What is yule?

Yule, traditionally the shortest day of the year in Scandinavia and Germany, is the height of the Wild Ride. The midwinter festival is a time of merrymaking in the midst of the Wild Hunt. Odin, ruler of the universe, rides his eight-legged horse Sleipnir, and leads a band of undead warriors from Valhalla. The god and his warriors would hunt goblins, riding through the moonlit sky on the longest night of the year. People below would share Yule cakes and many gifts, and children where known to leave out their socks stuffed with hay, as food for Sleipnir. Many of the pagan ideas of Yule were adopted and altered by the Christians. Odin and eight-legged Sleipnir were replaced with Saint Nicholas and his reindeer, and the tradition of giving gifts still remains to this day.