Yule is the time of greatest darkness and the longest night of the year. The Winter Solstice had been associated with the birth of a "Divine King". Since the Sun is considered to represent the Male Divinity in many Pagan Traditions, this time is celebrated as the "return of the Sun God" where He is reborn of the Goddess.

The Winter Solstice marks the longest night and shortest day of the year. In northern climates, this is the darkest and coldest time of the year. The sun appears weak and it's as if winter will last forever. But as soon as the Solstice passes, the days will begin to grow longer as the Sun rises earlier and earlier, each time adding a little more of His light and warmth to the cold and silent days of winter. The Winter Solstice marks a dramatic point in the Wheel of the Year. The Sun symbolically dies and is reborn. On Yule, we honor the Goddess, Mother Earth, for giving birth to the Sun once more.

Because the occurrence of the Winter Solstice is the bringer of longer days, the celebration is often a festival of light, not only for pagans, but for many other faiths and cultures as well. To decorate your home for the Yule celebration, lights are almost a necessity, to help symbolize the promise of light from Mother Earth. Candles of any particular color are favorite sources of light during this time, however you may also use electric candles, or other electric lights if you are uncomfortable using open flames. 
 

Mistle toe, holly and evergreen plants are also wonderful decorations for the Yule holiday. Because they do not die in the winter like deciduous trees, they symbolize earths promise of the return of life during the spring. These plants are not only wonderful pagan decorations for your home, but for your altar and Yule rituals as well.

The Winter Solstice is unique among days of the year — the time of the longest night and the shortest day. The dark triumphs but only briefly. For the Solstice is also a turning point. From now on (until the Summer Solstice, at any rate), the nights grow shorter and the days grow longer, the dark wanes and the Sun waxes in power. From the dark womb of the night, the light is born.

The Yule log is left to burn all night, and, if possible, through the next twelve without going out, although it may be extinguished with water. The ashes are kept for good luck. They have magical properties and can be scattered in the field to fertilize the soil or sprinkled around the house for protection.