Aki Cederberg is the author of Journeys In The Kali Yuga: A Pilgrimage from Esoteric India to Pagan Europe (Inner Traditions) and the forthcoming Holy Europe, as well as a musician, filmmaker, and traveler from Helsinki, Finland.

In this interview, Cederberg discusses the meaning and practices of Yule, the pre-Christian midwinter celebration which influenced Christmas and that lives on, still today, through the Christmas tree, the “Yule log” cake, and Santa Claus (related to the ancient northern European shaman). In particular, he looks at how we can celebrate Yule today, why it should be more about “mystery” than “history,” why we should be joyful, and why, nevertheless, we should remember the deceased at this time of year.

You can learn more about Aki here. And while you’re eagerly awaiting the English language edition of Holy Europe to be released, you can pick up a copy of Journeys In The Kali Yuga from Amazon dot com, Barnes&Noble, or at other good booksellers.

You can listen to the interview on YouTube below or as a podcast on Spotify here (we’ll be adding more podcasts soon).