Wandering through Edinburgh’s iconic South Bridge Vaults may not seem like the most festive thing to do during “the most wonderful time of the year”. However, gathering around a storyteller, listening to tales of hauntings and lost souls, is actually a very traditional way to celebrate Yuletide.  

What is Yule?

Aside from being another word for “Christmas”, Yule comes from the 12-day festival of the same name, celebrated by Germanic people thousands of years ago. It began on the 21st December. The Winter Solstice. As the shortest day of the year, this was supposed to be when wayward spirits were most likely to be found roaming among the living.

This is similar to the belief held by the ancient Celts. They believed that the ghosts of their ancestors could cross into the mortal world on Samhuinn. This sabbat was celebrated just a few weeks before the Germanic pagan festival of Yule.

Fear for our mortal souls, combined with our instinct to gather together during the long and bitter winter nights, created the perfect recipe for spooky storytelling sessions. Add the arrival of Christianity to the mix. These stories took on an even more frightening flare, especially in places like Scandinavia, Medieval Britain and Iceland. 

Christmas in Scotland 

Most of the traditions that we associate with Christmas come from early pagan celebrations of winter too. The Early Modern Scots enjoyed the festive season with feasting, fun and revelry, much like we do today. This was until the Scottish Reformation of 1560 happened. Where John Knox slammed the brakes on all merrymaking.

Knox viewed Christmas as an overly indulgent, Catholic-led festival and did his best to phase it out. The Scottish Parliament eventually banned the holiday in 1640, the reason we traditionally go all-out for Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) instead. The Scottish kirk had no say over secular celebrations! 

Meanwhile, the Yuletide went unobserved in Scotland. We resisted attempts by James VI, and then Charles II following the Restoration, to revive it. The 25th December remained a working day for most Scots right up until the 20th century. However, attitudes did start to change among the Scottish middle classes from the late Victorian period onwards. 

Like England, they bought into the culture of card-giving, gift exchanges and stocking-filling. This was encouraged by 19th-century capitalists. But it was only through commercialising the holiday that the telling of spooky stories in December (which had waned during the Industrial Revolution) came back into fashion.

The Christmas ghost story 

We have talented Victorian novelists to thank for encouraging the general public to remember the dead at Yuletide’s end. None more so than Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol coincided with the invention of the first commercial Christmas card in 1843. Its popularity helped to revive holiday cheer in Britain as well as our enthusiasm for festive horror stories.

The Victorians loved to frighten friends and family members. Often with tall tales of ghosts and ancient lore during the dark winter nights leading up to Christmas. Following two World Wars and the enormous loss of life that came with them, people didn’t want to dwell too long on themes of death and horror. But there is still something to be said for Yuletide as being a holiday very much tied to ghosts. 

Dickens was personally convinced that ghost stories should be told at Christmas. To him, there was comfort to be had from remembering the dead. As well as commemorating other “dead” things like personal defeats, deserted plans and failed relationships. Doing so, he thought, would help us to confront the past and celebrate (rather than mourn) the things that made us feel alive. 

Much like we do with history. It’s a way to look back and find fun and entertainment. And even learn from some of the most horrifying stories of the past. So perhaps, as we march towards Christmas, and it gets more grim and colder outside, getting acquainted with the haunted side of Edinburgh isn’t a bad idea. If the long and haunted history of Yuletide has anything to say about it, December is the best month to book a ghost tour.