Yule log

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For other uses, see Yule log (disambiguation).
Yule log made of birch.
Yule log made of birch.

A Yule log, sometimes known as the Great Ashen Faggot,[1] is a large log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in some cultures. It can be a part of the Winter Solstice festival or the Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Twelfth Night.

The expression "Yule log" has also come to refer to log-shaped Christmas cakes, also known as "chocolate logs" or "Bûche de Noël".


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[edit] History

The Yule log has been suggested to have been originally a custom amongst the Germanic peoples in tribute to the major Germanic god Thor associated with Yule. Thor was associated with oak trees, such as Thor's Oak, in surviving references amongst the ancient Germanic tribes.[2] Since the custom survives to varying extent amongst the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians, cultural connections have been suggested between the modern practice of the Yule log and the ancient veneration of trees associated with Thor.[3]

Later, as Christianity spread throughout Europe, the tradition became more closely tied with Christmas, especially in England, where Father Christmas was often depicted carrying a Yule Log. [4]

Among the eastern cantons of Switzerland,the Yule log is an important part of the folk traditions of the winter festivities and there are closer associations to pagan rituals of Wilderness during the Sylvesternacht in Appenzell at the change of the Year,Solstice.

[edit] Confection

Durian-flavoured log.
Durian-flavoured log.

Sometime in the late 18th to early 19th century, a facsimile of the Yule Log became a traditional French dessert. Usually, it is in the form of a large rectangular yellow cake spread with frosting and rolled up into a cylinder - one end is then lopped off and stood on end to indicate the rings of the "log." This "Bûche de Noël" became a traditional Christmas dessert, and has recently spread to other regions, where it is often referred to as a yule log.

[edit] Modern popular culture

In the United States and Canada, the "Yule log" has also become a modern tradition in the form of a TV screen in one's home showing video of an actual Yule Log burning in a real fireplace. The video is accompanied by Christmas music, crackling fire sounds, or both at the same time.

This is now a very popular trend on DVDs,[citation needed] but it began on a whim in 1966, by Fred Thrower, former TV programming director for WPIX in New York City, who wanted to offer a Yule Log for the majority in New York City who had no real fireplace of their own. It has been offered for several hours each year (on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day) as a video greeting card to viewers, and is syndicated across the U.S. Many others have offered their own versions over the years on TV, and in all video formats.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ashen Faggot at Dartmoor
  2. ^ Ellis Davidson, H.R. Gods And Myths Of Northern Europe (1965) ISBN 0140136274
  3. ^ Walsh, William Shepard.Curiosities of Popular Customs And of Rites, Ceremonies, Observances, and Miscellaneous Antiquities (Page 1014) (1897)
  4. ^ American Christmas Origins

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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