The main principle to remember for lighting a yule log is this: make sure you add one to a fire that is already hot! Singing children beat Tió with sticks and cover him with a blanket to make Tió defecate nougat candy and small gifts. [12], The custom of burning a Yule log for one or more nights starting on Christmas Eve was also formerly widespread in France, where the usual term is bûche de noël. A holiday celebration that began in Norway, on the night of the winter solstice it was common to hoist a giant log onto the hearth to celebrate the return of the sun each year. One European belief held that the log had to catch fire on the first attempt to light it, lest all the inhabitants of the home where it burned suffer bad luck. Originally the Yule bonfire was meant to give renewed life and power to the sun, thus the sun was reborn with the shortest day marking the time of year when the days started becoming longer. It is a symbol of prosperity and luck. The Yule log is also attested as a custom present elsewhere in the English-speaking world, such as the United States. [4], The term "Yule log" is not the only term used to refer to the custom. Prayers were offered as the log was lighted in Brittany and in Provence, where the custom is still widely observed and called cacho fio (blessing of the log): the log, or branch from a fruit-bearing tree, is first paraded three times around the house by the grandfather of the family, then blessed with wine; it is often lighted together with the saved ashes of the previous year's log. Some festive ribbon – use paper or cloth ribbon, not the synthetic or wire-lined type. As early as 1725, Henry Bourne sought an origin for the Yule log in Anglo-Saxon paganism: WhyChristmas says the Yule Log tradition originally started as burning an entire tree. The innovative and patented Light ‘n Go Yule Log is an engineered all-natural birch log, which can be lit with one match and enjoyed for one hour. One superstition is to capture the true magic of the Yule log, it must … Remember to keep the hot glue gun away from small children! The History of the Yule Log The custom of burning the Yule Log goes back to, and before, medieval times. "Christmas" in Charles Reagan Wilson, ed. As Christianity spread through Europe, the tradition became part of Christmas Eve festivities. A family hoping for a year of prosperity might burn a log of pine, while a couple hoping to be blessed with fertility would drag a bough of birch to their hearth. A small piece of the Yule log was kept and placed under a bed and was said to ward off misfortune, fires, or lightning. Ultimately, the yule log was thought to determine a person's good or bad luck, and there are many variations on this superstition. "Calendar of Western Folk Events" in, Partridge, J. The origins of the Yule log stretch back to pagan times, but in the beginning instead of a cake it was the real thing, a huge log of wood that burned in family hearths to mark the winter solstice throughout Europe, but particularly in Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy. 1882. He describes the custom: "It starts with the yule log [sic] hunt and is climaxed by drinking of wassail around the fire. The following year, that leftover Yule Log piece was used to start the fire for the new Yule log. [10] G. R. Wiley observes that the ashen faggot may have developed out of the Yule log. An herb of the Sun, Ash brings light into the hearth at the Solstice. Once the log was burned in the hearth, the ashes were scattered about the house to protect the family within from hostile spirits. The tradition of the Yule log began in Norway, where a giant log was hoisted onto the hearth to celebrate the return of the sun each year. Dressed with a handle and seasonal decoration, it is a fun holiday gift. If you are in the woodlot, plan to cut some of that white birch into Yule logs for your friends. Grimm, Jacob (James Steven Stallybrass trans.). You can select one based on its magical properties, or you can just use whatever is handy. The light begins to return. Joy to the whirled! When you’re ready to fill the cake, carefully unroll it from the dusted tea towel. [16], Baltic people also have a similar ritual called "log pulling" (Latvian: bluķa vilkšana; Lithuanian: blukio vilkimo) where people in a village would drag a log (Latvian: bluķis; Lithuanian: blukis) or a tree stump through the village at the winter solstice and then at the end burn it.[17]. In our house, we usually make our Yule log out of pine, but you can make yours of any type of wood you choose. Patti Wigington is a pagan author, educator, and licensed clergy. Dressed with a handle and seasonal decoration, it is a fun holiday gift. Preparing a Yule Log. Simek, Rudolf (Angela Hall trans.). Another way to use your Yule log is to burn it as our ancestors did so many centuries ago. As the Wheel of the Year turns once more, the days get shorter, the skies become gray, and it seems as though the sun is dying. If you have a fireplace, you can certainly burn your Yule log in it, but it's a lot more fun to do it outside. Varying customs involving the Badnjak may be performed, such as smearing it with fowl blood or goat blood and the ashes may be "strewn on the fields or garden to promote fertility on New Year's Eve".