An Old-Fashioned Christmas

[aefenglommung]

Along with other sentiments, Christmas is certainly swimming in nostalgia. We long for “an old-fashioned Christmas,” by which we mean one that feels like Christmas did when we were children and first encountering the tradition. So it is a surprise to learn how recent most Christmas traditions are. Santa Claus is a creation of the early 19th

Comments

[prester_scott]

>Yule (the pre-Christian name of the festival)
Are you sure about that? I recently heard that the first appearance of the term "Yule log" was I believe 19th century. I'm not sure about "Yule" more generally.

[aefenglommung]

Bede said January was called in English Æftera Geola, Meanwhile, Jul or Jol is the typical name for the season in Scandinavian languages, so the Old Norse ancestor and the OE ancestor are both referencing the common Germanic name for the time of year. When it began to be spelt "Yule" I don't know, but the word is ancient and was in use even by Christians.