Word OF The Day: Yule Log The custom of burning the Yule Log traces its origin to pre-Christian times. It was originally a Nordic tradition. Yule is the name of the Winter Solstice festivals in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe. The Yule Log was originally an entire tree carefully chosen and brought indoors with great ceremony. The largest end of the log would be placed into the fire hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room! The log would be lit from the remains of the previous years log which had been carefully stored away. In pagan times it would burn throughout the yuletide. In Christian Europe, it was slowly fed into the fire through the Twelve Days of Christmas. In the French province of Provence, it was tradition that the whole family helped to cut the log down and that a little bit was burnt each night. If any of the yule log remained after Twelfth Night, it was kept safe in the house until the next Christmas to protect against lightning! In some parts of Holland, this was also done, but the log had to be stored under a bed! In some eastern European countries, the log was cut down on Christmas Eve morning and lit that evening. Editors Note: Have a joyous Sixth Day of Christmas
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 02:00:01 +0000
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