To many, the
Twelve Days of Christmas fall between Christmas and the Epiphany. To others the
festival of Yule begins on the eve of the Winter Solstice and continues for
twelve nights ending on Twelfth Night—New Year’s Eve.
“During this time of Yule, we honor the beginning of the
sun’s return and the breaking of winter. Let the evening’s feasting begin.”
~Lachlan Og, Chief of Clan MacLachlan
Excerpted from Twelvetide: Twelve Nights of Highland Magic,
an Enchanted Highlands novella by Dawn Marie Hamilton
an Enchanted Highlands novella by Dawn Marie Hamilton
Twlevetide: Twelve Nights of Highland
Magic, one of three
holiday novellas in the Enchanted
Highlands collection, begins on
the eve of the Winter Solstice with the dark moment climaxing just prior to
Twelfth Night. Twlevetide—the twelve nights of Yule.
A variety of
celebratory diversions were enjoyed by the well-to-do during Yule and, perhaps,
shared with their people or clan: feasting, storytelling, masking, music, and
dance, along with other revelry,
‘Twas also
considered a time when supernatural forces roamed freely—when the spirits of
the dead returned to earth.
“Every year on the winter solstice the veil between realms
thins and then tears and as Twelvetide progresses the breach between the earth
and the otherworld allows all manner of supernatural creatures, including the
spirits of the dead, like me, to travel through and roam the earth.”
“Aye. During the twelve days, the fiercest of spirits—men,
horses, hellhounds—follow their leader on wild hunts, riding the stormy night
skies, causing havoc and mayhem.”
~Caelan Innes
Excerpted from Twelvetide: Twelve Nights of Highland Magic,
an Enchanted Highlands novella by Dawn Marie Hamilton
an Enchanted Highlands novella by Dawn Marie Hamilton
Enchanted Highlands is available at Amazon for 99 cents
or free with Kindle Unlimited.
~Dawn Marie
