How I'm Making Yuletide Special This Year

So, yes. You've seen the other posts about my spirituality. It's pretty nature based, and my belief in gods tends toward a combination of pantheistic and (agnostic) polytheistic...that is, I believe that the ancient pantheons could exist, though I don't have any proof (and I will never; despite my personal beliefs, even the very existence of God(s) will never be able to be proven or disproven) but I don't worship them, I merely honor them and believe that they can affect the balance of things, and that when God created the universe They, in a sense, became the universe. Sort of like how Christians see angels and the Virgin Mary, really. Beyond that, I've pretty much summed up my beliefs on the subject of deities. I combine things that I feel drawn to from various religions, that I feel make sense based on my observations of life and my opinions about God. In other words, I'm an eclectic pagan (again, fundies, don't get your knickers in a twist. Freedom of religion, you know? I have just as much right to that as anyone else). Merry meet and blessed be.

I'm still going to youth group because I do think that Jesus existed and was an awesome dude who did some awesome things, I believe that all religions are connected and come from the same spiritual source, and I have friends there that I don't really get to see that often otherwise. We've had Buddhists and a witch in youth group before, so I don't think anyone really cares that much whether or not I'm Christian. And if they do or if I feel disrespected or violated, I'll leave. I'm not obligated to spend time around people who disrespect me.

One of the customs that I feel drawn to is the idea of Yule, or the celebration of the winter solstice and the rebirth of light. Someday, I hope to have a really awesome Yule party. But alas, I am a seventeen-year-old high school junior and this year that really awesome Yule party will not happen. But I did some research on Yule traditions so I can at least make the Solstice special in my own way. So, here is...

My Guide to Yule in a Christian Family

• Wear clothing in Yule colors (red, green, gold, white, silver, yellow, and orange)
• Do something with mistletoe, holly, poinsettias, and evergreen (yes, these "Christian" traditions were stolen from paganism. A lot of Christmas ones are)
• Decorate with red and gold bows (I'll probably put one in my hair)
• Drink wassail, spiced cider, and ginger tea
• Eat some roasted apples
• Light some cinnamon, pine, cedar, or bayberry incense or a candle
• Make Yule foods and bring them to family parties (these muffins sound awesome)
• If anyone gives you a hard time for partaking in Christmas traditions despite not being Christian (just in case), nicely educate them about the origins of wassail, holly, spiced cider, roasted apples and nuts, poinsettias, mistletoe, Christmas trees, "Christmas colors", and caroling, then ask why they're participating in Yule traditions if they're not pagan
• Go caroling. I recommend 'Deck the Halls'
• Think of Christmas as a time to enjoy being with family and a time to love others and celebrate new hope, the way a lot of people do nowadays, when you're celebrating Christmas with your relatives
• Write poetry, spells, prayers, whatever you want in your BOS (which I plan to make for myself soon)
• Go around saying "Merry Meet" and "Blessed Be" (traditional pagan greetings) and say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" (because you don't know what someone else celebrates)