Ye Really Olde Yule Swap

Please read the description. This is not a 'normal' Christmas swap. :)

Sorry, US and Canada only due to postage. But feel free to start an international version if you wish.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is its roots in older winter festivals. Sure, the modern glitter is fun, but when I think of Christmas I like to think of really old traditions like: yule logs, holly in the windows, Druids cutting mistletoe in the trees with golden daggers, ivy, ships, ancient carols, candles, lighting the night, talking animals, Watch Night, decking the halls, shooting guns to make noise on Christmas night, Old World Father Christmases, Christmas spirits, feasts, swarming bees, harts (male deer), old saints like Wenceslas and Stephen, old world sweets, the nativity cave, and Christmas pudding.

Some things that would NOT be appropriate for this swap are snowglobes, Santas and santa hats, nutcrackers, snowmen, regular Christmas cards, poinsettias, tinsel and glitter, modern Christmas songs, modern nativity scenes, reindeer, and other recent traditions that don't have a real strong connection to Old Christmas/Yuletide/Solstice.

Due to the nature of this swap, we will be mixing the Christian holiday of Christmas with older traditions. This is just for fun, not set up to be overtly religious or offend anyone. But since all these things have some basis in religion you WILL get things with early Christian and pagan overtones. Please do not sign up if this would offend you. Like I said, this is for fun. If you would wig out if someone sent you a ritual candle, a Father Christmas, or an icon of an early saint, please do not sign up. Also, I do not want to argue in the comments section about whether Christmas has pagan origins and if these should expressed or repressed, so don't even think about it if you were thinking about it. :) This is just for fun, not to start debates.

Send your partner about $15 worth of Yule goodies based on ancient Christmas and pr-Christmas/Solstice/Yule traditions. Handmade things are fine too.

Sound fun? Open only to the credible. 4.8 ratings and higher with at least four completed mail swaps and no recent no sends. I may consider newbies on a case by case basis. No flakers.

PM with any questions.

Merry Yule!