Rachel and her siblings woke up early on Yule Day amidst mistletoe and piles of presents. Nibbling her slice of Yule cake— all spongy and creamy—she watched with happiness as her family and their servants opened the gifts she had chosen for them and exclaimed with delight over gifts they had picked for her.
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During the afternoon, The Duke of Devon and his family set out on their yearly pilgrimage to the tenant farms and the village, giving out gifts and coins to all. Rachel loved this procession, throwing Yule feed to the pigs and ducks of her family’s tenants and eating the freshly-baked cookies and pies that the farmwives had prepared just for them. That night, the duke lit the great Yule bonfire upon Gryphon Tor, illuminating the entire sky above the town. Down in the village square, dancing and singing and free-pouring spirits were provided for one and all, by the grace of the duke and his family.
Yule was followed in quick succession by the Twelve Days of Yuletide, including Boxing Day,Winter Cleaning Day, Dartmoor Fey Day, New Year’s Day, and Twelfth Night, where girls dressed as boys, masters waited on servants, and everything was topsy-turvy