I watched a video about the winter solstice that came out a couple of days before yours on the sakro sawel channel. It made the point that the winter solstice is the most celebrated religious occasion in the world, which is in the title of your video. You covered some of the same points it did. So the theme of the sakro video was also explaining the importance of the winter solstice to ancient people across the world and the spiritual relevance it still has for us today. It also showed how there are sites aligned to the winter solstice by a beam of light entering them (using some of the same examples), gave a scientific explanation of what solstice is, and pointed out that some cultures still celebrate the winter solstice according to their old traditions (like Yalda in Iran). That video also ended by saying that celebrating the winter solstice connects us with the ancients. I felt it was important to mention this.
My father was a big fan of winter solstice. He grew up on a farm, and worked as farm a farm laborer from the age of six ... child labor was a thing in the US until the fifties ... Anyway, he and lots of the old farmers said that the winter solstice determines everything that will happen for the coming planting season. That includes getting your ground ready, when to prune your fruit trees, how everything will work from January to summer. There's also watching what Venus and Saturn do, which I'm clueless about. Most farmers today even, follow solstice information to plan their farming year. Even as clueless as I am about many of these things, I've learned that my best gardening season is when I plan it now, on December 21, though I wish I knew how to read what the sun is doing on this day, like those old guys did. Love and Light to all.
The pagan traditions are strong and resonate deeply! In the northern hemisphere, Winter begins at Samhain (now Halloween) with the midpoint being Solstice/Yule, when we emerge from the dark into the light. The sun grows in strength and we celebrate Imbolc on February 2nd (Groundhogs Day), when we can actually feel the warmth of the sun. The seasonal celebrations mean much more to many people in the world than the religious holidays superimposed over the ancient customs. The Earth is our mother and everything on it our brothers and sisters!
I am blessed to be born at the Equator in Kenya. Infact my house is just a 10 mnts walking distance to the Equator. Here we don't experience the seasons as the Sun is always there throught the year.
As a Pagan sun worshiper I came across this on the Winter Solstice 2023, thanks for your informative program. Oddly, I lived only a short distance from the Ohio Sun Henge, but probably before it was built. I'll definitely visit it next time I'm in the area. Solstice blessings to you and those who see the video
I don’t like thinking in terms of good and evil. Cold and dark is just doing what cold and dark does. Calling it evil suggests it’s a personal attack rather than a natural progress. You can’t blame the predator for acting like a predator, even if you fight against it. Yule Blessings. I’m glad I found your videos this year.
Surviving Winter in Northern Europe was no joke in pre-modern times. You really can't blame them for being less than enthusiastic about the cold and dark season when they could only huddle by the fire and "hope" they had stocked up enough food and firewood to keep them alive until the return of Summer.
I celebrated the solstice properly this year.. Made sure our hearth kept the home warm all day and night, feasted on the last of our greens, spent the day with my better half as we prepared yuletide gifts.. Got pissed.
Grew up Baptist. Realized my wrongs at 22 a few months ago. And remembered i had a stupid strong connection to the Celtic and Nordic beliefs. Turns out i have ancestors from Ireland, Scotland, Britain, Germany, Sweden, and Poland. Now im settling in my Pagan shoes. Thanks for making my newfound beliefs solid.
You people are sadly mistaken and lost. I think I'm gonna start worshipping Superman, his story is no more fantastical and fairytale-ish than the stupidity you all pretend to believe in.
I went to Ireland in 2014 for a Rugby tour. I was 16 and Christian. I was not ready for what i saw. Many things i was not able to appreciate because spiritually and mentally i was not ready to take it in. Ive been wanting to go back.
In slavic culture ancestor veneration was also an important part of the pre-christian festival at time of winter solstice (Szczodre gody), analogous to yule. Even to this day, in Poland, we leave an empty seat at the table for them. (Catholic church told us it's for a lost wanderer aka Jesus but this tradition predates Christianisation of Poland). Love your work ❤
Great stuff! :) Re the Clava Cairns - I am a Scottish Druid and have been there many times. It's certainly an amazing place :) Fun fact: the oak trees surrounding the area were planted in the 1800s by a "revivalist Druid". Many thanks for a wonderful presentation :)
My stepfather is from Iran, so I grew up with many Iranian holidays. It was nice to see you mention Yalda. The word means "rebirth". Considering that Farsi/Persian is an Indo-European language, I've always thought it wasn't a coincidence that the word reminds me of the word Yule, especially since there isn't consensus on the etymology of the word Yule, and given that the Anglo-Saxons did celebrate Yule on the solstice according to Bede (and in my opinion, if Bede can't be trusted, then no source on any Germanic heathen tradition can be.
Pretty PLEASE do some more on this North American sites, so much of the tribal history has been lost. I would love to hear more about these. ❤. Love your videos so much. I love learning things, you do an excellent job. Each video is so rich with the knowledge you share. Blessings to you during this sacred time. 🙏❤
Check out Ancient Americas! They have a bunch of very informative videos! They are not nearly as personable as Jacob’s, but you’ll get a lot out of them about precolonial history in the americas. Highly recommend!
