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Story
December 15, 1938
The Coolidge Examiner
Coolidge, Pinal County, Arizona
What is this article about?
Residents of Palmer Lake, Colorado, revive the traditional yule log burning for Christmas, hunting and dragging a prepared log to a town hall fireplace. The custom traces back to Scandinavian Thor worship, Roman Mithra feasts, and English pre-Reformation festivities.
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OCR Quality
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Excellent
Full Text
Colorado Town
Revives Ritual
Of Log Burning
PALMER LAKE, COLO.—Residents of this high-perched town on the great Divide celebrate their modern Christmas in an old-fashioned way, by burning the traditional yule log.
Each year the log is secretly cut, notched and tied with hempen cord, hidden among the trees and rocks awaiting the finder to whom goes the honor of dragging it into town.
Last year for the first time Palmer Lake burned its yule log in the town hall, where local firemen built a huge stone fireplace wide enough to accommodate a four-foot log. Previously the celebration was held in a private home where fewer guests could be accommodated.
The hunt for the yule log starts at 1 p. m., when all participants are summoned by a bugle to meet in front of the hall.
The yule log has a colorful history. In Scandinavia, where Thor, the god of thunder, was worshiped, great log fires were built along the rocky shores both at mid-summer and mid-winter in order to propitiate him for his rumbling wrath.
When the early fathers substituted the feast of the Nativity for that of Mithra, the Persian sun god who was worshiped on December 25 in early Rome, a different note crept in. Yule-tide became a time for feuds to cease.
In England, before the Reformation, bringing in the yule log was an important part of the Christmas festivities. The community usually gathered in the hall of the lord of the manor, where the log was kindled with due ceremony and all partook in the wassail cup, a sweet cider flavored with fruits and spices.
Revives Ritual
Of Log Burning
PALMER LAKE, COLO.—Residents of this high-perched town on the great Divide celebrate their modern Christmas in an old-fashioned way, by burning the traditional yule log.
Each year the log is secretly cut, notched and tied with hempen cord, hidden among the trees and rocks awaiting the finder to whom goes the honor of dragging it into town.
Last year for the first time Palmer Lake burned its yule log in the town hall, where local firemen built a huge stone fireplace wide enough to accommodate a four-foot log. Previously the celebration was held in a private home where fewer guests could be accommodated.
The hunt for the yule log starts at 1 p. m., when all participants are summoned by a bugle to meet in front of the hall.
The yule log has a colorful history. In Scandinavia, where Thor, the god of thunder, was worshiped, great log fires were built along the rocky shores both at mid-summer and mid-winter in order to propitiate him for his rumbling wrath.
When the early fathers substituted the feast of the Nativity for that of Mithra, the Persian sun god who was worshiped on December 25 in early Rome, a different note crept in. Yule-tide became a time for feuds to cease.
In England, before the Reformation, bringing in the yule log was an important part of the Christmas festivities. The community usually gathered in the hall of the lord of the manor, where the log was kindled with due ceremony and all partook in the wassail cup, a sweet cider flavored with fruits and spices.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
Historical Event
What themes does it cover?
Social Manners
Providence Divine
What keywords are associated?
Yule Log
Christmas Ritual
Palmer Lake
Scandinavian History
English Festivities
Community Hunt
Where did it happen?
Palmer Lake, Colo., On The Great Divide
Story Details
Location
Palmer Lake, Colo., On The Great Divide
Event Date
Each Year, Last Year For The First Time In Town Hall
Story Details
Palmer Lake residents hunt and burn a traditional yule log at Christmas, a revival of ancient Scandinavian, Roman, and English customs involving fire rituals for gods and community celebration.