The Yule Log

A Pagan Tradition

While most people have heard of the Yule Log, few people realize that its tradition can be traced back to the days of the pagan Norsemen, or Vikings.

To celebrate their belief in the powers of the gods, the Norsemen held festivals. The father of the Gods was Odin or Thor, commonly called the Yule Father (Yule referred to the sun). The original Yule Log Ceremony was a festival celebrating the sun during the winter solstice, which occurs close to the time we celebrate Christmas today.

Originally, the Yule Log was burned in honor of the gods and to bring good luck in the coming year. The log was usually from one of the largest trees that could be found. It was so massive that to haul it a team of horses or oxen were needed. After the Norman invasion of England in 1066, the Yule Log tradition was passed on to the British and evolved to the tradition that it is today.

After being cut down, the Yule Log was dragged through the streets. The log always came from its owners' land or a neighbor's property, and was never purchased. It was always burned on Christmas Eve, accompanied by music, fun, and games. It was customary that each year a piece of the Yule Log was saved and used to start the fire for the next year's log.

To help kindle the fire, holly was placed under the log. Customarily, guests would toss a sprig of holly into the fire to burn up the troubles of the past year and to keep their houses safe from burning down in the New Year.

Other Anglo-Saxon traditions include celebrating good health in the New Year by drinking from the wine-and-spice-filled Wassail bowl; baking Yule dough into figures shaped like people, with raisins for eyes and noses, to symbolize Christ (these Yule Dough people are where today's gingerbread men came from); burning a Yule Candle, which was big enough to burn for the 12 days of Christmas; and hanging a sprig of mistletoe for fertility and romance.

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