In the early days of the Germanic Heathen revival within the USA, many folks walked around saying things like, it's in your blood, it's in my blood, it's a blood thing, referring to themselves and their connection to Germanic Heathenry. That is a simplistic statement and it is wrong. It is not blood, but your DNA - a genetic road map given to you by your parents. A map that you inherited from ALL of your Ancestors. And recent research indicates that your DNA holds memories of your Ancestors, both good and bad. There should be no surprise then, that memories of Yule's past press themselves forward into a person' consciousness.
These memories may come in dreams or flashes of insight. They may present themselves as deja vu experience. Or they may press on a person the desire for snow, forests filled with abundant evergreen and fir trees, and a hearth fire. Because - our Northern Ancestors struggled with the cold and ice, and did what had to be done to survive until Spring. These are just a few of the special things given to us by our Ancestors.
Yule is not an accident, an appropriation of Christmas. It is Christmas that was appropriated from the Northern Heathens and the Southern Pagans by melding Yule, the Feast of Sol Invictus, and the Feast of Saturnalia, over centuries, for reasons of conversion and cultural appropriation. And historically, we know that all three of these festivals existed centuries before the supposed birth of the baby Jesus. Period. I am not being smug. All of this can be found in University Libraries, or well stocked local libraries. For the less ambitious, please consult professor Google.
But for the awakened Northern Soul, the personal DNA map, the Ancestral Inheritance, always is present. It is your culture. It is your heritage. It is your Ancestors. It is spiritual and physical. Think on these things as you prepare for Yule.
Copyright @2016 Terry Unger
