What is the difference between Christmas and Yule?

Yule begins on Mother Night, (about Dec. 20) the night before the shortest day and the longest night (winter solstices). We honor the beginning of the Sun's return and the breaking of Winter, (which is most noticeable in five days) and is celebrated over a twelve day/night period ( this were Christians got the 12 days of Christmas). We know there will be no Fimbulwinter which proceeds Ragnarok.

It is a time of the year when our deceased Ancestors are closest to us; this is when the dead (draugar) are more active than any other time. Yule is when Jólnir another name for Odinn leads the procession of the Wild Hunt through the sky's with sprits of humans, horses and dogs. This procession occurs during all twelve days of Yule.

It is a time for great feasting, honoring Thorr for driving back the frost etins, Frey to give us prosperity in the coming year, Odinn as leader of the Wild Hunt, and of course our Ancestors. Jólablót, have a Yule party with family and kindred. Decorate a tree with sunwheels and light a Yule Log.

The Yule Tree (Christians came to call this a Christmas tree) is the symbol of our cosmology; it’s the Great tree Yggdrasil.

From the Voluspa. "Yggdrasil its name.

With water white is the Great Tree wet;

Thence come the dews that fall in the dales.

Green by Urths well does it ever grow."

And so the evergreen tree is the most appropriate, to remind us of the eternity of Yggdrasil, as it last through out winters Ever Green.

The burning of a Yule Log is an ancient ritual; our ancestors kindled a huge oak log in honor of Thorr. Today we burn a smaller log during the Yule Season. When lighting the new Yule Log it should be with the charred remains of the previous year's log, which is, keep to guard the house against lightning and fire.

Twelfth Night (about Dec. 31/Jan. 1) culminates the traditional twelve days/nights of Yule. Our Ancestors at this time consecrated a boar to Frey, led it out so everyone present could lay their hand on the boar and swear a solemn Oath. This is to honor Frey for prosperity. Oaths sworn on the Oath-Boar are very binding during this time, than any other time of the year( this where the tradition of New Year's resolutions came from). We make a New Year's resolutions in the old way by swearing our oath on Frey's boar or on our hammer.

The Yule is no exception when it comes to christian plagiarism of other cultures Holidays. There is no doubt that the Yule Tree, Yule Log, the Singing and exchanging of Gifts are from our Northern Culture

Many of the symbols associated with the modern holiday of Christmas such as the burning of the Yule log, the eating of ham, the hanging of boughs, holly, mistletoe, etc. are apparently derived from traditional northern European Yule celebrations. When the first missionaries began converting the Germanic peoples to Christianity, they found it easier to simply provide a Christian reinterpretation for popular feasts such as Yule and allow the celebrations themselves to go on largely unchanged, rather than trying to suppress them. The Scandinavian tradition of slaughtering a pig at Christmas (Christmas ham), and not in the autumn, is probably the most salient evidence for this. The tradition derives from the sacrifice to the god Freyr at the Yule celebrations.

December the 25th is definitely not the date Jesus of Nazareth was born. He was not born during the middle of winter; for the shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks by night (Luke 2:8). In Palestine the shepherds always bring their flocks in by mid-October. Here are three good reasons for the fall of the year to be the approximate time of the year for Jesus' birth all from the Bible.

First; his public ministry would start when he was thirty years old (Nu. 4:3), and last three and one half years. His ministry ended at the time of the Passover (John 18:39) that was in the spring. Then going back three and one half years he would have turned thirty in the fall of that year.

Second; he was born six months after John the Baptist. Finding John's approximate time of birth, and adding six months we have Jesus time of birth. Now John's father Zechariah was a priest at the temple in Jerusalem. Each priest had a definite period of the year in which to serve. There were twenty-four of these courses and according to Josephus each course lasted one week. Each priest served a week twice a year and all had to serve the three weeks of Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles. Zechariah was serving the course of ABIA (Abijah) when he learned his wife by some divine intervention, would give birth to a son (Luke 1:5-13). According to 1Chronicles 24:10, the course of Abijah was the eight in order. That is Iyar 27 to Sivan 5 to us this would be June 1-8. He was obligated to remain another week for Pentecost. After this time his ministry finished. He returned home and his wife conceived (Luke 1:23-24) this being about the middle of June. If we add nine months, John's birth would be in early spring about march. Add to this the six months the younger Jesus was (Luke 1:29-36), and Jesus' birth would be mid-September (approx. 15 Sept. 5 BCE), again the fall of the year.

Third, Joseph and Mary had gone to Bethlehem to be taxed (Luke 2:1-5). The fall was a logical time for taxes since it was the end of harvest. Also, when they made the trip it was most likely a time of a great feast at Jerusalem because it was crowded (Luke 2:7). Taxation alone would not draw this large a crowd in Bethlehem. Another point is that the law did not require a woman's presence at a taxing. Considering all of this Mary made the journey with Joseph to attend the Feast of Tabernacles that again is in the fall.

Halloween and Easter are theorized to have been likewise assimilated from northern European pagan festivals.

In short, just about everything that is associated with Christmas was stolen from Pagan religions, especially from what is known today as Ásatrú.

I hope this helps you out.

Yuletide blessings to you, and have a happy Yuletide.

Well Yule Tide stretches from December to January, whereas Christmas is specifically December 25.

Yule was the winter solstice celebration of the Germanic pagans. In Germanic Neopaganism, this celebration is largely reconstructed to various extents by various groups. In Wicca, a form of the holiday is observed as one of the eight solar holidays, or sabbats, where Yule is celebrated on the winter solstice: in the northern hemisphere, circa December 21, and in the southern hemisphere, circa June 21.