Happy Winter Solstice my dear friend! I hold the Solstices in high regard as I know my ancestors were deeply connected to the cycles of the year. Thank you for this very informative video Jacob. You rock! ❤
Newgrange has only a single tunnel, but the surrounding Boyne Valley sites have multiple tunnels. I began dating my partner long distance in 2016, and took a big leap of faith to go visit him for the first time in Ireland where he's from. Newgrange was where he took me on our first date. It's incredibly well preserved and I would absolutely suggest anyone visit. He took me back again last December, and proposed to me right in front of the big entrance kerbstone 🙂🥰 You have to be selected out of a lottery to go on the mornings the sunrise beams creep in and light up the shaft (it's about a 5-day period, with the brightest on the Solstice) so we didn't get to go those days but it was still gorgeous...
Hi Jacob, really informative video. I live in Ireland, not far from Newgrange and The hill of Tara. You should look into another local Cairn, at Loughcrew. It also lights up the chamber, but twice a year on the equinox. It's believed to be 1000 years older than Newgrange and definitely worth looking up
Winter had to have been a very scary season for our ancestors. Loss of light, warmth, crops, livestock, winter approaching was like waiting for death to arrive metaphorically, but also in reality. Most people probably did die during the winter months due to the cold, onset of illness, and lack of fresh food. The early setting sun caused long nights and lots of wood needed to burn fires. Maybe these places we don't fully understand today as to their purpose, but maybe the rituals and celebrations at this time were also a call to the deities to help see them through the cold dark nights of a harsh season. A season no one could control or predict. Today, a lot of us barely notice it, safe in our warm houses with furnaces and refrigerators to store our food, winter isn't scary for us, we will live through it, even during the moments of wild winter weather. It's more of an annoyance, eagerly longing for Spring and the long days of warm summer. But to our ancestors, winter meant a battle of life and death and none had the guarantee they would see the next season of Imbolc marking the beginning of SPRING. Thank you for the time and research you put into this very informative video. I learned some new things today! Happy Winter Solstice/Yule to you and yours!
My first born was born at dawn on the winter solstice. So at 5:30 am . The sun came out for only 15 mins because it had been raining and snowing all night. I had been in labor for about 24 hours. It was a cold , painful, difficult night. There was a point where I had given up. So there was a moment where it was a that I could see how death could be a thing.mydaughter was that light in the darkness and still is to this day. She wil be 31 years old tomorrow.
Hi Jacob, really enjoyed your video. I live fairly close to Newgrange in Ireland. It's truly spectacular, you will be blown away. I'm happy to report that there were few clouds this morning, so good sign for the New Year. Happy Solstice.
I really appreciate you Jacob. I love that you travel and go to such lengths to give us information from across Europe and the USA. Blessed Yule everyone! And Merry Christmas!
I have always assumed that the various ways of marking the solstice are at base a form of keeping a calendar. If you can pinpoint solstice day, you know for sure another year has passed. But the holiday aspect of it seems to be more important to cultures farther away from the equator, due to the effects of longer and shorter days being much more profound, along with much harsher cold temperatures and conditions. So the holiday aspect is a way of getting everyone through the winter in an organized manner, an acknowledgment of the emotional and psychological toll of winter, but also the physical. The production of foods and feasts I believe is meant to make sure everyone got fattened up for winter, that social hierarchies developed in which everyone in the tribe was not included notwithstanding. The original traditions are sensible preparations for getting through winter. Even th tradition of Lent has a survival purpose, because early spring is the leanest time of the year for virtually all animals. Planning to do some fasting during that period is really a practical acknowledgment. In terms of the spiritual, the voice that teaches us to observe the world around us, and how to interpret it, how to learn from our experiences, how to achieve unity and wisdom, we honor. There is more, but that is my overview.
Learning from each of us, it does not matter what faith we all believe in the sun has an effect on us all, thanks for this info, learning expands the mind makes us who we are.
I would hit like and sbscribe all over again, just in honour of your long walks ☺ Thank you for another lovely video .... I will be celebrating the solstice of the Sun at its highest peak here in South Africa
Great video Jacob! I really enjoy learning about these traditions that various peoples around the world celebrated without ever knowing each other. It always seems to hint at some universal truths.
Thank you for your very interesting program. I have some understanding of the monolithic period via my interest in archeology throughout Europe, Central Asia. I have three sons roughly your age whose part of their genetic ancestry are from both Ireland, and Scotland from Norse raiding areas of County Mayo, the north counties, and in Scotland, the area of the western isles. From my side of the family they also have Occitan, Southern France, Galicia, Celtic, Central Asian type of ancestry. So, they look three different ways. The tallest we have always nicknamed The Viking because of his foot size (13), orange red to blonde hair, and his teal blue eyes, but he has my darker skin in the summer. The eldest is 5’10”, has more of the indigenous features of his paternal grandmother, brown hair, but your bright red beard. As a young man he resembled his indigenous ancestors, but had beautiful dark auburn hair. My youngest resembles my side of the family- tan skin, dark brown hair, tan skin, dark green almond shaped eyes, and bright red beard! I have a first generation Irish (Mayo) maternal grandfather whose mother had your bright red hair, as did he. She was a survivor of the Great Famine. I am the redhead of my generation on both sides of my family, and there is one or two in our children’s generation on both sides. But I’m the only one of the redheads with the emerald green eyes, navy blue rims of my fathers Central Asian ancestors, as did my father. After medical chemotherapy I lost my red hair and the apparently default setting was my father’s nearly black brown hair. This ancestry has only arisen in the last four generations of my father’s maternal ancestors, and apparently my youngest sister and myself are the only people in our generation to have it. I tell you this information to let you know when my genetic profile was done scientifically as part of my ongoing medical treatment that the Central Asian, the southern French, Northern Spain (the original kingdom of Occitan) and west counties of Ireland share a good amount of genetic code that isn’t found too much in Western or Eastern Scotland. My children have far more Celtic related genetics than I do, and that’s probably why their looks are so varied. My youngest sister who looks Central Asian/Spanish does not have children, and my grand children have more indigenous ancestry to replace most of the Celtic ancestry. So, the hidden genetics will disappear once more. Had I not needed a lot of medical assistance, I wouldn’t have known all this medical scientific information that has helped my medical team assist me in fine tuning my medical needs and medication. Also, persons with red hair genetics, blue or green eyes are often at a higher risk for Parkinson’s, which we recently found out when The Viking was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s. He just turned 33 this month.
