Christmas Trivia

Hey Guys,
A couple of weeks ago we had a moment of Christmas trivia and one of the questions was: "What's a yule tide log?" We got as far as identifying that a yule is a type of tree. According to Wikipedia, a Yule is "a large log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in some cultures." (Wikipedia)

Historically, the Yule log has frequently been associated with German pagan origins. Wikipedia continues, "Robert Chambers in his 1832 Book of Days notes that Two popular observances belonging to Christmas are more especially derived from the worship of our pagan ancestors—the hanging up of the mistletoe and the burning of the Yule log. James George Frazer in The Golden Bough (p. 736) holds that "the ancient fire-festival of the winter solstice appears to survive" in the Yule log custom."

So what's the deal with burning the log?

Tammuz, the son of Nimrod and his queen, Semiramis, was identified with the Babylonian Sun God and worshipped following the winter solstice, on about December 22-23. Tammuz was thought to have died during the winter solstice, and was memorialized by burning a log in the fireplace. (The Chaldean word for "infant" is yule. This is the origin of the yule log.) His rebirth was celebrated by replacing the log with a trimmed tree the next morning.

For more cool origins of Christmas info. check out Koinonia House

Do your homework. Don't take my word for it. Be like a Berean!!

tarik