CHRISTMAS LORE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 36, 24 December 1943, Page 8

CHRISTMAS LORE

SOME POPULAR CUSTOMS

Few of the popular customs associated wit.li Christmas have a Christian origin* Yule. . . . always synonomous Avitlv Christmas . . . was originally the mill-winter least of sun worship practised in early times in Northern Europe. There was rejoicing at the; passing of the winter solstice, a sacrificial meal, and observances of a magical character to insure the fertility of the coming year. Traces of tliese survive in present Christinas practises. The Yule feast was also the feast of the dead.- It was therefore a time of when harm from spirits of the dead must be averted. In parts of England a group of closely-related customs connect Christmas, with the. feast of the dead. These are the Yule log, the. Yule candle and the Yule cake. The boar's head was traditional at the Yule feast of the;, northern people of Europe. it was a midwinter sacrifice, to the Scandinavian diety, Freyya. At present it may seem ironical to mention that the Christinas tree was introduced into England from Germany about the middle of last century; but even in Germany the. custom does not seem to be more than a few centuries old.: Earliest reference was in the. 17th century.