The Yule log is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a winter tradition in regions of Europe, and subsequently North America. Today, this tradition is celebrated by Christians and modern pagans on or around Christmas or Yule. The name by which this tradition goes, as well as when and how the Yule log should be burnt, varies widely with time and place. The first solid evidence for this tradition originates in 1184 AD as a Christmas eve tradition. The practice was originally known as the "Christmas log" (and still is in languages other than English), with "Yule log" first used in the late 17th century. The origins of the Yule log are unclear, with scholars proposing a variety of possible theories ranging from a medieval Christmas tradition, a surviving ritual from Albanian, Roman, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic or Slavic paganism, or as a Proto-Indo-European ritual that has survived in a variety of cultures until today. Folklorist Linda Watts provides the following overview of the English Yule log custom:The Christmas practice calls for burning a portion of the log each evening until Twelfth Night (January 6). The log is subsequently placed beneath the bed for luck, and particularly for protection from the household threats of lightning and, with some irony, fire. Many have beliefs based on the Yule log as it burns, and by counting the sparks and such, they seek to discern their fortunes for the new year and beyond.
Origins The first evidence in English for a special log burned around Christmas comes from Robert Herrick's poetry collection of 1648, where it is called a "Christmas log". Herrick recounts how cheering lads brought the Christmas log into the farmhouse, are then rewarded with alcohol for their efforts, and how the log was believed to bring prosperity. The first mention of the name Yule log occurs between 1650 and 1687 in John Aubrey's writings on Christmas pastimes when he mentions "a large Yule log or Christmas block". Beginning in the 18th century, it began to be theorized that the custom may have much earlier origins, extending from customs observed in Germanic paganism. Starting in 1725, Henry Bourne was the first to link the Yule log in Anglo-Saxon paganism:Our Fore-Fathers, when the common Devices of Eve were over, and Night was come on, were wont to light up Candles of an uncommon Size, which were called Christmas-Candles, and to lay a Log of Wood upon the Fire, which they termed a Yule-Clog, or Christmas-Block. These were to Illuminate the House, and turn the Night into Day; which custom, in some Measure, is still kept up in the Northern Parts. It hath, in all probability, been derived from the Saxons. For Bede tells us, That [sic] this very Night was observed in this Land before, by the Heathen Saxons. They began, says he, their Year on the Eight of the Calenders of January, which is now our Christmas Party: And the very Night before, which is now Holy to us, was by them called Mædrenack, or the Night of the Mothers … The Yule-Clog therefore hath probably been a Part of those Ceremonies which were perform'd that Night's Ceremonies. It seems to have been used, as an Emblem of the return of the Sun, and the lengthening of the Days. For as both December and January were called Guili or Yule, upon Account of the Sun's Returning, and the Increase of the Days; so, I am apt to believe, the Log has had the Name of the Yule-Log, from its being burnt as an Emblem of the returning Sun, and the Increase of its Light and Heat. This was probably the Reason of the custom among the Heathen Saxons; but I cannot think the Observation of it was continued for the same Reason, after Christianity was embraced. …"Bourne (1740:155–162).Since Bourne introduced his theory, there has been significant scholarly debate about whether the connection between the pagan festival of Yule and the Yule log extends beyond the linguistic use of "Yule" as a synonym for Christmas. One of the reasons is that little can be said for certain about the practices of the original Yule celebration. Our most complete descriptions of the customs around the celebration of the festival of Yule come from the Icelandic saga writer Snorri Sturluson. Snorri Sturluson was a 13th century Christian writer, writing more than two centuries after the Christian conversion of Iceland, and was writing for a Christian audience. The degree to which Snorri and other saga writers were aware of the customs of Yule, and the degree to which they cared to accurately represent them in their writings, is currently unknown. In addition, the sagas, our only ancient or medieval sources that mention fire in relation to ancient Yule celebrations, only mention fire when talking about the large fires traditionally found in the center of feasting halls/temples, which were also use year round for heating/cooking. The sagas do not mention any special importance placed of the log's themselves that are being burnt.
