When did we enter into December? Yesterday was Labor Day and here we are at the end of the semester and Christmas is literally right around the corner!
With that said, in some cultures, a form of “Christmas” is celebrated before or after December 25th, which is the Christian version. Christmas comes from the holiday known as Yule, also known as Winter Solstice, which is celebrated on one of these four dates: December 20th, 21st, 22nd or 23rd. The reason for the fluctuation of dates has to do with what day and time the sun sets in this particular month.
Yule is a tradition that takes place on the day of the Winter Solstice which is the shortest day of the year with only having roughly 9 hours of daylight. This means the nights following will start to get shorter allowing for longer daylight until the Summer Solstice, aka Litha or Midsummer, which arrives in June. The Summer Solstice dates also vary for the same reason as mentioned above. Yule traditions are similar to the Christmas traditions that are celebrated to which this is where Christmas came from, a Pagan tradition. But this is for another article.
Yule, has been recognized since the Stone Age era when we acknowledged that the sun is at it furthest and will be returning and coming closer. This is one of the reasons Stonehenge in England and Newgrange in Ireland were created. These sites setups are created in such a way that it is inspiring to watch how the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice are carefully aligned with the sunrise and sunset.
With Yule comes the iconic Yule Log. It’s not exactly known when Yule Log symbolism came to be but it seems to have started in Germany and Scandinavia with the celebrations on the night of the Solstice. Early manuscripts date back to as early as 4th century A.D., where families would hoist a large log onto the fireplace for warmth and light. This ritual would go on for approximately two months until the daylight started to return and the days would get warmer.
We still incorporate this today, but it has become modernized as most celebrate the Yule Log on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, or December 24th and 25th respectively. If one doesn’t have a fireplace, then we can just turn on the television and watch a Yule Log burning. This was introduced in 1966 on WPIX channel. What was initially an experiment became a household staple for years to come including showing cute puppies and a kittens playing in front of what I would assume is a fake Yule Log fire.
Since we now live in a world where we have heated houses and electric lights, we no longer have to use a huge log to keep us warm. In its modern use, a Yule Log also does not necessarily have to be used to be put in a fire, and can be seen even as table decorations. For your own home here is a how to make and decorate our own Yule log and put candles on them.
Whether we sit and cozy up in front of a fireplace with our Yule Log burning, watch it burn on a television channel, or make our own pretty Holiday decoration, realize early humans created the idea that inspired the German and Scandinavian ancestors to celebrate Yule using Logs during this time of year. Whatever your beliefs are during this holiday season know that it was our ancestors who paved the way for us to stay warm.
