Yule

Meaning

Proper Noun

• Christmastide, the Christmas season, the Twelve Days of Christmas (between December 25^th and January 5^th).
• A pagan wintertime holiday celebrated by Germanic peoples, particularly the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon peoples, or a modern reconstruction of this holiday celebrated by neo-pagans.

Origin

• From Middle English yol, from Old English ġeōl, ġeola, either cognate with or from Old Norse jól, from Proto-Germanic *jehwlą, from Proto-Indo-European *yekə- ("joke, play"), related to Proto-Indo-European *yek- ("to speak, utter"). Cognate with Gothic 𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃 and English joke; see also and .
• In pre-Christian times, the term designated the two-month midwinter season (December and January). After Christianization, it became a narrower reference to the twelve days of Christmas.