The Yule Log

I absolutely loved getting to research medieval Scottish holiday traditions as I was writing The Laird's Yuletide Bride! Here's a wee peek behind the scenes into my research.

Before the Scottish Reformation of 1560, Christmas in Scotland was known as Yule. Yule is the Scot-ification of the Old Norse word jól, the word for their winter solstice festivities. Medieval Scottish Yule celebrations were a blend of Christian traditions and the pagan solstice festivities the Vikings brought with them to Scotland, some of which have stuck around to this day, including decorating with evergreen boughs and mistletoe!

Another such holdover is the Yule log. Now a tasty dessert, it was traditionally an entire tree that was carefully selected and brought inside with great care.

One end of the log would be fed into the fire slowly, as it was meant to last for the entire length of Yuletide. Part of the log was saved to light the following year’s log. In between celebrations, the log was kept around to ward off evil, illness, and bad fortune. The ashes of the Yule log were also saved for good luck.

See this history come to life in The Laird's Yuletide Bride.