Miki's Ancient Ways ~ Yuletide

Take another step back in time to learn about the ways the ancient cultures celebrated its Winter Festival. Belonging to the Ancient Ways Collection, "Yuletide"- also known as Winter Solstice- marks the shortest day of the year, and the longest night. It occurs between December 20 and the 23rd each year. "Yule" literally means "wheel" as the ancient peoples saw the year as a continuous wheel that moved through the seasons of dark and light, birth, maturation & fruition, the harvests and the fading and dying away. "Yule" is celebration of the return of the light, the sun. Common symbols with which to celebrate this holiday include the evergreen tree and its branches, the Yule log, holly, ivy, poinsettias and mistletoe, wreathes made of the aforementioned materials, candles, bells, the 5 pointed star, and the wheel. The customs include decorating the tree with bells, candles, fruits and nuts, caroling, burning the Yule log and giving gifts. The theme of Yule is renewal, re-birth, returning hope and life. In Ancient Ways: Yuletide, you will find the symbolic colors of this festive holiday: green, red, gold, silver and white. Yuletide is packed with 20 papers: 16 of which are patterned/blended and some are textured, and 4 solids that are textured. Also included are 31 elements: a heritage journal block, gold bells, a set of 8 cards with Yule symbols (counted as 1 element), an envelope stuffed with cards, and empty envelope, a golden star, a metallic dotted circular frame, an evergreen branch, a large wreath, a holly border, a ribbon and a jeweled ribbon slide, 4 small jewelry tag, the group of small tags hanging together, a twine tag topper, 2 larger embellished tags, a bunch of mistletoe, a poinsettia, 2 fancy gold brads, 2 large stamps (you can size them down & use as postage!), a wooden wheel, and 5 painterly 'postcards' featuring original photography. Also included are 2 FULL sets of alphas: with both upper and lower case letters, numbers and 6 extra characters- in both evergreen and crimson! The upper case letters are all embellished with bows and fancy brads to add a little extra holiday cheer to your Yule layouts! Each character is in its own file- no need to 'cut' apart.. All elements and papers are created at 300ppi, with papers saved as high-resolution jpgs for stunning print clarity, and elements saved as png files to preserve transparency. Drop shadows are only applied in instances where layering of pieces within an element necessitate shadowing for realism. This kit is perfect for your winter and holiday layouts- you'll find yourself using it for years to come! Thanks to Atomic Cupcake for the actions.