{"id":435,"date":"2011-12-20T12:00:48","date_gmt":"2011-12-20T18:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/?p=435"},"modified":"2011-12-16T08:47:46","modified_gmt":"2011-12-16T14:47:46","slug":"twas-the-night-before-yuletide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/?p=435","title":{"rendered":"‘Twas The Night Before Yuletide…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Twas the Night Before Yuletide<\/em><\/strong>
\n(This version author unknown, original Clement C. Moore)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Twas the night before Yule, and all \u2018cross the heath,
\nnot a spirit was stirring – no human or beast.<\/p>\n

Warm cider was left by the altar adorned,
\nto celebrate the Oak King would soon return.<\/p>\n

The children lay sleeping all snug in their beds,
\nwhile faeries and elves danced through their heads.<\/p>\n

Mother and Father beneath blankets piled deep,
\nhad just settled for their own Solstice sleep.<\/p>\n

A noise in the night that would give them no peace,
\nAwakened them both, was it the honking of geese?<\/p>\n

Eager to see such a boisterous flock,
\nThey raced to the window, mouths opened in shock!<\/p>\n

The west wind blew in a wedge of swans white and gray,
\nMother Holle behind them in her gift-laden dray.<\/p>\n

A figure on a broomstick in the north sky so clear,
\nLa Befana was bringing her own Yuletide cheer.<\/p>\n

From the south came a comet brighter than the moon,
\nAnd they knew that Lucia would be with them soon.<\/p>\n

These spirits sailed earthward over hilltops and trees,
\nMother Holle serenading her feathery steeds:<\/p>\n

\u201cFly Cerridwen! Fly Tegin! Fly Boann and Dagda!
\nFly Nantosuelta! Fly Sucellos! Fly Borvo and Damona!<\/p>\n

May the sacred spirit inside you soar,
\nFrom the stars in the sky, to yon cottage door.\u201d<\/p>\n

As soft and as silent as snowflakes they fell,
\nTheir arrival announced by their faintly chiming bells.<\/p>\n

They landed so softly, their bodies aglow.
\nTheir feet leaving no marks atop the fresh soft snow.<\/p>\n

Before they could ponder what next was in store,
\nThere came a soft creak from the threshold door.<\/p>\n

They crept from their bedroom and were spellbound to see
\nThere in the parlor stood the Yule Trinity!<\/p>\n

Lucia, the Maiden, her head wreathed in flame,
\nShone with the brilliance for which she was named.<\/p>\n

Her twinkling eyes held the joy of a child,
\nAs she spoke with a voice that was gentle, yet wild:<\/p>\n

\u201cMay the warmth of this hearth never fade away.\u201d
\nShe lit their Yule log, it still burns to this day.<\/p>\n

Mother Holle in feathered cloak stood regal and tall;
\nThe Matron of Solstice, the Mother of all.<\/p>\n

Under her gaze they felt safe and secure.
\nHer voice commanding, but almost demure:<\/p>\n

\u201cMay the love of this family enrich young and old.\u201d
\nFrom beneath her cloak showered coins of pure gold.<\/p>\n

La Befana wore a kerchief atop her silvered hair;
\nLike the veil of a Crone who has secrets to share.<\/p>\n

In her eyes gleamed the wisdom only gained by spent youth.
\nHer voice was a whisper but her words rung with truth:<\/p>\n

\u201cMay health, glad tidings, and peace fill these rooms.\u201d
\nThen she banished misfortune with a sweep of her broom.<\/p>\n

They then left a gift by each child’s sleeping head,
\nTook a drink of the wassail, and away they sped.<\/p>\n

While they watched them fly off through the night sky they laughed,
\nAt the wondrous magick they had found in the Craft.<\/p>\n

As they departed, the spirits decreed\u2026
\nMerry Yule To You All & May All Blessed Be!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From our hearth to yours, happy Yule and a blessed 2012!
\n– Morrighan, Artemis & Draco<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Twas the Night Before Yuletide (This version author unknown, original Clement C. Moore) \u2018Twas the night before Yule, and all \u2018cross the heath, not a spirit was stirring – no human or beast. Warm cider was left by the altar adorned, to celebrate the Oak King would soon return. The children lay sleeping all snug […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[203,205,204,63],"class_list":["post-435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-main-sacred-triskele","tag-clement-c-moore","tag-night-before-christmas","tag-night-before-yuletide","tag-yule"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=435"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":442,"href":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435\/revisions\/442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sacredtriskele.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}