One of the first things to appreciate about Asatru is that it is a religion of the holy, as opposed to the sacred. (Keep in mind that although these words are used synonymously in modern English, their meanings are actually opposite in nature.) Sacred means "set apart".... Holy means simply "whole".... Thus everything is seen as holy, and our holy places are groves, and springs, and rocks. This gives us a concept of "imminent deity". -- Wayland Skallagrimsson explains Asatru
For years, every time this season rolls around, I've heard the same thing. "Bah, humbug!" says some grumbling cynic. "Those are really just a bunch of pagan symbols people bring into their houses!" The cynic has, from year to year, been an avowed atheist, or a scowling parish priest, or just someone who doesn't want to drive out to the lot, pick out one of those exotic-smelling spruces or firs, haul it back home, saw off the trunk and stand it up in a bucket of water. It's even been me.
But the thing is, I never get to hear what the symbols stand for.
OK, some things are pretty obvious. In places that aren't quite so close to the equator, the winter months bring a lack of light and growing things. It's a vital gesture, bringing some living wood into the home and decorating it with candles. I get that -- but that's psychological. It's not religious. Nobody worshipped the Christmas tree.
What they worshipped was the baby god inside the tree.
This is a representation of Frey. He's one of the most important figures in the old European pantheon (and boy is he glad to see you). Like Shiva, the Hindu Destroyer, he's a phallic god, ecstatic and sensual -- but Frey is all about creation. Many of his likenesses feature obvious erections, some of which would cripple mere mortal men.
Unlike fighty-fighty Thor who rides in the thunder, or rugged old Odin who wanders in disguise, Frey is seen in everything that grows and lives. That includes crops, which is why he's more tied to yearly cycles than the other gods. The name "Frey" literally means "Lord" -- his proper name may (or may not) have been "Ing," who was an ancient hero who fathered several royal houses, and he may (or may not) be a reincarnation of his own father, Njord. Not that Christians know anything about resurrected sons being incarnations of divine fathers, do they?
In the cycle of the year, he dies after the harvest, when the green things turn sere and brown. And then, on the darkest day of the year, he's reborn. In the evergreens. A baby in the tree.
Yule, like Christmas, was observed not as a single day, but as a season of 12 days, from the solstice on the 21st to New Year's Day. It was during this time that oaths were sworn (like New Year's resolutions) for the coming year. A stout yule log (gotten as a gift, never bought) was brought in to the hearth, hopefully to continue burning undisturbed for 12 hours. Actually, in the old days, it was a whole tree that was brought into the house to burn gradually for the full 12 days. It gave light through the longest night of the year. The family would traditionally stay awake all night, watching over their home fire. The remains of the log were kept safe all year -- and kept the household safe -- until the time came at last to use it to light the next log.
Why a phallic god is associated with the magic of a burning log I leave up to the reader to deduce.
Finally, Frey is associated with his golden boar. He rode one as his horse, and warriors devoted to Frey were said to fight like wild boars. During this particular feast, his devotees kept Frey in their hearts by putting his steed on their tables -- savoring a roasted yule ham, seasoned with the evergreen rosemary and with an apple, dedicated to that fruity, fecund deity, stuck its mouth. You'll see more echoes of the sacrifice to Frey in the Boar's Head Festivals of many Presbyterian, Anglican or Episcopal churches.
Although I haven't read anything that says this specifically, I find it highly likely that wassailing and caroling would be associated with Frey as well. I mean, a god of fertility, a burning log, a frothy, white alcoholic drink -- sounds like a recipe for lots of spunk jokes to me. (Other scholars point to the mistletoe as fulfilling this particular bit of symbolism. Why not? Kiss me quick!)
Mistletoe, apples, holly and ivy were all part of the traditional decorations for the home and the tree during the 12 day feast. Some folks say the globes on the tree represent the sun, moon and planets hanging on the branches of the cosmic tree, but I'm not so sure about that one. In the old days, ornaments were typically fruits and baked goods that were eaten after the festival -- the glass balls came along later. That seems to fit nicely with the fertile provider whose conception we're celebrating with that big, gorgeous tree.
As shocked as the fundamentalist Christmas tree defenders might be at the sexy symbolism behind their holy day (and let's just forget about Santa Claus, that stoned old elf), the old pagans would be equally shocked at the stacks of dead trees on the curb around New Year's time. For them, the decorations stayed up until Imbolc (Candlemas), the day celebrating spring's approach, a day held holy to the Mother Goddess -- a day now remembered much more humbly as Groundhog Day.