Life in the Cheese Drawer

well, since december is nearly upon us, i thought it might be an ok time to do a word wednesday on a holiday word: yule.

the olde norske word jol was just a word to describe a heathen feast, aka a party. then in swept the anglo-saxons who took the word jul and made giuli, a two-month mid-winter season for december and january.

there was a lot of feasting during these two months (what else ya gonna do in the dead of winter when it’s dark out) but not necessarily a festival. after the christians rolled in, they narrowed down yule to the 12-day nativity season (which happens AFTER dec. 25), but by the 11th century, it was replaced by christmas except in northeast england, where danes had settled.

in the 19th century, there was a revival of merrie olde england, and yule was resurrected.

now here’s where it gets kind fun. jul, the norse word, was actually borrowed from old french – jolif. jolif in modern french is joli – originally festive, or…

jolly!

that yule log is a pretty jolly log!