Merry meet, Yule is coming up and I was wondering what everyone is doing for it. Also, do you have any suggestions of what I can do? I don't have an idea yet. Thank you, and blessed be.
My personal plans are very simple. Friends of mine are coming over for a small gathering. We do a very simplistic ritual of setting up an altar and placing things on it in which we wish to give up for the new year. We ask the God and the Goddess to help guide us so we can complete our goals. There really isn't much to it. That's all we do. We then sit down for a lovely meal to commemorate the holiday.
As for ideas for yourself, I can't really suggest anything, but I hope you can draw an idea from what I do with my friends.
the usual, having my coven [and the friends/family who wish to join] over to have a potluck, stay up all night, have a circle at midnight, then a pray at sunrise with a gift exchange.
i start my holiday stuff on december 1 [minus gifts, i hate crowds so i grab everything in november] i finish all my baking and decorating by now [all i'm doing today really lol] then a week before Yule i go for a walk in the woods or park every day [headphones off] and take in everything. i try to find various evergreen branches and pinecones and whatnot to place on my Yule alter [then it's burned or put outside if we don't have a fire pit ready on Imbolc] i no longer live in a place with a fireplace, so i buy an edible [or make, it's not that hard] a Yule Log cake [could also make one out of a log you find on your walks] we place 3 candles in it and light it during our midnight circle. we spend the rest of the time snacking, talking, drinking, and eventually watch old movie. normally by 2 we go for a walk.
i suggest that really. if you don't have a group, you can do it yourself, it'll be harder to stay awake though, i can't stay up without distractions [hence the movies at 4 in the morning lol] with my coven, Samhain is rather solemn while Yule is a party, if you feel it should be more holy, then take out the movies. just don't spend the night meditating you'll fall asleep.