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Yule is observed on the day of the Winter Solstice. Also known as Jul, Yule predates the Christmas holiday by thousands of years. There is some debate as to the origin of the word Yule. Some linguists suggest the word is derived from “Iul”, the Anglo-Saxon word for wheel. This makes a connection to a Celtic calendar, the Wheel of the Year. In the Norse culture, “Jul” refers to the god, Odin. Odin was celebrated during Yule as well. Yule celebrations included bonfires, decorating with holly, mistletoe and the boughs of evergreen trees, ritual sacrifices, feasts and gift giving. Do...

Chestnuts can do whatever they want by an open fire; we’ll be roasting — courtesy of cozy blankets and flannel pajamas — in front of a television watching the Yule log this Christmas, as we do every year. But here’s the thing: While we sit there, with our families, pondering the warmth and joy of the holiday season as classic carols play in the background, thousands of questions dance like sugar plums in our heads. Before we put on our caps and ‘kerchiefs, we decided it was time to get some answers. Consider this our holiday gift to you, so...

Merry Christmas!

Maybe it's just me. Perhaps I'm overly sensitive. But when I wish a store clerk "Merry Christmas!" they often appear stunned and flummoxed for a moment, as if I've just blabbed the plans for the underground's sabotage of the train tracks in front of the secret police. I've said something highly inappropriate for the public square, and I almost expect a security guard to take me aside on the way out. He'll lead me to a small room. He has no enthusiasm for this; it's the end of his shift, and he's done this a dozen times already today. But...

Merry... merriment! by Greg Swann About my very short Ramblin' Gamblin' Willie story The season's greetings, Mikko Ellilä writes: Swann, I just read your funny little story: Do you think it would be better for atheists to use the old English word Yule instead of Christmas? I've noticed most English-speaking atheists use the term Winter Solstice but I think that's a rather boring meteorological and astronomical term, not a real name for a healthy hedonistic celebration. The only words for Christmas in Nordic languages are still the pre-Christian words "joulu" in Finnish, "jõul" in Estonian, "jul" in Swedish and...