A Journey Through Wintertide
A cozy folklore course rooted in ancient winter traditions.
Dive into the rich history, folklore, and traditions of old European winter celebrations to deepen your relationship with the season.
Through nearly four hours of immersive audio content, beautifully crafted written handouts, simple crafts, traditional recipes, and simple winter practices — all grounded in indigenous European customs born from a relationship with the earth, you will add more warmth and meaning to the holiday.
This course explores the deep roots of Yuletide and Old Christmas, long before the modern commercial holiday. Through folklore and history, you’ll rediscover the quiet meaning of the winter season — slow, heartfelt, grounded, and full of old-world wonder.
Start anytime. No deadlines. No pressure. Lifetime access.
Just a candlelit journey into the traditions that came before.
Early Bird Pricing $65
Lifetime access.
Let us travel back in time...
Journey back to the days of old and uncover how Yuletide was celebrated in western Europe. From the chilling to the comedic, the beliefs and traditions of yesteryear are both familiar and wonderfully strange. Together, we’ll explore customs, folklore, recipes, crafts, and history, along with simple ways to weave these rich traditions into your own celebrations.
The longest night of the year approaches. Our ancestors awaited the solstice, for it heralded the rebirth of the sun and assured the promise of warmer days, more light, and a new growing season. Food security meant survival. Marking this celestial event with ritual and celebration in the northern hemisphere may be as old as humankind.
2026 Enrollment now open
⋆
2026 Enrollment now open
⋆
What's Included?
Nearly 4 Hours of Audio Content
A rich, story-filled exploration of winter’s oldest traditions — from folk hearth customs and protective rites to celebrations, ancestral beliefs and the solstice lore that informs our modern Christmas.
Beautifully Crafted Written Handouts
Each section includes a beautiful written handout that accompanies the audio content with historical context, cultural background, folklore, seasonal observations, and more.
Cozy Recipes & Crafts
Immerse yourself in the customs of old by baking traditional recipes and trying your hand at a craft! There is nothing like filling the house with the aroma of fresh-baked ginger cookies, or homemade wassail.
The Folklore
Together, we will learn the documented indigenous European festivals and folk customs marking winter and the solstice including Yule, and will discover how the Yuletide of old often lasted several weeks, if not months. This journey will illuminate the many surviving customs in our current Christmas traditions by exploring the pre-Christian (or pagan) past. To do so, we will also meet a merry retinue of supernatural characters, from charming helpers to frightening, untamed shadow figures.
Wintertide guides us...
The course is structured around the natural arc of winter rather than the modern calendar and is broken into 3 main chapters:
The Solstice Approaches
The Solstice Approaches (Before Yule) — As the days grow shorter, we will explore early-winter customs and pre-Christian rites. You will discover folk traditions to honor the ancestors with dedicated lessons on Álfablót, the Elves, and Martinmas.
Yule and Old Christmas
In the heart of the course, we will celebrate midwinter feasts and the return of the light across Northern and Western Europe. You will learn about ancient rituals and symbolic traditions through lessons covering Winter Solstice Celebrations, the Women of Yule, and the sacred magic of Yuletide Plants. We will also uncover the lore behind Father Christmas and his Retinue, the Tomten, and various Yuletide Mischief Makers, perfectly paired with festive Yule recipes and recommended entertainment.
After Yule
We will bring our journey to a close with the culmination of the Twelve Days and the welcoming of the New Year. You will explore the incredible Scottish fire festival of Hogmanay and the lucky traditions of the "first-footer". Finally, we will share recipes for Farewelling Christmastide and look ahead toward the stirring of spring.
☘️ Christmas in Ireland
As a little bonus, we will travel to the breathtaking Dingle Peninsula to explore the rich folklore of a traditional Irish Christmas. You will learn about Irish Folklore of the Hearth Including Midwinter, discovering the hearth's mysterious link to the Otherworld and the iconic custom of leaving a burning candle in the window on Oíche Nollag (Christmas Eve).
Everything is self-paced.
Savor slowly or explore all at once. There’s no rush — the course is self-paced and designed to be explored slowly, throughout the winter season.
You also have ❄ Lifetime Access. ❄ Return to the course every winter. Your enrollment includes access to all future updated versions of the course .
Hi! I'm Kellie!
Under my pen name K.M. Rice I am an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and lifelong lover of folklore, history, and the old ways. Through my work as the creator of Happy Hobbit and lifelong dedication to writing, I share my passion for seasonal traditions, ancestral wisdom, and finding everyday magic in the natural world. Drawing upon years of research, storytelling, and personal experience, I invite others to rediscover the customs and celebrations that have connected generations to the turning of the year.
Holiday Cheer at Your Door!
Course participants are invited to share a postal address with me so that I can send you a holiday card! I love connecting in this way and spreading holiday cheer. And who doesn't like getting something fun in the post?
A Surprise Awaits
Each year, course participants receive a Yuletide gift! What will it be this year?
Community
Course participants are invited to join discussions throughout their journey to share favorite Christmas memories, family traditions, recipes, what they're learning, and more!
What people are saying
“Kellie’s course Yuletide: Keeping Old Christmas is a wonder and a delight! While sharing history, folklore, and myth, Kellie traces the fascinating origins of Yuletide celebrations from the ancient pre-Christian past down to today. (My personal favorite is the Yule Lads!) Additionally, the course includes recipes, crafts, and songs, so you can begin your own Yuletide traditions. From Martinmas to Little Christmas, Álfablót to Hogmanay, this is a journey of discovery you won’t want to miss!"
—— Tanja Nathanael
"When the days grow short and the winter wind howls, it’s time for spooky stories. In Yuletide: Keeping Old Christmas, K.M. Rice is our mythic tour guide, leading us on an adventure down winding, candlelit halls of tradition, folklore, and forgotten ritual. She reminds us what Charles Dickens, Clement-Clarke Moore, C.S. Lewis, and Hans Christian Andersen all knew: that beneath the shiny tinsel and electric glow of modern Christmas lies the deep evergreen—boughs of the pagan past, heavy with antlers and ancient magic. Here, rusty chains clink, horns on shaggy heads glint, and yellow eyes gleam in the lamplight.
Christmas did not erase the old ways—it invited them in, gave them tea and cookies, and made room beside the fire for saints, infant saviors, holiday witches, Yuletide dwarves, spectral giant cats, and things that tap at the windows with a grin… and possibly stuff you in a sack or steal your bowl of porridge. And all of it so we can feel in touch with the childlike awe that is experienced around holiday season. I personally feel there is no magic more precious, more pure than Christmas magic. And with her course, Rice captures this sacred mystery in full."
— Greg Tally, Author of Soylent Scrooge: Or Christmas Is Made of People & The Very Tall Snowman: Escape the Appendix
"The information Kellie has compiled for this class is out of this world! I would highly suggest this course for anyone interested in the old ways and who are looking for a reliable source."
— Sage
🎁 The Perfect Christmas Gift
This course can also be purchased for someone else and redeemed with a beautiful voucher. To do so, please email me at kmriceauthor@gmail.com
Uncover the secret roots of Christmas...
and deepen your connection with the magic of the season.
