Since it’s still the Christmas season, I thought I’d share something kind of interesting that I ran across while looking for football playoff information. So the fact that I ran across this when looking for football information must be fate, or maybe a Google mistake….
When I was a kid, I never heard much about a Yule log, but since I left home I’ve noticed it’s a fairly common tradition in a lot of places. Shepherdstown has a Yule log during some of their Christmas celebrations.
Today, the Yule log is about the only thing that remains from past Yuletide celebrations….
Yule is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world — originally celebrated on the winter solstice. Today, Yule and Yuletide are usually associated with Christmas, but the meaning behind them is different than our Christmas celebrations.
The original Yule celebrations were centered around the winter solstice, which traditionally marked the halfway point of the winter season. After the solstice, the days again begin to get longer, so it’s thought that the Yule was a celebration of the re-appearance of the Sun and the fertile land’s rebirth.
Ancient people were mostly hunters and spent most of their time outdoors, so the seasons and weather played a major role in their lives. These early celebrations typically consisted of a hearty feast and generally noisy activities, including caroling, drinking and dancing.
Much later, after Christianity came to the British Isles, Christians adopted some parts of the pagan festival into a celebration of the birth of Christ.
As I mentioned, burning a log in celebration of Yule started as part of the winter solstice festivities. Some people believe that the candles and lights associated with Christmas — meant to symbolize guiding beacons for the Christ child, may have evolved from the Yule log — which was lit to entice the Sun to return as part of the Yule celebration.
The Yule log was originally an entire tree — families would bring the trunk of the Yule tree inside and stick the big end of it into the fireplace. The log would feed the fire from Christmas Day through the 5th of January — known as Twelfth Night. The Yule log is still a Christmas tradition in some cultures — often the Yule log is burned in the fireplace on Christmas Eve.
So the whole season, called “Yule-tide,” was among the most important holidays in pagan Europe. It’s transformed into one of our most important holidays too, and after all, it’s the sprit of the season that’s important — may your fire burn warm and bright, and may the Yule Spirits bless you this very night.
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