Yule 2021

It was Yule/the Winter Solstice last Tuesday (21st December). I normally post on Sunday or Mondays but since Christmas was the weekend this year, I'm posting a bit later. :) 

As I mentioned in my Yule Round-up (also a Christmas baking post), my usual celebration is having a chocolate Yule log. I most often buy one, although occasionally I make them! This year's was from Marks & Spencer. I've had better ones  (the chocolate topping didn't taste that great, though the cake itself was quite nice), but never mind! I put two candles on top to represent the growing light after the shortest day. Here's a pic: 

Yule Round-up + Yule/Christmas Baking

 

Yule/the Winter Solstice, is almost here. This year it's on Tuesday 21st December. The actual (scientific) time of the Winter Solstice (see below for more on that) will be 10.59am EST/15.58pm GMT. Find the time in your country here: https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/winter-solstice.html

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's almost time for Litha aka Midsummer/the Summer Solstice. Here are my Litha celebration ideas posts:

Litha/Midsummer Celebration Ideas (also a post about no-yeast dinner rolls): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/06/baking-no-yeast-dinner-rolls-and.html

Celebrating Litha/Summer: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/06/celebrating-litha-summer.html

Litha Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/06/litha-inspiration_17.html

Litha + Summer Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/06/litha-summer-inspiration.html

Litha Round-up: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/06/litha-round-up.html

 

The past few years I've written celebration and inspiration posts for Yule. During 2021 I've written round-up posts for the sabbats, featuring my past posts and articles from other sites. So here is Yule's. I've also included a Yule/Christmas baking section at the end. :)

 Update 14/12/25: Updated/replaced links.  

 

Yule, also known as Midwinter and the Winter Solstice, is the final sabbat of the calendar year. It's either the 1st or 2nd sabbat on the Wheel of the Year, depending on whether you consider Samhain as the end of one year and the start of the new year, or Yule as the beginning of the new cycle. I've written about this before in my Celebrating Yule/Christmas post. Opinion varies on this and some people also celebrate the Pagan New Year at Imbolg/Imbolc in early February (which is the first sabbat of the new calendar year). I consider Samhain the end of one year and the start of the new one, but it's up to you. :) 

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2021

It was Hallowe'en and Samhain last weekend (Sunday 31st October). I celebrated by carving a pumpkin and making some food and drink. I made my usual Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice, dyed green) and potato salad and baked some gingerbread skeletons.

The Demon's Blood is a recipe from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen and the potato salad is based on a recipe from The Kitchen Witch by Soraya. I use chives and or/spring onion instead of rosemary. This year I used chives. I had the potato salad with some other snacky/buffet bits.

Here's a picture of my pumpkin:

Samhain/Hallowe'en Round-up

It's nearly time for Samhain (one of the most popular sabbats and my favourite apart from Lammas!). This year's it on a Sunday (31st October). I also celebrate Hallowe'en (thought to have originated from Samhain).

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere Beltane is almost here! Check out my Beltane Celebration posts here:

Beltane Celebrations Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Beltane/May Day: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/04/celebrating-beltanemay-day.html

April Update + Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/april-update-beltane-inspiration.html

More Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/04/more-beltane-inspiration.html 

Winter-Spring Update + Beltane Round-up: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/04/winter-spring-update-beltane-round-up.html

 

The past few years I've done celebration idea and inspiration posts for Samhain. In 2021 I've written some round-up posts, featuring my past sabbat posts and articles from elsewhere. So here is the one for Samhain! :)

Samhain is the 3rd and final harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year. It comes after Lammas at the end of July/beginning of August and Madron/Mabon (aka the Autumn Equinox) in late September, and is a cross-quarter sabbat and a fire festival. It's considered by many to be the Witches' New Year and one of the two times of year when the veil between the worlds is thin (the other is Beltane in late April/early May). Halloween/Hallowe'en (since the name comes from All Hallow's Even, "Hallowe'en" is an alternative way of spelling it) is the modern-day counterpart. Check out the Celebrating Samhain/Hallowe'en post for more information.

Summer-Autumn Update

It's now October so time for my quarterly update! During 2021 I'm doing quarterly updates, from "season to season". You can see the previous updates here:

Winter-Spring (and a Beltane Round-up): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/04/winter-spring-update-beltane-round-up.html

Spring-Summer Update: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/07/spring-summer-update.html

 

In early July I went to the Black Rabbit pub in Arundel with my mum. It was ages since I'd been, so it was good to go back. Due to the pandemic you currently have to book a table. We sat outside by the river, and there's a nice view of the River Arun and Arundel Castle in the distance. It wasn't that warm and a bit cloudy but then the sky cleared. I had chips (fries) and garlic flatbread with a Coke, then some chocolate and cream (I think clotted cream type) ice cream.

Here's a photo of the view by the river:

 

 

Madron 2021

The other week it was Madron, (more commonly known as Mabon and the Autumn Equinox). It was Wednesday 22nd September this year. I was going to do a post last weekend, but was a bit busy, so I'm doing it today instead. :)

As I mentioned in the Madron Round-up + Autumn Baking post, my usual celebration for this sabbat is baking. This year I made some gingerbread muffins. You can see the recipe here: https://simplybeautifuleating.com/2020/10/05/super-moist-gingerbread-muffins/

They are kind of like some I made in 2019. As with those, I substituted the banana for apple sauce, since I don't like bananas. I also used treacle because it's easier to get here in the UK than molasses and it's similar. I made a few other substitutions too- mixed spices rather than cloves and nutmeg, "ordinary" milk instead of cocount or nut and sea salt rather than kosher. If you don't have or don't want to use kosher salt, here is a guide about what type you can use instead: https://www.acouplecooks.com/kosher-salt-substitute/

I made cream cheese frosting, using the one from the James Martin White chocolate Easter cake I like. I've used that frosting in the past and it goes well with ginger things. Here's a direct link to the cake and frosting recipe: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/frosted-white-chocolate-easter-cake

The muffins were quite nice and the substitutions worked ok. They were a bit heavy when first done but "settled" the next day. Here's a picture: 

 

Madron Round-up + Autumn Baking

Madron (aka Mabon and the Autumn Equinox) is coming up. This year it is on Wednesday 22nd September. 

For the past few years, I've written celebration ideas and inspiration posts for Madron. For 2021 I'm doing a round-up post, like I have for the last few sabbats this year. I also thought it would be good to include an autumn baking section, so see below for that! :)

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's nearly time for Oestara aka Ostara/the Spring Equinox. You may like these posts with ideas for celebrating:

Oestara/Spring Equinox Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/03/oestaraspring-equinox-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Oestara + Spring: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/03/celebrating-oestara-spring.html

Oestara Celebration Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/03/oestara-celebration-inspiration.html

Oestara + Spring Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/03/oestara-spring-inspiration.html

Happy Oestara!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/03/happy-oestara.html

 

Madron (more commonly known as Mabon, but I first heard of it as Madron) is the 2nd harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year. It comes after Lammas (around 1st August) and before Samhain (on 31st October). It's also the Autumn Equinox which marks the "official" start of autumn. On this date day and night are roughly equal. This year the scientific time of the Autumn Equinox will be 3.20pm EDT/7.20pm UTC/ 8.20pm BST/UK time. You can work out your local time compared to universal here: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/universal-time/

Themes of this sabbat include balance, letting go, gratitude and of course, harvest.