Have you ever made one of these yule logs? They are simply delish!
I grew up with the tradition of having an advent yule log. As I have mentioned in past posts, when I got married, my Dad made one for me also.
This morning I was reading "Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas" by Ace Collins. It is very interesting. And I found out where the tradition of the yule log comes from.
"During the Middle Ages, English peasants had adopted the Viking custom of the Yule log. Each winter a family would go out into the woods, cut down a huge tree, drag it back home, cut away its branches, and hollow out its core. They then filled the hole with oils, spices, and other sweet-smelling ingredients, and set the log in the fireplace. Kindling was sprinkled around the Yule log, and a daughter or a wife would light the fire with a splinter left over from last year's log. Families that burned a Yule log each year believed that good luck would befall their household.
When those who embraced this custom became Christians, they adapted the Yule log to Christmas. Eventually the timber came to symbolize the wood of the cross, and the sweet packing to represent the beautiful life Christ offered each Christian - His ultimate sacrifice on that cross. The log was brought into the home on Christmas Eve and was lit. It was hoped that the log would burn for the entire twelve days of Christmas.....
In England, 'The First Noel' was sung each year by many peasants as they lit the Yule log. Therefore, this became the song that started the entire Christmas season.
'The First Noel' is one of the oldest Christmas ballads still sung today. Though it first appeared in print in 1833, the song goes back at least three hundred years prior to that. The exact place and time of its origin are in doubt, with both France and England claiming it as a part of their heritage. "(you can read more about this by purchasing this wonderful little book)
Merry Christmas!