From the desk of Phantom Stranger:
“Before we begin, I’d like to point out this was pretty much the subject that started the Showcase section. I was replying to a question about the origins of Christmas over in BoB. I went over it from Yule to Rome and briefly the Victorian era. This one is going to be covering a lot more but still compact by most standards.
The Norse celebrated a holiday called Yule, this took place around Dec 21st. Activities included slaughtering the year’s bounty of animals for meat, Yule singing, and of course the Yule Log. The men (normally fathers and sons) would go out and find the biggest log they could find to bring back home to light aflame. The log was symbolic of warmth in the dead of winter, and it was said that every ember was to be a new animal born in the coming years spring. During the 12 days the log burned, feasting was abundant, as winter was one of the few times meat was is good supply. Also dragged in were Evergreen Trees, a symbol that even when the year is at it’s lowest, life can endure.
In Germany the Norse God Odin was believed to take nocturnal flights to decide who would prosper in the coming year and who would perish. The children would leave vegetables and sweets snacks for Odin’s horse, Sleipnir. In return for the act of kindness, Odin would leave gifts or candy in the clogs or boots of the children…”