Nuhul was an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples. It is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. The earliest references to it are in the form of month names, where the Ultite period lasts somewhere around two months in length, falling along the end of the modern calendar year between what is now mid-November and early January. The events of Ult are generally held to have centered on midwinter and feasting, drinking, and sacrifice were involved. The Norsemen of Northern Europe saw the sun as a wheel that changed the seasons. It was from a word for this wheel, how that the word you will is thought to have come. At midwinter, the Norsemen lit bonfires, told stories, and drank sweet ale. Many scholars suggest that the first influence of this winter festival began with Saturnalia in Rome. Saturnalia is the feast with which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the God Saturn. Saturn was a major Roman god and designated as the god of agriculture and harvest. In Greece, the winter solstice signifies the time of the gathering of all the gods on Mount Olympus. Even Hades is permitted to enter, as this is the only time during the year when he is allowed into the hall of the gods. The event is marked by a feast and public celebration. In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Ult from December 21st at the winter solstice, through to January. Scholars have connected the month event and Ult time period to the wild hunt, a ghostly procession in the winter sky. The god Odin and increased supernatural activity, such as the aforementioned wild hunt and the increased activities of drogher, undead beings who walk the earth. The solstice ride of Odin, king of the Norse gods, marks the twelve days of celebration by the Germanic people who can be documented as early as the 4th century AD. From the 13th century poetic edda and from snorey sterlesons pros edda, we learn of Odin and his winter ride through the skies and forest lands. Along with Odin ride the great gods of the Norse, boulder and tear sons of Odin, frayer, nured and thore the great god of the sky, are among the band of brothers who clashed through the winter sky during the wild hunt. They begin their quest on the winter solstice and battle the beasts of wild boar, great elk, and various other creatures for twelve days and nights. The hunt is described as a crazed adventure where the gods become so embroiled in the fights with mythical monsters or enraged beasts that they themselves go a little mad. During these twelve days of the hunt, the people of Odin would feast, dance and honor the gods and the bounty of the hunt. Some suggest that as Odin and his brethren hunted, the people of Odin gathered the animals they killed that would sustain them through the cold winter months. This was a life-sustaining event and of course would be honored and celebrated as thanks to the gods. Others suggest the celebrations were simply in recognition of the return of the sun because it is this influence that we can see most in European paganism. The wheel of the year divided into four parts was not that far of a leap for early European pagans. They were already familiar with honoring the solstice periods as evidenced in the stone-aged new-grange tomb and stone-hands. They recognized the sun's return and knew it meant fields would once again be ready for tiling and planting. Warps would return to the world and darkness would fade. To the rural folk who worked hard during the year, the end of a lean winter was something to celebrate and the god of the sun was something to be honored. There were many U.L. traditions in Europe long before the arrival of Christianity. The Druids, Celtic priests, would cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing. Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months. It was also a tradition to display evergreen cuttings in the home and decorate them, which is the origin of the modern Christmas tree. It was also the Druids who began the tradition of the U.L. The Celts thought that the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter and during this time a log was lit to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits, and bring log for the coming year. The burning of the U.L. log was at one time one of the most firmly entrenched customs of Christmas. It was unlucky to buy a U.L. log. Lucky ones were obtained from one's own land or from a neighbor's wood. Often a stump or a root, not necessarily a proper log at all. It was brought home on Christmas Eve and laid in the hearth. The first step towards lighting the U.L. log was fetching the carefully preserved scrap of the previous year's log from under the homeowner's bed. Being done its job of keeping the house safe from fire and lightning since the last festive season, it was now used to light the new log. Once lit, the log had to be kept burning for twelve hours. As the log burned, people told both stories and tales of olden times while drinking cider. I hope you have enjoyed this short history. However, you choose to celebrate the holiday season. May you stay warm and well fed, and I wish you a happy new year.