[19]. oz. As you can see in the video above, if you add an uncut round to a hot fire then it will light with ease. On the night of the winter solstice, gather out there with blankets, mittens, and mugs full of warm drinks as your burn our log. Serbian people have a similar tradition in which oak is burned. By using Learn Religions, you accept our, Yule Craft Projects for the Winter Solstice, Eight Things to Hang on a Pagan Holiday Tree. The log is subsequently placed beneath the bed for luck, and particularly for protection from the household threats of lighting and, with some irony, fire. 2006. The tradition of the Yule Log advanced all over Europe. The Yule log, Yule clog, or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a Christmas tradition in regions of Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, and subsequently the Americas. For a few days, it seems as though it’s rising in exactly the same place… and then something amazing and miraculous takes place. With just an old piece of wood and a few supplies, Michelle was able to make an adorable, inexpensive, and very festive decoration — just in time for the holidays! Learn Religions uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. You can select one based on its magickal properties, or you can just use whatever’s handy. Once you’ve gotten your branches and cuttings in place, begin gluing on the pine cones, cinnamon sticks and berries. It's usually around December 21 — unless you're in the southern hemisphere, where it falls in June — but it's not always on the same date. According to the Dictionary of English Folklore, although the concept of Yule extends far into the ancient Germanic record long before Christianization, the first "clear" references to the tradition appear in the 17th century, and thus it is unclear from where or when exactly the custom extends. The Norsemen believed that the sun was a giant wheel of fire which rolled away from the earth, and then began rolling back again on the winter solstice. The Yule Log, an ancient symbol of the season, came to us from the Celts. The Yule log is recorded in the folklore archives of much of England, but particularly in collections covering the West Country and the North Country. You might even want to place a feather on your Yule log to represent each member of the family. The entire log was decorated with holly, mistletoe, and evergreens to represent the intertwining of the god and goddess who are reunited on this sabbat. The sun begins its journey back to the north, and once again we are reminded that we have something worth celebrating. In families of all different spiritual paths, the return of the light is celebrated, with Menorahs, Kwanzaa candles, bonfires, and brightly lit Christmas trees. [15] The custom has now long been replaced by the eating of a log-shaped cake, also named Bûche de Noël. Yule customs and the traditions of the Yule log, Yule goat, and Yule boar (Sonargöltr) are still reflected in the Christmas ham, Yule singing, and others, which Simek takes as "indicat[ing] the significance of the feast in pre-Christian times."[5]. On Christmas morning something green, a leaf or the like, was brought into the house before anything was taken out."[7]. The " 4K Yule Log Fireplace " is a hi-def virtual streaming experience that you can display on your TV or another screen. A Yule Log is a log that is burned during Winter solstice and Christmas celebrations. According to WhyChristmas.com, it was originally a Nordic tradition. You might wish to start collecting them earlier in the year, and saving them. For starters, use it as a centerpiece for your holiday table. However, it has long been observed that the custom may have much earlier origins, extending from customs observed in Germanic paganism. Materials Shallow baking pan, Maximum size: 11 by 17 (27cm by 43cm) Mixer, obviously and electric mixer (stand or hand held) is easiest. This may derive from a custom requiring peasants to bring a log to their lord. Today, a Yule log is still a Christmas tradition in some cultures; a large log is traditionally burned in the fireplace on Christmas Eve. A different type of Yule log, and perhaps one more suitable for modern practitioners would be the type that is … It was commonly called a "Yule Clog" in north-east England, and it was also called the "Yule Block" in the Midlands and West Country and "Gule Block" in Lincolnshire. This page was last edited on 8 January 2021, at 01:56. Because each type of wood is associated with various magical and spiritual properties, logs from different types of trees might be burned to get a variety of effects. 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