Yuletide Traditions

Characters and settings ©Diznay. Story/plot ©2017 myself and Dragonxborne. All rights reserved. Rated K+ for a few SFW incesty feels.

NOTES: Welcome to the little celebration of Yule we cooked up to tie in with Olaf's Frozen Adventure! More than anything, Elsa and I wanted to bring the focus to Yule and the vigil held on the first night, which is both historically what the sisters would have been celebrating, and also is the strongest of holiday imagery in the animated short itself. Not to mention that the underappreciated festivities are very personally important to Elsa and her pagan heritage, so the missed opportunity to see it explored in OFA made us both want to do something about it.

And of course, what would the holidays be without an Elsanna twist? We hope you enjoy and have a good season yourself, no matter what or how you celebrate!

-Dragonxborne and Jessex

~ o * o ~

As the moonlight hit the wondrous ice tree, Queen Elsa couldn't help but feel happier than she could ever remember feeling. After all, there she was amongst her people, who had all joined her and her sister, Princess Anna, in the search for their wayward snowman son, Olaf. Every single one of them had set aside their own family traditions to come out and help find him — the son which she and Anna had discovered was their own Yule tradition.

Perhaps it was the season, or the magic in the air, but Elsa couldn't help the stupid grin on her face. Overcome with the moment, she scooped Olaf up and held him close, her free hand finding Anna's and lacing their fingers together.

"I think we've had enough forest exploration for one night, and I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to lighting the Yule log!" She looked over at Anna and smiled. "What about you? Would you like to join me?"

"You'd better believe it!" Anna chirruped in a dreamy voice, gazing off into the distance as she imagined what it would be like. "I've never lit one before! Well, I mean we had one, but we didn't actually get to use it, or do the vigil. So it doesn't count, right?"

"Yes, the Yule log!" Olaf chimed in with his overly excited voice. "...what's that?"

Elsa let out a chuckle. "Well, Olaf, the Yule log is a long-standing tradition of our people. On the first night of Yuletide, we burn a log from an oak tree, using the remains of last year's log to get the fire started. The wood is supposed to burn all night; it symbolizes how there can still be light even in the darkest of times. Its fire rekindles the sun for the year to come and brings us prosperity. So you see, it's very important that this year, we join our people in fueling the morning sun, since this is our first Yule since opening the gates."

Olaf's face lit up in wonder and he clapped his little twig-hands. "Yay for contributing! And controlling the weather, I think!"

"Don't worry, little guy," Anna giggled as she smoothed over his snowy cheek with her free hand. "You don't have to join in; we both remember how much fun fire is for you."

His expression fell as he realised what she meant. "That's true. I can't even enjoy a good sauna."

"You just won't get too close, Olaf; you can still celebrate with us for a little while," Elsa assured him with a grin. "As long as you're careful."

"Oh!" This seemed to appease the whimsical snowman. "Splendid! I can celebrate from a distance!"

The walk home seemed longer than the walk out, but one could attribute that to the excitement hanging in the air with every step. As they walked, half the population of Arendelle following along in their wake, Anna began to sing a traditional Yule song quietly at first. Then a few more people joined in until they were practically wassailing without anyone to give them wassail. Her cheeks bunched with joy as she glanced at her big sister, thrilled to death that they were together for this holiday.