The Puebloan People in the American Southwest celebrate at this time of the year. For example, the Zuni People celebrate Shalako usually on the first (1st) weekend of Dec. The spirits of the ancestors come back from Zuni heaven (which is under a dry lakebed just over the Arizona line) to the Pueblo. The people have prepared food for the spirits of the ancestors who have come back for a celebration of the blessing of six (6) new Shalako houses. At the end of the day a bell is rung as if to say to the spirits of the ancestors that it's time to go back to heaven. Come back next year. In the Kiva in Sky City in the Acoma Pueblo there is a celebration marking the return of the sun. The northern wall of the Aztec Ruins in Aztec, New Mexico lines up with sunrise on the Vernal Equinox. In the public library in Farmington, New Mexico there are two (2) places which are marked on the floor. One (1) marks where the sun will be at 12:00 P.M. on Dec. 22nd and the other marks where the sun will shine at 12:00 P.M. on June 22nd.
Thank you I was really sick last year and couldn't celebrate anything and you had a whole Livestream at the fellowship of northern faith with rituals. It meant so much to me. This year i yet to yo to a bonfire and everything ❤ Merry Yule Jacob 🌲
Bright Blessings. Celebrate with a candle or even a small stone or branch; leaves; a bowl of water. As long as you feel connected in your heart. We are all connected. Sending you well wishes.
Im watching from Scotland and its definitely midwinter for me. Its dark by 3.45pm and as of today we count down to the lighter nights. You dont really notice it until the end of January but by March we breath a sigh of relief that winter is nearly over. Midwinter blessings to you and all ✨️
Please do a visit and video on Cahokia Mounds! We visited as a girls trip in elementary school. I went back as an adult and sadly there is a road built right through the historic site and it feels kinda disrespectful and the historical site feels like an after thought.
I have always believed that Ragnarok was analogous to the coming winter months. A story passed down from very ancient tribes of people in a time where the longer nights and extreme cold meant an imminent loss of livestock, crops, and members of their community.
Did you know one intresting place in eirope 1200 bc. Its on top of the mountain trer is big stone from nord to esat. When you stand od it soulstus dawn points is exaktli on top of mauntains many mails avay ist awsom place in slovakia named Sitno its one of the oldest habited place in thet region
Jacob, your theory about the connection of the life-giving ray of the Winter Solstice sun into the passage tombs sounds entirely plausible. An interesting concept regarding the symbiosis of light and dark upon this sweet Life. There is a fascinating book (newly released) by Lori Erickson about the many North American holy sites. It's title is EVERY STEP IS HOME and describes many ancient sites you might like to know about. Many Thanks for your excellent videos!
Excellent video! Thanks! I personally have ALWAYS felt that Solstice was the midpoint of Winter and not the beginning of it. (But maybe that's because I spent my childhood in New England and my adulthood in Minnesota! 😂)
Bright Blessings, Jacob. Ohio has a few significant places, including a pyramid. Wood is sacred as stone. You will love New Grange. It's great to learn the decsendents are listening to their ancestors by creating such places in the 'New World.' A belated Happy Winter Solstice one and all.
The tilt itself is 23.5° all the time, it doesn't change. As the earth travels around the sun once per year this tilt causes the northern hemisphere to be closest to the sun at summer solstice and farthest from the sun at winter solstice.
@dedavies8873. Thank you for making that clarification. It is the earth journey around the sun as it is tilted that results in the changes of exposure the earth’s surface receives. Drives me crazy when people think that the earth’s tilt changes… though we do wobble a wee bit, but that is for another discussion. 🌞
I love mythology and history and learning about the ancient world. I wish i was more intelligent to remember everything ive seen so that i can tell telhe storys
Happy Solstice & Happy Yule to you as well, Jacob. It is fascinating to learn how different cultures found significance in the Solstices and how they dealt with them in similar ways. Thank you for this timely adventure through history. 🙂 I would love to learn more about the mound cultures of North America. When I studied Archaeology, my focus was on Egypt and the Near East rather than on the New World cultures. So, I look forward to more of your journeys through the ancient cultures of North American 🥰
Jacob, when you come to Cahokia let me know, as I am not far. I can meet you there and bring one of my friends, who is not only a fellow historian to us, but is also a career archaeologist who specialized in Midwestern indigenous people. He doesn't necessarily know a lot about indigenous religions but he can explain a lot about the way the Cahokia lived.