The first mention of a special Christmas log comes from a German manuscript of legal obligations written in 1184 CE where it records that the manse of Ahlen is entitled to a whole tree for a private festive fire on Christmas eve. Another early reference can be found in the text Liber statutorum civitatis Ragusii compositus anno, which was written in Dubrovnik in 1272 CE. It records that shipmasters and the sailors brought the count of the city a large log on Christmas eve and place it on the fire, for which they are given as reward two gold coins and alcohol. In Europe during the high to late medieval period and early modern period, lumber and firewood could not be freely collected as nearly all forests and trees were privately owned, mostly by royals, nobles and the church. For a person to get access to the lumber in the forests that they did not own, they had to either buy it or be given rights to a certain amount of wood through a legal charter. Landowners often had contracts with their tenants that laid out exactly how much wood could be collected from the forest for their use for firewood, tools, and building materials, as well as the penalties if they were caught taking more. Stories and legal charters from the 13th/14th century illustrate that it was not uncommon for peasants to be without enough firewood for anything beyond a very small cooking fire on Christmas. In medieval Europe, the burning of a large log on Christmas eve may have been a way to celebrate the end to the period of fasting and contemplation that lasted from the start of advent through Christmas eve, and to celebrate the coming public and private feasts and celebrations on Christmas day. The earliest textual evidence specifically mentioning large public Christmas fires occurs in 1577 and 1591, both occurring in legal charters from Germany. The first mention in 1577 is about how the monastery will be obligated to provide firewood to a tenant, and as well as a large special log on Christmas, on condition that the tenant allow the public to warm themselves by the fire. The second mention in 1591, says that the mayor is obliged to keep a large fire lit near the church on Christmas morning, so that any who are coming to matins and church may warm themselves.
It is not until John Aubrey's writing in the 17th century that any source mentions that the Yule log may offer some supernatural benefit (Aubrey mention the Christmas log bringing prosperity). It is then not until John Aubrey, writing in the mid 17th century nearly five centuries after the first mention of a large log meant to be burnt on Christmas eve, that the holiday of Yule was first associate with the practice when Aubrey mentioned that some in England also call this practice the Yule log.
Martin of Braga, Bishop of Braga, writing in 6th century, may have made the first mention of a tradition similar to the yule log in his work, De correctione rusticorum. In a section of his letter, he lists a variety of pagan practices that were still being performed by Christians in the 6th century and that he considered to be devil worship. One section of the list can be translated as "To take notice of the Volcanes and of the Calends, to garnish to tables, to lay laurel, to enter with the right foot, to pour grain and wine over a log in the hearth, and to throw bread into the fountains, what is this if not Devil worship? " Based on this translation, some scholars suggest that he is describing a ritual associated with the Kalends of January that would then go on to become the Yule log. The scholar Jacob Latham has suggested that in late antiquity the Kalends of January was no longer solely a pagan holiday but had been reinvented as a holiday that openly fused together Christian and pagan traditions and symbolism. All of the countries with the earliest accounts of the Yule log also were once part of the Roman empire. The practice described in the passage also resembles Yule log traditions in several countries where wine is poured over the log, such as France, Italy, Spain, and Montenegro. The passage also resembles a description of the Yule log found in writing from the court of the duke of Milan between 1466-1476 CE. It was recorded that on Christmas eve, a log, covered in fruits and foliage, especially juniper and laurel, was brought into the court at sunset, and was burned in the hearth for the enjoyment of all. Bishop Pirmin, in his book Dicta Abbatis Pirminii, de Singulis Libris Canonicis Scarapsus, which was written between 710-724 CE, quotes Martin of Braga when he is attempting to correct Christians who are still practicing pagan rituals. Notably, his quote leaves out any mention of the hearth or fire, only mentioning pouring fruit and wine over a stump. Yule log traditions in some parts of Croatia and Italy involve no fire or hearth, resembling Bishop Pirmin's fireless description as well. In a letter from Bonifacius to Pope Zacharius. written between 741-752 CE, there is a section where Bonifacius laments that Christians in Rome were still celebrating the Kalends of January in the pagan manner. Among a larger list of pagan activities, it is mentioned that the celebrants were not willing to lend fire, iron, or any convenience to their neighbor from their house. Scholar Alexander Tille interprets this reluctant to lend out fire as further evidence of there being a tradition of having private fires in the home on the Kalends of January.
Diffusion and modern practices 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.Simpson and Roud (2003:402–403). For example, in his section regarding "Christmas Observances", J. B. Partridge recorded then-current (1914) Christmas customs in Yorkshire, Britain involving the Yule log as related by "Mrs. Day, Minchinhampton (Gloucestershire), a native of Swaledale". The custom is as follows:
H. J. Rose records a similar folk belief from Killinghall, Yorkshire in 1923: "In the last generation the Yule log was still burned, and a piece of it saved to light the next year's log. On Christmas morning something green, a leaf or the like, was brought into the house before anything was taken out."Rose (1923:157).
The Yule log is also attested as a custom present elsewhere in the English-speaking world, such as the United States. Robert Meyer, Jr. records in 1947 that a "Yule-Log Ceremony" in Palmer Lake, Colorado had occurred since 1934. He describes the custom: "It starts with the yule log [sic] hunt and is climaxed by drinking of wassail around the fire."Meyer (1947:370). In the Southern United States before the end of the American Civil War, the Yule log was also maintained as a tradition. For example, according to scholar Allen Cabaniss: