Yule [OE] It is now just another word for Christmas, but Yule comes from the Old Norse word jól, a pagan festival at the winter solstice that lasted for twelve days. Germanic and Scandinavian pagans celebrated it in late December or early January, and when they adopted Christianity they simply changed the nature of the festival, turning jól into Christmas. In Old English Yule meant ‘December or January’ and also ‘Christmas and its festivities’. Jolly [ME] from Old French jolif ‘merry, handsome, lively’, may come ultimately from the same Old Norse root.