Wonderful to find your channel! Thank you for all the shared effort and deep interest in the ‘underpinnings’ of many / most / all observances that inspired the modern rituals and holidays throughout the year.
Thank you for this wonderful informative video! It was a great to find on Yule. I definitely hope to rewatch it again sometime throughout the year as i delve into study and research and notes on Sabbats / solstice/ equinox/ esbots for future projects
When you were describing the Earth's tilt...lol...I was thinking Neil DeGrasse Tyson needs to ring you up and have a talk. The tilt doesn't change, just the position of the earth in it's orbit around the sun.
Wow! Jacob! I was watching another Solstice video, and I thought the exact same thing re the sun entering the tomb and giving rebirth to those who have passed thus, engniting their reconception into a new being, or new spiritual being or, a new realm? In the Holy Vedas it is believed that you must incarnate into every being physical and spiritual on the path upwards to becoming human again, and it is only in human form, that you can progress to enlightenment. Then, never reincarnate again. Such a wonderful thing, to hear a great mind voicing my own thoughts. Blessed Solstice!
I appreciate the research you do to try to bring this information to us rather than peddling stories and misinformation that sometimes runs rampant through pagan communities. Thank you for also talking about many different cultures rather than just the Norse and Celt people.
An episode on when the solstices ceased being called 'Midwinter' and 'Midsummer' by English-speakers and started being the BEGINNING of those seasons in the last 3 centuries would be very cool.
Dear Jakob, I wish you a happy Yule and a happy new year lovely I like you TH-cam channel I am a big fan of you. I hope one day we will meet and wish you and a happy New Year greetings from Switzerland I am interesting in northern paganism❤❤❤🎉🎉😊😊😊😊😊❤
If you do an update on the Winter Solstice/Summer Solstice video, I would suggest checking out Chaco Canyon in Northern New Mexico. Scientists have confirmed that certain long walls and structures aligned with the Winter/Summer Solstices. Also certain carvings of 'swirls' on the canyon walls would have 'daggers' of sunlight intersect or frame the swirl carvings on those days as well. Also many other calculations concerning the moon. PBS has done a number of documentaries about Chaco. Check them out if you have a chance.
I took the fam to the Ren Fair at that spot this year! I wish I had realized that is where the structure is, crap! I need to make it down for a celebration with you all at Sunhenge.
I watched a video about the winter solstice that came out a couple of days before yours on the sakro sawel channel. It made the point that the winter solstice is the most celebrated religious occasion in the world, which is in the title of your video. You covered some of the same points it did. So the theme of the sakro video was also explaining the importance of the winter solstice to ancient people across the world and the spiritual relevance it still has for us today. It also showed how there are sites aligned to the winter solstice by a beam of light entering them (using some of the same examples), gave a scientific explanation of what solstice is, and pointed out that some cultures still celebrate the winter solstice according to their old traditions (like Yalda in Iran). That video also ended by saying that celebrating the winter solstice connects us with the ancients. I felt it was important to mention this.
My father was a big fan of winter solstice. He grew up on a farm, and worked as farm a farm laborer from the age of six ... child labor was a thing in the US until the fifties ... Anyway, he and lots of the old farmers said that the winter solstice determines everything that will happen for the coming planting season. That includes getting your ground ready, when to prune your fruit trees, how everything will work from January to summer. There's also watching what Venus and Saturn do, which I'm clueless about. Most farmers today even, follow solstice information to plan their farming year. Even as clueless as I am about many of these things, I've learned that my best gardening season is when I plan it now, on December 21, though I wish I knew how to read what the sun is doing on this day, like those old guys did. Love and Light to all.
The pagan traditions are strong and resonate deeply! In the northern hemisphere, Winter begins at Samhain (now Halloween) with the midpoint being Solstice/Yule, when we emerge from the dark into the light. The sun grows in strength and we celebrate Imbolc on February 2nd (Groundhogs Day), when we can actually feel the warmth of the sun. The seasonal celebrations mean much more to many people in the world than the religious holidays superimposed over the ancient customs. The Earth is our mother and everything on it our brothers and sisters!
Yup, all the way back to the 18th century
Blessed Be! 🥰
I am blessed to be born at the Equator in Kenya.
Infact my house is just a 10 mnts walking distance to the Equator.
Here we don't experience the seasons as the Sun is always there throught the year.
Calling it Mid-winter definitely makes more sense. Thanks for sharing
So proud of my ancient Irish ancestry!! The ancient builders of Solstice monuments dating older than the pyramids! Newgrange!! Amazing
As a Pagan sun worshiper I came across this on the Winter Solstice 2023, thanks for your informative program. Oddly, I lived only a short distance from the Ohio Sun Henge, but probably before it was built. I'll definitely visit it next time I'm in the area. Solstice blessings to you and those who see the video
Bright Blessings to you. OBOD
I don’t like thinking in terms of good and evil. Cold and dark is just doing what cold and dark does. Calling it evil suggests it’s a personal attack rather than a natural progress. You can’t blame the predator for acting like a predator, even if you fight against it.
Yule Blessings. I’m glad I found your videos this year.
That's true, Death is not evil, Birth and Death are both inevitable parts of Life, that's how it is in Hinduism as well
Surviving Winter in Northern Europe was no joke in pre-modern times. You really can't blame them for being less than enthusiastic about the cold and dark season when they could only huddle by the fire and "hope" they had stocked up enough food and firewood to keep them alive until the return of Summer.
I celebrated the solstice properly this year.. Made sure our hearth kept the home warm all day and night, feasted on the last of our greens, spent the day with my better half as we prepared yuletide gifts.. Got pissed.
Grew up Baptist. Realized my wrongs at 22 a few months ago. And remembered i had a stupid strong connection to the Celtic and Nordic beliefs. Turns out i have ancestors from Ireland, Scotland, Britain, Germany, Sweden, and Poland. Now im settling in my Pagan shoes. Thanks for making my newfound beliefs solid.
Listen to the ancestors always. Take in their wisdom.
If you're "American " your ancestry will almost always be European!
You people are sadly mistaken and lost. I think I'm gonna start worshipping Superman, his story is no more fantastical and fairytale-ish than the stupidity you all pretend to believe in.
@@DEAMcN-t1f come on really as an atheist paganism is the nicest religion why not let them have there fun
@@DEAMcN-t1fthe smart thing: mind your own damn business.
I visited Clava Cairns last summer and as a pagan, felt such a deep connection with the site. Love to see it talked about here!
I went to Ireland in 2014 for a Rugby tour. I was 16 and Christian. I was not ready for what i saw. Many things i was not able to appreciate because spiritually and mentally i was not ready to take it in. Ive been wanting to go back.
Hopefully my videos next year will help take you back!
@@TheWisdomOfOdin Im certainly looking forward to them 😁
@@TheWisdomOfOdin If u can, i recommend the wormhole on the Aran Islands. Also, the Cliffs of Moher are absolutely beautiful
Do be aware that believers, that started as kids, have poor critical thinking skills. Not meant to be mean, it’s a factual statement.
What exactly are you referring to when you say that you weren't ready for what you saw?
In slavic culture ancestor veneration was also an important part of the pre-christian festival at time of winter solstice (Szczodre gody), analogous to yule. Even to this day, in Poland, we leave an empty seat at the table for them. (Catholic church told us it's for a lost wanderer aka Jesus but this tradition predates Christianisation of Poland). Love your work ❤
The Christian religion absorbed many of the old religions as a way of enticing people into this new belief. From the Christmas tree to Easter eggs...
Great stuff! :) Re the Clava Cairns - I am a Scottish Druid and have been there many times. It's certainly an amazing place :) Fun fact: the oak trees surrounding the area were planted in the 1800s by a "revivalist Druid". Many thanks for a wonderful presentation :)
The Winter Solstice is actually the real Winter holiday replaced by Christmas!
My stepfather is from Iran, so I grew up with many Iranian holidays. It was nice to see you mention Yalda. The word means "rebirth". Considering that Farsi/Persian is an Indo-European language, I've always thought it wasn't a coincidence that the word reminds me of the word Yule, especially since there isn't consensus on the etymology of the word Yule, and given that the Anglo-Saxons did celebrate Yule on the solstice according to Bede (and in my opinion, if Bede can't be trusted, then no source on any Germanic heathen tradition can be.
Thanks, you gave me information and insight I didn't have before.
Pretty PLEASE do some more on this North American sites, so much of the tribal history has been lost. I would love to hear more about these. ❤. Love your videos so much. I love learning things, you do an excellent job. Each video is so rich with the knowledge you share. Blessings to you during this sacred time. 🙏❤
I am young and don’t plan on going anywhere. Looking forward to the future of all I will be able to bring to this channel 🥰
Check out Ancient Americas! They have a bunch of very informative videos! They are not nearly as personable as Jacob’s, but you’ll get a lot out of them about precolonial history in the americas. Highly recommend!
Happy Winter Solstice my dear friend! I hold the Solstices in high regard as I know my ancestors were deeply connected to the cycles of the year. Thank you for this very informative video Jacob. You rock! ❤
I grew up catholic and I learned so much through your videos. Blessed be, Jacob and a Happy Solstice to everyone!
Bright Blessings!
In Illinois, you can find the cahokia mounds really close to a NASCAR Racetrack….um yeah 😢
Happy Holidays to all from Ireland!!
It became one my most important holidays by the time I was 20.
Newgrange has only a single tunnel, but the surrounding Boyne Valley sites have multiple tunnels. I began dating my partner long distance in 2016, and took a big leap of faith to go visit him for the first time in Ireland where he's from. Newgrange was where he took me on our first date. It's incredibly well preserved and I would absolutely suggest anyone visit. He took me back again last December, and proposed to me right in front of the big entrance kerbstone 🙂🥰 You have to be selected out of a lottery to go on the mornings the sunrise beams creep in and light up the shaft (it's about a 5-day period, with the brightest on the Solstice) so we didn't get to go those days but it was still gorgeous...
That's lovely. Congratulations!
@@juliaforsyth8332 thank you!
