The Before Yule Moon is the
full moon which occurs before the feast of Yule on December 21st.
This year that Full Moon falls on December 19th.
There
are twelve full moons in a year each has its own name. These names go
back over 1,000 years to the times of the monasteries. The monks
watched the natural cycle of life including the night sky and divided
the twelve full moons into the four seasons.
The
feast of Yule occurs on the night of December 21st
which is the day of the year when the Sun is at its lowest in the sky
and produces the shortest period of daylight of the year. This date
can vary from year to year by a day or so. This is known as Sol
Invictus (The Undefeated Sun). It was originally a pagan festival. It
is possible that after Constantine the Great became Emperor of the
Roman empire in 324 CE and converted to Christianity, that he then
merged this pagan feast with a Christian celebration.
Christmas
Day was not celebrated on December 25th
until 336 CE.
A
long time ago people watched for the full moon in December; they then
had from that date until the feast of Yule to chop down a Yule log
from the forest in readiness to burn it from the feast of Yule for
twelve nights. They would use some wood from the previous year as
kindling to light their fire.
Today
we often see the American names for the full moons being used. I
however prefer to use the old English names.
Today
of course the Yule log has turned from firewood into a cake!!
