yule log

[DAVERYBOY]

From which country does the tradition of the yule log originate.All I can find is Scandinavia but that can't be classed as a country can it?Thanks for any help.

[teddysbears]

i put history of yule log in google, and found it is a norse festive for winter solstice . sorry cannot be of more help try google and see what you think. it also said something about celit's cheers T

[DAVERYBOY]

Thanks for your reply, I've tried googling as well and all I got was Scandinavia or Norse as well, I think the question must be worded wrong.Thanks again teddysbears.

[phizzy]

The custom, which dates back to the XIIth century, was known in most Europeans countries, notably in France and in Italy where the Yule log was called a ceppo. This tradition persisted in Quebec as it did in France up until the last quarter of the XIXth century. Its disappearance coincides with that of great hearths which were gradually replaced by cast-iron stoves. The great log was thus replaced by a smaller one, often embellished with candles and greenery, placed in the centre of the table as a Christmas decoration.

Today, the Yule log has become a traditional pastry, a delicious cake roll, smothered in coffee or chocolate-flavoured icing and decorated with sugared holly leaves and roses.

found this info on 'ask jeeves' no country stated - but i will keep looking

[phizzy]

hi - me again - still looking - found these sites which may have theIn pagan times different woods were burned to produce different effects:

Aspen: invokes understanding of the grand design
Birch: signifies new beginnings
Holly: inspires visions and reveals past lives
Oak: brings healing, strength, and wisdom
Pine: signifies prosperity and growth
Willow: invokes the Goddess to achieve desires

Sources for the History of the Yule Log:

http://www.ridgenet.org/Szaflik/history.htm
http://www.bsu.edu/web/01bkswartz/xmaspub.html
http://crystalforest3.homestead.com/craftsYULE LOG.html

Learn More About Christmas History & Legends info

[DAVERYBOY]

Thanks phizzy I'm still looking and still can't find anything definite.Will have a look now on your suggested sites .Thanks again.

[phizzy]

i see what you mean about scandinavia - i will make this my last unless i come up with a definate answer - but just look at the last line - 'a whole tree' - must have lived somewhere bigger than my little bungalow - anyway good luck - and season's greetings. For many years in England, a roasted boar's head has been associated with Holiday feasting. The custom probably goes back to the Norse practice of sacrificing a boar at Yuletide in honor of the god Freyr. One story tells of a student at Oxford's Queen College who was attacked on Christmas Day by a wild boar. All he had in his hand to use as a weapon was his copy of Aristotle, so he shoved the book down the boar's throat. Wanting to retrieve his book, the student cut off the animal's head and brought it back to the college where it was served for Christmas dinner with much pomp and ceremony.

It is from Scandinavia that most of our Yule log traditions derive. The dark cold winters inspired the development of traditions concerned with warmth and light. Yuletide, meaning the turning of the sun or the winter solstice, has traditionally been a time of extreme importance in Scandinavia - a time when fortunes for the coming year were determined and when the dead were thought to walk the earth. For a long time, it was considered dangerous to sleep alone on Christmas Eve. The extended family, master and servant, alike would sleep together on a freshly spread bed of straw.

The Yule log was originally an entire tree, carefully chosen, and brought into the house with great ceremony. The butt end would be placed into the hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room. The tree would be slowly fed into the fire and the entire process was carefully timed to last the entire Yule season.

[phizzy]

i promise this will be my last - don't wish to be a pain - but have a look at this - interesting reading - i'm off now to find the biggest tree possible (chuckle)
http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/ada ms/2001/yule_log.htm

[DAVERYBOY]

Thanks again phizzy.That was a nice bit of informative christmas reading.Well now back to my search for the yule log COUNTRY of origin,and wishing you a very merry christmas and a happy new year.Be lucky.

[teddysbears]

If you put these words into google and go to the bottom of the page it could be you answer the words i put in are , where did the tradition of the yule log start. I think it will help cheers T

[DAVERYBOY]

Thanks again teddybears,I have read through most of those and I am still unsure. I definitely think it was Scandinavia but as for the actual country I might go for Norway.Thanks again .Be lucky.