Hi Jacob, really informative video. I live in Ireland, not far from Newgrange and The hill of Tara. You should look into another local Cairn, at Loughcrew. It also lights up the chamber, but twice a year on the equinox. It's believed to be 1000 years older than Newgrange and definitely worth looking up
Winter had to have been a very scary season for our ancestors. Loss of light, warmth, crops, livestock, winter approaching was like waiting for death to arrive metaphorically, but also in reality. Most people probably did die during the winter months due to the cold, onset of illness, and lack of fresh food. The early setting sun caused long nights and lots of wood needed to burn fires. Maybe these places we don't fully understand today as to their purpose, but maybe the rituals and celebrations at this time were also a call to the deities to help see them through the cold dark nights of a harsh season. A season no one could control or predict. Today, a lot of us barely notice it, safe in our warm houses with furnaces and refrigerators to store our food, winter isn't scary for us, we will live through it, even during the moments of wild winter weather. It's more of an annoyance, eagerly longing for Spring and the long days of warm summer. But to our ancestors, winter meant a battle of life and death and none had the guarantee they would see the next season of Imbolc marking the beginning of SPRING. Thank you for the time and research you put into this very informative video. I learned some new things today! Happy Winter Solstice/Yule to you and yours!
🔥🌝
My first born was born at dawn on the winter solstice. So at 5:30 am . The sun came out for only 15 mins because it had been raining and snowing all night. I had been in labor for about 24 hours. It was a cold , painful, difficult night. There was a point where I had given up. So there was a moment where it was a that I could see how death could be a thing.mydaughter was that light in the darkness and still is to this day. She wil be 31 years old tomorrow.
My parents had died literally a year before my daughter was born. I felt them there with us that night. It was a life changing moment.
@@swatson1190thank you for sharing, that is a beautiful story
Hi Jacob, really enjoyed your video. I live fairly close to Newgrange in Ireland. It's truly spectacular, you will be blown away. I'm happy to report that there were few clouds this morning, so good sign for the New Year. Happy Solstice.
Bright Blessings!
I really appreciate you Jacob. I love that you travel and go to such lengths to give us information from across Europe and the USA. Blessed Yule everyone! And Merry Christmas!
Bright Blessings!
I have always assumed that the various ways of marking the solstice are at base a form of keeping a calendar. If you can pinpoint solstice day, you know for sure another year has passed. But the holiday aspect of it seems to be more important to cultures farther away from the equator, due to the effects of longer and shorter days being much more profound, along with much harsher cold temperatures and conditions. So the holiday aspect is a way of getting everyone through the winter in an organized manner, an acknowledgment of the emotional and psychological toll of winter, but also the physical. The production of foods and feasts I believe is meant to make sure everyone got fattened up for winter, that social hierarchies developed in which everyone in the tribe was not included notwithstanding. The original traditions are sensible preparations for getting through winter. Even th tradition of Lent has a survival purpose, because early spring is the leanest time of the year for virtually all animals. Planning to do some fasting during that period is really a practical acknowledgment. In terms of the spiritual, the voice that teaches us to observe the world around us, and how to interpret it, how to learn from our experiences, how to achieve unity and wisdom, we honor. There is more, but that is my overview.
Happy winter solstice to everyone!
Learning from each of us, it does not matter what faith we all believe in the sun has an effect on us all, thanks for this info, learning expands the mind makes us who we are.
I'm so humbled and honored to have 12/21 as my birthday.
I would hit like and sbscribe all over again, just in honour of your long walks ☺ Thank you for another lovely video .... I will be celebrating the solstice of the Sun at its highest peak here in South Africa
You need to consider the places in Iberia, dolman del manga and the circles near Evora
You are one of my favorite pagan TH-cam channel. You explain everything so much. I love it. You’re such a cool dude. ❤
Thank you 🙏
Thanks for introducing us to this ceremonial space! I did not know it existed. Happy Solstice to All!
Bright Blessings!
Great video Jacob! I really enjoy learning about these traditions that various peoples around the world celebrated without ever knowing each other. It always seems to hint at some universal truths.
16:28 I like your theory. Oh and thanks for hiking to get those shots. Much appreciated
I loved learning more about this time of year! Happy Solstice ! ❄
Thank you for your very interesting program. I have some understanding of the monolithic period via my interest in archeology throughout Europe, Central Asia.
I have three sons roughly your age whose part of their genetic ancestry are from both Ireland, and Scotland from Norse raiding areas of County Mayo, the north counties, and in Scotland, the area of the western isles. From my side of the family they also have Occitan, Southern France, Galicia, Celtic, Central Asian type of ancestry. So, they look three different ways. The tallest we have always nicknamed The Viking because of his foot size (13), orange red to blonde hair, and his teal blue eyes, but he has my darker skin in the summer. The eldest is 5’10”, has more of the indigenous features of his paternal grandmother, brown hair, but your bright red beard. As a young man he resembled his indigenous ancestors, but had beautiful dark auburn hair. My youngest resembles my side of the family- tan skin, dark brown hair, tan skin, dark green almond shaped eyes, and bright red beard! I have a first generation Irish (Mayo) maternal grandfather whose mother had your bright red hair, as did he. She was a survivor of the Great Famine.
I am the redhead of my generation on both sides of my family, and there is one or two in our children’s generation on both sides. But I’m the only one of the redheads with the emerald green eyes, navy blue rims of my fathers Central Asian ancestors, as did my father. After medical chemotherapy I lost my red hair and the apparently default setting was my father’s nearly black brown hair. This ancestry has only arisen in the last four generations of my father’s maternal ancestors, and apparently my youngest sister and myself are the only people in our generation to have it.
