In the grand and unknown scale of Tezera’s history, the celebration known as Wacken Yule is a suprisingly recent occurence¹. Like Christmas on Earth, Wacken Yule also has its origins in the festivities of Yule: decorated trees, gathering to eat copious amounts of food, and the gifting of socks all lie in the venn diagram between the three. What is more important in this article are the differences.

Firstly, Wacken Yule occurs over multiple days, with festivities easily divded into pre-solstice, solstice, and post-solstice events. It typically runs from 14 days before the solstice to the start of the new year. During this time, young men with little better to do take on the role of Wacken Fool(s) – nowadays, this role is traditionally performed shirtless, while wearing a silly headband with plush reindeer antlers and bells. These men act to liven the mood of this festive time, ensuring people are fed, warm, and otherwise cared for. Another notable difference are the traditional songs – although some songs are entirely unique, the absence of “Jingle Bells”² and Santa Claus must also be noted.

Traditionally, the 14 days pre-solstice are filled with minor festivities serving a similar purpose to advent. It is common for people to give small gifts during each of these days, with traditional themes for each day before the solstice:

1. Warm clothing, such as socks or gloves,
2. Small treats, such as candied nuts,
3. Candle, flashlight, or other light source,
4. Gingerbread, or other baked good,
5. Bags (such as backpacks or totes),
6. Chocolates or other sweets,
7. A carved talisman (worn out of sight around the neck or kept in a pocket for the rest of the Wacken Yule season – it is considered bad luck for others to see it),
8. Jerky or other preserved meat,
9. Toy swords, bows, and (for older people) real blades (such as knives or pocketknives),
10. A yule log (whatever form that takes, usually a cake),
11. A journal, pen, or book,
12. Fresh or preserved fruit,
13. Something that the recipient did not think to ask for,
14. A meal with friends and/or family.

Although there are many potential variations on these themes, it is considered bad luck not to recieve any appropriate gifts at all.

Additionally, each town hosts its own unique daily Wacken Yule festivals during this period. Many of these are highly regional, recounting local folklore and/or consisting of skits written by that year’s cast of Wacken Fools. In the town of Magonia, (where my campaign takes place), these festivities are bankrolled by local eccentric rich person Baron Montichello, and mostly consist of retellings of old local folk tales (such as that of Old Man Frost). Unlike his weird non-traditional autumn equinox antics, these festivities are a genuine part of local traditions.

On the solstice, people gather at dusk for a torch lighting ceremony to announce the start of the longest night, ending with a call for everyone to stay awake until dawn. Once that begins, parents with very young kids are called to a central area so they can drop the kids off and not have them kept awake all night. Everyone else (including the parents who didn’t just pass out with the other bitties) participates in an all-night party. During this time, the Wacken Fools are tasked with helping keep everyone awake, warm, and accounted for – which often involves techniques such as loud parades through the streets. Bars and restaurants often end up providing free (or effectively free) food, whether due to the owner’s generosity or the goodwill of guests resulting in a chain of “pay it forward” that snowballs into far more cash than anyone needed to pay.
A second, equally important ritual takes place during the following dawn, where everyone celebrates the return of the sun before promptly returning home and passing out in their beds. Larger gifts are typically opened during the evening after Wacken Yule, once everyone has gotten some actual sleep.

After the solstice, celebrations tend to be more somber. People who were lost during the previous year are mourned, any damage caused during the Wacken Yule festivities are repaired, and any concerns about current events are aired so that tensions can be left behind in the old year. On the eve of the new year, people gather to call out the things that scared them during the previous year, the things they want to change for the new one, and at midnight (for this portion does follow standard new years timing), officially declare the end of the previous year and start of the new.