Solstice-A-Long, Day 7

***These are copies of postings to our ADF folks, of a home devotional system one can do on the Twelve Days of Yule.  There are ideas for both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. I'll try to keep up with this throughout, but as it is a busy season for everyone, I may have to double up!***
12/26: Good Day! And Welcome to Day 7 

This is a pretty complicated day, with lots of possibilities.  On the one hand, one could celebrate the Feast of Fools.  Suggested by the Matthews, and it might be fun for families with children, to put them in charge of something they’re normally not in charge of, including maybe dinner and then the evening’s ritual and candle lighting.  The tradition is definitely one of switching roles and of ritualized disrespect (meaning it isn’t real) that is attested to in customs surrounding Saturnalia or Boxing Day, for example.  Another possibility is to honor the outdwellers or more chaotic elements that we usually set apart, as they do have their place in the order of things. 

On the altar I have placed dice, for the randomness of chance, or mardi gras beads. 


In the south, we can honor “chance” by engaging in games of luck and skill. In this way, we are almost doing a balance to the allowance of chaos but testing our own ability to control it. In addition, rites of purification, such as walking between two fires, taking a sacred bath, or other activities can be done now.  Game tokens like chess pieces or symbols of the purification are appropriate for the altar. 

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