I tell you this information to let you know when my genetic profile was done scientifically as part of my ongoing medical treatment that the Central Asian, the southern French, Northern Spain (the original kingdom of Occitan) and west counties of Ireland share a good amount of genetic code that isn’t found too much in Western or Eastern Scotland. My children have far more Celtic related genetics than I do, and that’s probably why their looks are so varied. My youngest sister who looks Central Asian/Spanish does not have children, and my grand children have more indigenous ancestry to replace most of the Celtic ancestry. So, the hidden genetics will disappear once more.
Had I not needed a lot of medical assistance, I wouldn’t have known all this medical scientific information that has helped my medical team assist me in fine tuning my medical needs and medication. Also, persons with red hair genetics, blue or green eyes are often at a higher risk for Parkinson’s, which we recently found out when The Viking was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s. He just turned 33 this month.
Happy Solstice one & all!! Great channel, thanks for your content, ideas & insights.
Thanks brother ❤you do great work
The Puebloan People in the American Southwest celebrate at this time of the year. For example, the Zuni People celebrate Shalako usually on the first (1st) weekend of Dec. The spirits of the ancestors come back from Zuni heaven (which is under a dry lakebed just over the Arizona line) to the Pueblo. The people have prepared food for the spirits of the ancestors who have come back for a celebration of the blessing of six (6) new Shalako houses. At the end of the day a bell is rung as if to say to the spirits of the ancestors that it's time to go back to heaven. Come back next year.
In the Kiva in Sky City in the Acoma Pueblo there is a celebration marking the return of the sun.
The northern wall of the Aztec Ruins in Aztec, New Mexico lines up with sunrise on the Vernal Equinox.
In the public library in Farmington, New Mexico there are two (2) places which are marked on the floor. One (1) marks where the sun will be at 12:00 P.M. on Dec. 22nd and the other marks where the sun will shine at 12:00 P.M. on June 22nd.
Wow, that was some great narrative 🎉 thank you
I don’t make too much fuss about Winter. I do one thing during Winter. Wait for Spring!
😅🙋♀️
So interesting. Where do the circles in the Hebrides sit in these celebrations? They are in looks closer to Stonehenge.
Thank you
I was really sick last year and couldn't celebrate anything and you had a whole Livestream at the fellowship of northern faith with rituals. It meant so much to me. This year i yet to yo to a bonfire and everything ❤
Merry Yule Jacob 🌲
Bright Blessings. Celebrate with a candle or even a small stone or branch; leaves; a bowl of water. As long as you feel connected in your heart. We are all connected. Sending you well wishes.
Im watching from Scotland and its definitely midwinter for me. Its dark by 3.45pm and as of today we count down to the lighter nights. You dont really notice it until the end of January but by March we breath a sigh of relief that winter is nearly over.
Midwinter blessings to you and all ✨️
Bright Blessings from Sussex by the sea. It's been so dark hear from all the clouds and rain.
I love traveling Jacob. Thanks for taking us along with you. Looking forward to watching your Ireland trip next year. Happy Winter Solstice!❄️
Love this! ❤ Happy Winter Solstice 2024! 🙏
Now this put's me in the spirit! Happy Yule, Holidays, and New Year to everyone!
Bright Blessings!
Please do a visit and video on Cahokia Mounds! We visited as a girls trip in elementary school.
I went back as an adult and sadly there is a road built right through the historic site and it feels kinda disrespectful and the historical site feels like an after thought.
th-cam.com/video/X0jq90ZLu-g/w-d-xo.html
I have always believed that Ragnarok was analogous to the coming winter months. A story passed down from very ancient tribes of people in a time where the longer nights and extreme cold meant an imminent loss of livestock, crops, and members of their community.
Brilliant, informative video as always Jacob. Thank you.
Did you know one intresting place in eirope 1200 bc.
Its on top of the mountain trer is big stone from nord to esat. When you stand od it soulstus dawn points is exaktli on top of mauntains many mails avay ist awsom place in slovakia named Sitno its one of the oldest habited place in thet region
loved this video, thanks for shining a light on the importance of the solstices all around the world! happy yule!
Thank you 🙏
Jacob, your theory about the connection of the life-giving ray of the Winter Solstice sun into the passage tombs sounds entirely plausible. An interesting concept regarding the symbiosis of light and dark upon this sweet Life. There is a fascinating book (newly released) by Lori Erickson about the many North American holy sites. It's title is EVERY STEP IS HOME and describes many ancient sites you might like to know about. Many Thanks for your excellent videos!
Look up Louisiana Indian mounds and settlements. Poverty point was built over 3400 years ago.
Just discovered you! You’re living my dream! So excited to watch your content!
Excellent video! Thanks! I personally have ALWAYS felt that Solstice was the midpoint of Winter and not the beginning of it. (But maybe that's because I spent my childhood in New England and my adulthood in Minnesota! 😂)
Blessed Yule everyone.
Very cool. Thank you Jacob
Bright Blessings, Jacob. Ohio has a few significant places, including a pyramid. Wood is sacred as stone. You will love New Grange. It's great to learn the decsendents are listening to their ancestors by creating such places in the 'New World.' A belated Happy Winter Solstice one and all.
Ohio serpent mound too
The tilt itself is 23.5° all the time, it doesn't change. As the earth travels around the sun once per year this tilt causes the northern hemisphere to be closest to the sun at summer solstice and farthest from the sun at winter solstice.
