A lovely Yule

We had a very sweet Yule here, and the weather wasn't so cold as I was expecting, which is always good!

Lucas' altar got a tropical touch with the branch we took from our garden. The little tree we usually use is inside a box, inside another huge box, ito my mom's bedroom's attic , with her Christmas ornaments. So it would be too messy to take it off the place, and we decided choosing something different this year. It became a cute thing, and I guess we'll start doing it from now on:

My altar followed the same pattern, with a funny branch chosen by my little witch. I decorated it with little drawings he made to replace the ones he used on his tree. I'll laminate them for future sabbaths, so cute they got! ;)

A couple of months ago, Lucas made a fun drawing representing a Fire Monster, and asked me to make it in felt. With the many Etsy orders to create, I ended up not making it, and when I was trying to figure out what to give him as a Yule gift, this Monster came to my mind, and I put my hands to work:

I tried to be as faithful to the original as possible, and filled it with calendula and lavender. The little buddy's trunk is a bit longer than it should, but the final "art" was okay. I put it in a cloth green bag and placed it at his altar. Of course, on Yule morning, he went straight to it, and he loved his new friend!

This year, I didn't make any special dinner, but to compensate, we got lots of dried branches and leaves, and made a little fire outside, into an old metal bowl. We drew sacred symbols on a small lumber as a Yule log, and put it on the fire, along with pieces of paper with our good wishes for the arriving season:

The night was wonderful, so starry and quiet... We spent a long time watching the fire, the stars, sharing an apple while focusing on good vibes, thanking the Goddess and the God for our lives and asking for protection during the dark months ahead. We also ran around the fire, greeting the sun that would get stronger and stronger now. (I bet the neighbours were open-mouthed at the sight of us jumping up and down and making funny dances, and thinking, "what the heck...?", lol).

We talked about the importance of always honoring these sacred dates, saluting the seasons so vital for us. I silently said an extra "Thank you" to the gods for another precious moment I was sharing with my little son. I feel really blessed to be able to have these special times with him, so full of meaning. I feel so humbly happy that I succeed to create a tradition as a pagan mom, to have open, sweet talks to him and have the chance of explaining how I perceive the spiritual world, something this close to us, on our daily lives, and to listen to his own ideas and thoughts about it. Lucas walks his path so naturally, and it's such a joy watching him living it, that I feel my heart getting warm to the point of melting...

I hope you all had a lovely time celebrating your Solstice too! :)