Yule

American  

[yool] / yul /

Also yule

noun

1. Christmas, or the Christmas season.

2. an ancient Germanic pagan holiday centering around the winter solstice, now sometimes celebrated by neopagans.

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yule British  

/ juːl /

noun

1. literary (sometimes capital)

   1. Christmas, the Christmas season, or Christmas festivities

   2. ( in combination )

      yuletide

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Usage

What does yule mean? The word yule can be used as another name for Christmas, the Christian holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus.However, yule can also refer to the celebration of the Winter Solstice that’s observed in some Pagan traditions.Like the word Christmas, yule can also be used to refer to the Christmas season—Christmastime. Another word for this is yuletide.When they’re used in reference to Christmas, the terms yule and yuletide are often intended to sound a bit old-timey—yuletide carols being sung by a choir, and all that.Example: I like to spend Yule sitting by the hearth, listening to tales of winters gone by.

Etymology

Origin of Yule

First recorded before 900; Middle English yole, Old English geōl, geol(a) “Christmas day, Christmastide”; cognate with Old Norse jōl, the name of the pagan winter feast lasting 12 days, later applied to Christmas; akin to Gothic jiuleis

Example Sentences

The first opens with standard Yule Log footage before flipping into an entirely different movie within five minutes.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025

Yule was also an instructor who taught at Juilliard, Columbia University and at HB Studio.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2025

"Everything is the same as Yule Day, with a big party at the end of the evening."

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2025

To celebrate the winter solstice, Ancient Romans threw a feast honoring children, while Norse celebrated Yule by dressing up in creepy costumes and going from house to house with gifts.

From National Geographic • Dec. 21, 2023

They reached the City gates just before noon and joined a line of carriages jostling their way up the hill into the Royal City for the Yule celebrations.

From "Ash" by Malinda Lo