Schedule
Yule Rite will be December 21st, 2024 both on Zoom and at CedarLight Center.
- 3:00 PM: Doors will open for in person attendees
- 4:30 PM: Zoom room will open to the public.
4:30 PM: There will be a pre-ritual brief to explain the rite.
5:30 PM: The rite will start. - Cost: $20.00 suggested donation
Times are subject to change, please check our website blog, our Event Calendar or our Yule Facebook post at www.facebook.com/cedarlightgrove for the most up-to-date information on the ritual. All High Rites are open to the public, so feel free to bring a friend 🙂
Times are subject to change, please check before you leave.
Primary Charity for Yule
CedarLight’s recommended charity for Yule 2024 is the Maryland Book Bank. Here is the link to our food drive from 28 Nov-28 Dec so that we are doing a full month of giving: https://mdfoodbank.fenly.org/drive/clg-virtual-food-drive/
Here is the link to the Maryland Food Bank’s list of most needed items: https://mdfoodbank.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/most-needed-items.pdf
Alternate Charity
Greater Good Charities is providing Winter Relief kits to homeless people in Ukraine and probably people in Appalachia as well. They are feeding thousands of hives of bees there over the winter. They do good works.
The rite is open to the public, however, we are encouraging all persons attending events at the grove to be fully vaccinated. Please attend via Zoom if you are sick, that is why we provide it.
Zoom Info
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 468 067 1478
Lore of the Season & Ritual Information
Prayer: In days gone by the cold winter months were a time of survival and people relied on one another to help each other get to the more fruitful spring of spring. Our Yule celebration allows us to come together to support one another, and to also celebrate our community.
Deities of the Occasion
Pantheon: Irish
Deity of the Occasion: Lugh
Gatekeeper: Dagda
Earth Mother: Maca
Mothers of Waters: Boan
Bardic-Lore: Brigid
Outsiders: Finn Mcool
What to Bring
Other than what was discussed above, you may want snacks and something to drink with the folk after the rite. ** We have folks with severe allergies and food sensitivities so a list the ingredients if available is much appreciated.**
Suggested Seasonal Food:
- Chilis
- Stews and Soups
- Anything Seasonal!
- Various fruits for this time of year
- Baked breads and pastries
- Pumpkin dishes or orange dishes in general
- Lots of apple dishes or dried fruits and spices!
- Apple cider and mulled spices
- Ancestral recipes or foods your ancestors enjoyed.
- We always need help with main dishes! Crock Pots are your friends.
There are cans of sodas and bottled water available at the Grove for $1.00 each. Feel free to contribute beverages to the Grove!
Dress for the Weather if you are joining us from an outside location. The High Rite will be done outdoors, and it may be cold. If it rains we will be under the pavilion. Be prepared with a coat, hand warmers and warm clothes. If you have a chair you’d like to sit in during the High Rites, we suggest bringing that too.
Children and Pets
Children are welcome to all CedarLight events, but small children must be attended at all times because our center is not child proof, there are stairs, fires, candles and small items that could be swallowed. We do not yet have children activities planned for this event however that can change if we know they are coming.
Pets however, are not allowed because we have learned from past mistakes that not everyone knows how to approach an animal and not every animal will behave predictably with many strangers around. Thank you for understanding.
Suggested Offerings
- We will celebrate our community by gathering together to honor the Yule season and rotation of the cycles in the wheel of the year.
- All members and guests will be invited to participate in our Key Offering (Casket): Things one wants to release and let go of to the darkness to keep.
- Yule cards to any of the kindred
- Holiday foods & spice bundles that can be put into the fire here or at home
- Bardic works you have created – please let the ritual team know if you have a praise offering you’d like to perform.
PLEASE NOTE: We take oaths very seriously. Any oaths given as an offering MUST be cleared with the Senior Druid prior to the High Rite. Please see Sean- Paul or Caryn upon arrival if you plan on giving an oath.
During our Yule Rite, the members of CedarLight have the ability to reaffirm their oaths to CedarLight. This is optional, but is also for members who have signed the book only.
Yule Gift Exchange
Folks gathering at CedarLight Center have the option to participate in a gift exchange. Each person who would like to participate should bring a wrapped gift worth no more than $25 that would be appropriate for any other participant (e.g. a bundle of incense, a warm scarf and hat in gender-neutral colors, etc). Please choose thoughtful gifts that you might like to receive yourself. It’s a good time for re-gifting unused or gently used ritual supplies, but please don’t just grab any old junk you’ve got lying around.
Each person who brings a gift will get a number. After the rite, we will draw numbers from hat. Each participant will pick a gift in turn.
Ritual Etiquette
- Do not honor deities of different pantheons than those being honored at this rite
- PLEASE KEEP YOURSELF MUTED ON ZOOM unless you are giving an individual invocation as part of the liturgy or performing a praise offering. Group call and responses should remain muted unless otherwise requested by the Chief Liturgist. Attendees who continually disrupt the ritual with background noise because they are unmuted will be removed from the Zoom room.
- Offerings will be mainly given in silence as a group, but if you have something you wish to say, sing, or recite, let the Chief Liturgist know ahead of time so they can make time for your offering
- Do not declare any oaths during the rite without expressed permission from the Chief Liturgist well before the rite
- During our Yule Rite, the members of CedarLight who wish to dedicate or rededicate themselves to our grove will have the ability to recite the oath as a group. This is optional for those members who are interested. Folks on Zoom would still need to remain muted.
After Ritual
If participants wish to hang out after the rite, the Zoom room will remain open for socializing. Feel free to bring dinner and make it a virtual potluck! We won’t even nag you about washing the dishes!
Cost/Donations
All CedarLight events have a suggested donation of $20 per person. This can be contributed to Dagda’s Cauldron either at the Grove, or online via paypal to cedarlightgrove@gmail.com. All donations go towards CedarLight Center bills and upkeep.
Previous Yule Rituals
