and magical aid.

Presenting an around-the-world tour of ancient Christmas celebrations, Pagan Solstice customs, and magical seasonal plants, Ellen Evert Hopman shares lore, recipes, rituals, and crafts you can make as a family activity to enliven your Yuletide observance. She explores the origins of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus, as well as female gift bringers, holiday Spirits, and Yuletide animals. She shows how to make a Yule Log and decorate your house with greenery and grain weavings. She explains how to perform Winter Solstice divinations and cook traditional foods and drinks such as Wassail and Elizabethan gingerbread cookies. And she looks in depth at the medicinal and magical properties of the many herbs, barks, and berries associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season such as Frankincense and Myrrh, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Hibiscus, Bayberry, and many more.

Woven througho.

Weight: 562g
Dimension: 228 x 152 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781644117804