@dedavies8873. Thank you for making that clarification. It is the earth journey around the sun as it is tilted that results in the changes of exposure the earth’s surface receives. Drives me crazy when people think that the earth’s tilt changes… though we do wobble a wee bit, but that is for another discussion. 🌞
I love mythology and history and learning about the ancient world.
I wish i was more intelligent to remember everything ive seen so that i can tell telhe storys
Happy Solstice! Summers on it's way here in the UK, I love this day!
I'm Italian, can I join in ?
Very interesting video Jacob! Happy solstice 🌞
Yes please, teach us about the ancient people of America and the sun worship, I would love to learn more😊
Happy Solstice & Happy Yule to you as well, Jacob. It is fascinating to learn how different cultures found significance in the Solstices and how they dealt with them in similar ways. Thank you for this timely adventure through history. 🙂 I would love to learn more about the mound cultures of North America. When I studied Archaeology, my focus was on Egypt and the Near East rather than on the New World cultures. So, I look forward to more of your journeys through the ancient cultures of North American 🥰
Great video and happy Solstice to you. I'm here in South west UK, 10 miles from Stonehenge. No sun at the moment, heavy dark cloud and rain. 😂😂😂❤
Isn’t that always the way here for us in the southwest . 😁
Jacob, when you come to Cahokia let me know, as I am not far. I can meet you there and bring one of my friends, who is not only a fellow historian to us, but is also a career archaeologist who specialized in Midwestern indigenous people. He doesn't necessarily know a lot about indigenous religions but he can explain a lot about the way the Cahokia lived.
Thanks for this wonderful video. You do a very good job with the information about the solstices.
Merry Christmas 🎄🤶
Thank you, that was great to watch, especially on this particular night/morning, where I am.
Happy Yule to you!
I was Born on winter Solstice.
Happy birthday then!
Ayye hello, from Cincinnati. Who Dey. Love your content, great as always. Take care.
Wonderful to find your channel! Thank you for all the shared effort and deep interest in the ‘underpinnings’ of many / most / all observances that inspired the modern rituals and holidays throughout the year.
Thank you for this wonderful informative video! It was a great to find on Yule. I definitely hope to rewatch it again sometime throughout the year as i delve into study and research and notes on Sabbats / solstice/ equinox/ esbots for future projects
When you were describing the Earth's tilt...lol...I was thinking Neil DeGrasse Tyson needs to ring you up and have a talk. The tilt doesn't change, just the position of the earth in it's orbit around the sun.
Just been out celebrating Montol, our solstice festival in Penzance Cornwall. Bring on the sun!
Beautiful video. 💥 Thank you❄️
Yule blessings, happy to see another good video
Beautiful video, love it, gave me great new insights. Thank you.
I really enjoyed your video, I live in England and went to Stonehenge earlier this year. Happy Winter Solstice!!!
Happy Solstice and thank you for this video!
Outstanding video brother!!! Happy Vetrnaetr!!!
Yes it is good to distinguish between the solstice and Yule, as both are not the same.
You said "analyze that as!" 😆 yes, most enlightening..., thank you, ... to you also! 🎉
Wow! Jacob! I was watching another Solstice video, and I thought the exact same thing re the sun entering the tomb and giving rebirth to those who have passed thus, engniting their reconception into a new being, or new spiritual being or, a new realm? In the Holy Vedas it is believed that you must incarnate into every being physical and spiritual on the path upwards to becoming human again, and it is only in human form, that you can progress to enlightenment. Then, never reincarnate again. Such a wonderful thing, to hear a great mind voicing my own thoughts. Blessed Solstice!
I appreciate the research you do to try to bring this information to us rather than peddling stories and misinformation that sometimes runs rampant through pagan communities. Thank you for also talking about many different cultures rather than just the Norse and Celt people.
An episode on when the solstices ceased being called 'Midwinter' and 'Midsummer' by English-speakers and started being the BEGINNING of those seasons in the last 3 centuries would be very cool.
Not necessarily Solstice related but there is a very old Stonehenge type structure under Lake Michigan. it's worth looking into
Check out America's Stonehenge in New Hampshire if you ever get a chance. It has a lot to offer as well. Safe travels!
Thanks Jacob 🎉❤ Happy Holidays ✨
Dear Jakob, I wish you a happy Yule and a happy new year lovely I like you TH-cam channel I am a big fan of you. I hope one day we will meet and wish you and a happy New Year greetings from Switzerland I am interesting in northern paganism❤❤❤🎉🎉😊😊😊😊😊❤
If you do an update on the Winter Solstice/Summer Solstice video, I would suggest checking out Chaco Canyon in Northern New Mexico. Scientists have confirmed that certain long walls and structures aligned with the Winter/Summer Solstices. Also certain carvings of 'swirls' on the canyon walls would have 'daggers' of sunlight intersect or frame the swirl carvings on those days as well. Also many other calculations concerning the moon. PBS has done a number of documentaries about Chaco. Check them out if you have a chance.
Thank you for this informative video. I will be buying your book.
This reminds me of history books, of the very first towns, surrounded by a big circular fence
I'm over in WV. I need to check this out.
Temple of Rhamses also aligned with Winter Solstice!
I took the fam to the Ren Fair at that spot this year! I wish I had realized that is where the structure is, crap! I need to make it down for a celebration with you all at Sunhenge.