Our Yule Bonfire Ceremony of Release, Renewal, and Community

There is a moment every winter when the world seems to hold its breath.

The nights grow long enough to swallow the edges of the day. The cold settles in our bones in ways that feel strangely ancient. And inside the quiet, inside the stillness, something begins to stir — not loud, not dramatic, but unmistakable.

It is the turning.

The moment when the sun reaches its lowest arc, pauses, and begins its slow return.

This is Yule — the Winter Solstice — the oldest celebration of light in the world. And every year on December 21, right here at the Meehl Foundation, we gather around a great fire to honor that turning, to release the heaviness of the year, and to step mindfully and powerfully into the next one.

For some people, it’s a tradition. For others, it’s a healing.
For many — especially veterans, first responders, and those carrying quiet trauma — it becomes a kind of homecoming.

And for me… it’s the night I feel closest to Spirit, community, and the deep medicine of this land.

The Ancient Medicine of Yule (and Why It Matters Now More Than Ever)

Long before electric lights and calendar apps told us what time of year it was, humanity measured seasons by the sun’s breath. Yule was the promise that even in our darkest moment, light would return. That life had not abandoned us. That we had something worth waiting for.

Anthropologists have written about solstice celebrations as some of the earliest forms of community healing practices (see research from the Smithsonian and University of Chicago).
Even modern psychology echoes this truth: ritual creates meaning; meaning creates resilience.

• Ritual reduces stress and anxiety
  (Harvard research: rituals increase emotional stability and reduce uncertainty)

• Community participation lowers symptoms of depression and PTSD
  (Stanford & CDC studies on community connection)

• Symbolic release practices improve mental and emotional regulation
  (American Psychological Association)

• Fire-based ritual is shown to reduce cortisol and induce calm
  (University of Alabama research)

• Gathering with others during winter significantly improves emotional well-being
  (Journal of Social and Personal Relationships)

Yule is not just tradition.
It is medicine, encoded across cultures and across time, for the exact moment we find ourselves in each winter.

And this year, more than any year I can remember, people are craving something deeper than holiday décor and seasonal obligations.
They are craving meaning.
They are craving stillness.
They are craving a place to set the burdens they’ve carried too long.

That is the heart of our Yule Celebration.

A Night of Fire, Release & Intention

Every year as the sun begins to fall behind the tree line, people gather in their coats and scarves, carrying slips of paper, whispered prayers, or sometimes just the weight of what they’re finally ready to let go of.

There is something profoundly human about watching people walk toward the fire with their stories. Something humbling. Something holy.

I’ve watched special forces veterans stand at the edge of the flames with tears sliding silently down their faces.
I’ve watched mothers carrying grief place their intentions into the fire with shaking hands.
I’ve watched people who came alone leave with new friends, new clarity, new breath.

This is why we gather.

The fire becomes a mirror:
What am I ready to release?
What am I willing to receive?
What is the story of my next chapter?

When you drop your prayer, fear, or intention into the flames, it rises as light.
There is no metaphor more perfect.

Dinner, Community, and the Kind of Belonging We All Secretly Miss

After the fire ceremony, we gather inside for dinner — warm food, shared space, laughter rising from deep in the body where it hasn’t lived in a while.

People talk.
People listen.
People soften.

It feels like old tribal hearth circles, where stories were currency and connection was medicine.
Modern life has taken much from us — but nights like this give it back.

No one is rushed.
No one is left out.
No one needs to pretend to be “fine.”

Authenticity becomes the only requirement.

For Our Out-of-Town Guests: The Cabin Is Yours

Every year, people travel from several states away to be here. Some come because they’re seeking healing. Some come because they need a reset. Some come because they don’t want to spend the longest night of the year alone.

So for this gathering, as always, our cabin is open and free for anyone coming in from out of town.

You can sleep peacefully knowing you’re safe, welcomed, and held in community.

In the morning, we gather again — softer now, lighter — for Debra’s famous waffles and Mike’s cook-to-order eggs.

There is something sacred about welcoming the sunrise together the day after the Solstice. A sense that the world really has turned. That something new has begun. That life is offering itself back to you.

What You Will Experience at the Yule Celebration

🔥 1. A powerful fire ceremony

Release. Intention. Renewal.
You don’t just think about what you want to let go of — you watch it transform into light.

✨ 2. A guided moment of stillness

We breathe together.
We root into the land.
We honor the turning of the year.

🍲 3. A community dinner

Warm food, warm hearts, and a place to simply be real.

🏡 4. Optional overnight stay (free)

Our cabin is open.
All bedding is provided. the stove is hot and the blankets are warm, rest without worry.

🍽 5. Breakfast the next morning

Coffee, waffles, eggs, conversation — the simplest and sweetest rituals.

💛 6. The feeling of belonging

The thing most people don’t realize they’re missing until they feel it again.

The Deeper Meaning of Intentions at Yule

The new year is full of surface-level resolutions:
“I’m going to lose weight.”
“I’m going to start working out.”
“I’m going to be more productive.”

But those aren’t intentions.
Those are tasks.

Intentions are deeper.

Intentions are the promises you make to your soul.

At Yule, when you place your intention into the fire, you’re not trying to force yourself into a new version of discipline. You’re listening. You’re aligning. You’re opening the door for Spirit to guide the next chapter of your life in a way that feels real, embodied, and true.

People often tell me afterward:
“I didn’t know I needed that.”
or
“This changed the whole direction of my year.”
or
“I haven’t felt this grounded in years.”

That is the power of ritual and community woven together.