‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…..not in my house I’ve had three cats and a house bunny on my case all evening. The cats are going mad as I bought them some steak as a treat. They’ve had a few bits and I put the rest in the fridge. Now all I can hear is meowing almost constantly at the fridge!
My kind neighbour gave me a Yule log (not the chocolate type) to burn on the fire on Christmas Eve. Its such a pretty log I don’t want to burn but I dare not burn it as I’m sure we’ve all had too much bad luck already this year!
Wikipedia states regarding Yule logs “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 Decemberand 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” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_log).
Well it seems I’ll be keeping up with the “heathen” tradition and burning my Yule log on the fire tonight.
Apparently I need to scatter the ash from the Yule log on my garden for a fruitful harvest in the new year. Here’s hoping!
I’m now sat down about to watch the same thing I watch every Christmas Eve….Father Christmas. Which has been shown every Christmas since 1991. If you haven’t seen it before then basically it’s about what Father Christmas gets up to in the summer in his down time. He even goes to Las Vegas and plays the slots….honestly this is actually a kids short film. Apparently the American version was heavily sanitised with Father Christmas drinking, smoking and dancing with chorus girls removed. Also him saying blooming was also replaced. I prefer the worts and all version. So to quote Father Christmas….”Happy Blooming Christmas!”
In the country not in the country 