The Yule log and the mock

24 December

Lore and belief

The Yule log was brought in with ceremony on Christmas Eve and lit from the saved remains of the year before. Keeping that brand was thought to guard the house against fire, and it was bad luck if a squinting person, a barefoot person or, worst of all, a flat-footed woman came in while the log was burning. In Cornwall the log was called the mock, and children were allowed to sit up till midnight on Christmas Eve to drink to it.

it was believed that the preservation of last year's Christmas log was a most effectual security to the house against fire.

From Chambers's Book of Days, vol. 2, pp. 735-736. Read the original

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Folklore from the old calendars

The Christmas mummers Still kept England, PembrokeshireThe mummers, called guisers in Scotland, set out on Christmas Eve to visit the chief houses of the parish and act the play of St George.
Hoodening Still kept KentAt Ramsgate the Christmas festivities began with a hoodening.
The kneeling oxen Lore and belief Cornwall, DevonIn west Devon and Cornwall it was believed that at midnight on Christmas Eve the oxen in their stalls knelt as if in prayer, and after the change of calendar they were said to do it only on Old Christmas Eve.
The Christmas Eve orchard wassail Still kept Devon, Hampshire, NorfolkOn Christmas Eve in parts of Devon the farmer, his family and friends ate hot cakes dipped in cider, then carried cake and cider to the chief apple tree in the orchard.
The ashen faggot Still kept DevonIn Devon the Yule log took the form of the ashen faggot, a bundle of ash sticks bound with bands of ash, ideally nine of them.

The Yule log and the mock

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