STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSES MOUTH

Duane A. Lienemann
UNL Extension Educator

    I was sitting at home in front of our fireplace pondering what to write about this week. Now, so you don’t get the wrong impression, our fireplace is one of those electric ones that also serves as a mantle for our television set – so don’t be too impressed. I was however enamored by the glow of logs in the setting and it brought back some very good memories of my childhood. I remember as a child getting ready for the annual Christmas Program at good old Pleasant View Christian Church. Of course we had our parts in the play, and in my case usually involving a bathrobe, a branch cut out of the “woods” and an improvised beard. We so looked forward to the festivities and especially the sack of nuts, candy, and fruit that we knew awaited us when the program was over. Never has anything tasted as good as those treats.
     We also, in preparation for that evening, did some craft work in our Sunday school classes prior to Christmas. Oh, we made lots of cool things to present to our parents and grandparents, but the one thing I remember most brings me back to that log that I have been staring at in the “fake” fireplace. It was a fun and challenging task, taking as I recall an empty oatmeal tube (the large size) and placing plaster around the entire tube after cutting a hole in a part of the tube and perhaps gluing a couple of corks to it. Before it set we took forks or tongue depressors and made lines or groves that looked much like bark on a tree and circles on the ends like the rings of a tree.  It was then painted with wood colored paint, and the more talented even used different shades of brown. We did not know at the time, but what we were making was a “Yule Log”.
     While that was a neat project, and they adorned many of Ash Grove area homes with candles, candy, etc. I don’t know if I really knew what they were other than a fake log. Of course we couldn’t burn this log, as it was decorative, but it did have meaning. It was years later before I found out what they really were and where the tradition came from, so I thought that would be a good topic for this week’s discussion. So let’s this week explore the history of the Yule Log!   
     The custom of burning the Yule Log may date back as far as Europe’s Iron Age. Most likely a Nordic tradition, Records indicate that even before the medieval era, people would gather in the end of December to welcome in the Winter Solstice. Yule is the name of the festivals in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe, such as Germany. Thus the connection to my heritage. These celebrations would mark the end of winter season, and people would celebrate the days getting longer. To welcome the New Year and relieve the air of last year’s events, families would burn logs that were garnished in holly, pine cones, or ivy. There were other traditions concerning Yule Logs, depending upon the country. However, no matter what country they would then keep the ashes as a good luck charm, particularly as protection from lighting strikes! 
     As I understand it, the Yule Log was originally an entire tree that was carefully chosen and brought into the house with great ceremony. The largest end of the log would be placed into the fire hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room! The log would be lit from the remains of the previous year's log which had been carefully stored away and slowly fed into the fire through the Twelve Days of Christmas. It was considered important that the re-lighting process was carried out by someone with clean hands. Nowadays, of course, most people have central heating so it is very difficult to burn a tree! I can also about visualize a long log sticking out in the middle of your living room!! 
     I found it interesting that enterprising individuals found that different chemicals could be sprinkled on the log like wine to make the log burn with different colored flames! I even found out what they were: Potassium Nitrate = Violet; Barium Nitrate = Apple Green; Borax = Vivid Green; Copper Sulphate = Blue; Table Salt = Bright Yellow. This sounds very dangerous, so please only try this out with some adult supervision or in the case of men, be sure to clear it with the woman of the house!!  Of course, it could be fun to try these colors in a fire outside away from any possible accidents!
     In France, it is traditional that the whole family helps to cut the log down and that a little bit is burnt each night. If any of the log is left after Twelfth Night, it is kept safe in the house until the next Christmas to protect against lightning! In some parts of Holland, this was also done, but the log had to be stored under a bed! In some eastern European countries like Ostfriesland, Germany (the home of my ancestors), the log was cut down on Christmas Eve morning and lit that evening. 
     In England the log is called 'The Mock'. The log is dried out and then the bark is taken off it before it comes into the house to be burnt. Also in Britain, barrel makers (or Coopers as barrel makers were traditionally called) gave their customers old logs that they could not use for making barrels for Yule logs. The custom of the Yule Log spread all over Europe and different kinds of wood are used in different countries. In England, Oak is traditional; in Scotland, it is Birch; while in France, it's Cherry. In some parts of England, some people have a very large bunch of Ash twigs instead of the log. This comes from a local legend that Joseph, Mary and Jesus were very cold when the shepherds found them on Christmas Night. So the shepherds got some bunches of twigs to burn to keep them warm. 
     It goes even further and makes perfect sense to me. The ashes from the Yule logs were collected and kept until Spring, when they were scattered on the gardens. The ashes of Yule logs were meant to be very good for plants and were rumored to bring good luck and good vegetables for the table. This is true, because the ash from burnt wood contains a lot of 'potash', which helps plants flower, bloom and grow. As I mentioned earlier they also believed it would protect them from lightning strikes. But if you throw the ashes out on Christmas day it was supposedly very unlucky! I will not tempt fate!!!    

The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home