Though most members would not begin their personal Yule celebrations for another few days, on December 18, 2011 Keeper of Seasons Hall met to celebrate the opening of the Yule season and hold its last official holiday observance of the year. As with previous years, we celebrated indoors, and in 2011 Debbie and I hosted the event at our home.
We decided to go through our rounds of sumble before eating, so after everyone had arrived and had a chance to settle, we began our hails and toasts. In keeping with the season, there were hails to powers such as the Alfar and Disir, Odin, Frigg, Ullr, Njord, Freyja, Frey, and Skaði, as well as hails to various ancestors and heroes, boasts of what had been accomplished since the previous Yule, toasts to one another’s worthy deeds, and promises of great works in the year to come. After leaving a small amount of mead for the husvættir, the remainder of the drink was poured outside over the horgr near my house.
Following the libation, we returned inside to share drink, food, and companionship. Gradually over the next several hours, we parted ways, wishing each other a glad Yuletide.
