Advent ABCs: Y

Y is for Yule-tide.

I am very smart and I don't know everything - yet. For example, I did not know anything about the word "yule" except that it has to do with Christmas and is in a couple of carols. So, I did what I always do when I need information: I looked in my books - nothing! I asked my parents - clueless,! And I consulted Wikipedia - ahah! According to my wiki- friend:
Yule or Yule-tide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic peoples as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January on a date determined by the Germanic lunar calendar. The festival was placed on December 25 when the Christian (Julian) calendar was adopted. Some historians claim that the celebration is connected to the Wild Hunt or was influenced by Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival. The term "Yule" is still used in the Nordic Countries and to a lesser extent in English speaking countries to refer to Christmas. Customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule. In modern times, Yule is observed as a cultural festival and also with religious rites by some Christians and by some Neopagans.

Now that is interesting! The x in x-mas has nothing whatsoever to do with taking Christ out of Christmas BUT the Yule in "yule-tide carols being sung by a fire" is a reference to a pagan holiday. Amazing!






Have you ever seen anything more wonderful than a bottle with milk? Beautiful!







I have been trying to help Noah on this ark project. Here I am with the calculator - you would not believe how much math it takes to feed so many animals!










And here I am with the tape measure! We need an addition to hold the cats - an east wing, perhaps. Molly cat is very interested in this part of the improvement efforts, as you see.