Grandfather can you tell us a story?

the children asked in unison as they ran up t o the old man reclining peacefully by the fire. The old man sat up straighter in the chair, took a puff from his pipe and asked with a grin, What story should I tell? What story do you want to know? You there, he said pointing to one of the children, the smallest, you haven t had a turn to as k for a story in quite a while. So you pick, tell me what you want to hear. In a small voice, the child said Grandfather can you tell me of the story of the first Yule? I always liked that one the best. With a clearing of his throat and another puff on his pipe, the Grandfather star ted to spin the tale of the first Yule. We all know that Yule is at the end of December. When the night and the day are e qual to each other. But the story really starts much earlier. In fact over a mon th earlier. For you remember that in August the Harvest Lord laid down his sword of power and went away to Summerland to rest. Well the Goddess missed her husba nd so much that she began to grow old just with the grief alone and that is why we have Winter. The time when the Earth grows barren and cold. Well the Goddess because of her sadness after a time, left us also and went on a journey to Summerland to try and find him. Now she doesn t die now, she only goes on a vision quest. But she is gone so long that at Samhain her body passes on an d when she is found frozen in the forest two weeks later a wake is held for her in the Holly King s drinking hall. It took over a week for all the faeries and other mourners to come.For they came from all corners of Creation. But there was one unexpected guest, an old woman. She was so old that she almost looked like a walking skeleton. So of course ever yone there was mean to her out of fright and disgust. Yet when she greeted the Holly King, calling him her Son, everyone realized with much fright that this was the Goddess returned to them. The very Goddess whose d eath, they were there to mourn. So angry was she, that she was treated so poorly, the Goddess passed a prophecy t o the Holly King. That she had within her the Oak King, soon to be reborn. And f or rebuking her the Holly King would pass to Summerland upon the birth of that c hild. Now this scared the Holly King that he decided to lock the old Crone away in the top room of the tallest tower in all the world. Then he walled up the doors and all but one of the windows so that she is trapped within the room at the top of this tower. The window he left open so that he could have the birds fly food to her. Now he did this hoping that he could escape the doom that was foretold to him. Bu t the Crone knew that the birth of her child was her only hope of escape. The Cr one then wove magick and took the light and warmth from the Sun, and passed it t o her son. So that in just four weeks, she gave birth to the Oak King. Who ever after was also given the name of the Sun King. For he was born fully grown and g lowing with a golden light so bright that it caused the dying of the Sun to be r eversed. Those four weeks of magick are why we light the candles for the four weeks before Yule. One candle for the first week and two for the second and so on until we h ave four candles lit on the night of Yule. This represents the growing light ins ide her as outside the Sun grew weaker. But the birth was hard on the old Crone, so hard that she slipped into a sleep ve

ry near to Death. So the Sun King in his anger thinking that his mother was dead , flew out the lone window as a large golden eagle. All across the Earth he hunt ed the Holly King, Lord of the Wintertime. Finally cornering him at the shores o f a great ocean. And when he found him he threw his magickal spear at him and destroyed him. The s pear hit the Holly King so hard that his body just vanished. But don t worry, for the Holly King simply reappeared in Summerland. When he got there he found the C rone in one of her other aspects, the Young Maiden. She spoke to him of prophecy and the Wheel of the Year. She spoke of the new cycl e that had been made in the last year. That the events of the last year would re peat themselves forever and ever. And although the Holly King had passed away now, he now knew that he would return just past the height of Summer to take the Sun King s place again. This is why the Holly King, as Santa p for the Winter that he brings with ttle boys and girls because he wants he Crone on that first night that he Claus, brings us gifts every year to make u him. But he only brings presents to good li us to learn to not be mean like he was to t met her so long ago.

Now back to the Sun King, when he returned to the Crone he saw that she wasn t real ly dead but only asleep. So he went out and found a large log, the first Yule Lo g, cut from the largest Oak he could find. In hopes that this would revive the G oddess. And for their lifegiving properties he decorated her room with evergreen s. Even bringing in a tree and decorating it with his light. But all this magick did was to make her youthful again, so that now she was a bea utiful youthful Maiden. Yet she still slept a deep sleep almost near death. So you see my grandchildren there are good reasons why we do the things that we d o at Yule. They served a purpose long ago and it is good to recognize and honor that. But Grandfather, spoke up the eldest, What happened next? I know the Goddess didn t s tay asleep forever. Please tell us more. Shaking his head, the old man said, Lunch is overdue and I m hungry so let us go to eat and then I will tell you all another tale. I will tell you of what happened next to the Goddess and to the Sun King. I will tell you the story of the first Imbolc. Written by Patric http://www.thepaganhousehold.com/pagan_family/family_crafting/childrens-story-fo r-yule/#sthash.5Jb1wI5t.dpuf