On the way to Yule

Yule happens between the 20th and the 23rd of December. This is the period when the dark gives way to the light. Otherwise known as the Solstice Night, the sun’s rebirth is a time of great joy. The days now become longer. Bonfires were lit and trees were “wassailed” with spiced cider. Children would go door to door with gifts of apples and oranges spiked with cloves and these were kept in a basket lined with evergreen boughs and wheat dusted with flour. The Yule log is a well-known tradition. Originally this was a log that had been harvested on your own land or given as a gift and not the chocolate treat we now imagine with the words Yule log.