The Darkest Day

text and photos : Norma A. Hubbard (December 2017)

This fall while walking my trails, I saw that high winds had knocked down a few branches from the white birch trees. Birch are weak trees, and it doesn’t help that the woodpeckers are always drilling holes in them. Along with the branches, there were quite a few pinecones on the ground, so I collected a few cones. Both the birch and the cones brought me back to a long ago Christmas. I must have been quite young, yet I can still picture the lovely Christmas log on our kitchen table. It was made from a white birch log, decorated with pine branches and cones, and had two red candles to be lit on Christmas day. I always thought this was a Christmas tradition. Oddly enough, it was only while researching paper birch that I discovered that Yule logs are a pagan ritual, which over time has also become a Christmas tradition.

Let me start with paper birch, or white birch (Betula papyrifera); it is widespread across Canada and is a native tree. The name paper comes from the way the bark peels off like paper, yet don’t be fooled by the paper name; the bark is tough and pliable and can be used to make canoes. I am sure some of you remember history class and learning about birch bark canoes. Young trees have dark reddish bark, and the beautiful white bark is only present on mature trees. Eastern paper birch trees grow to a range of 16-25 meters (54-82 feet) with a diameter up to 40 cm (1.3 feet). The oldest a paper birch might live is 120 years, which may seem long to us; however, for a tree this is a short life. Birch are not shade-tolerant, so they often grow in stands along forest edges, lakesides, and roads where there is more sun. Pests, such as, forest tent caterpillars and gypsy moth caterpillars often destroy these trees. While birch does not appear to be a magical tree, it has become part of Yule.

The term Yule comes from the ancient Scandinavian Feast of Juul, which is a pre-Christian tradition. The festivities started on the day of Winter Solstice, with the lighting of a log that was kept burning for twelve days. In our northern hemisphere and depending on the year, Winter Solstice falls between December 20 to the 23. Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and considered the darkest day. The burning of the log was to honour the return or rebirth of the sun.

The twelve days were a time of celebration along with reflection, a time to find inner peace. It was important to harvest the log from your own property, or at least it should be a gift, not a purchased log. Also clean hands were necessary when touching the log. It was usually the fathers and sons of the household who selected the tree – not log – to burn, originally an ash, or an oak, to honor the Scandinavian god, Thor. Ashes were distributed on the fields to stimulate the upcoming harvest, and often branches were kept to start the fire in the next year. Our Christmas ‘Yule’ log was always paper birch. I am certain it was my father who harvested our log, but my mother who decorated it. Modern Yule logs often made from birch (but not exclusively) and usually have three different coloured candles of red, white, silver, gold or green.

Winter Solstice this year is December 21 and it will be the shortest, darkest day of the year. Regardless of religion or tradition, in the days leading up to this short day, enjoy time with family and friends, and take the time to reflect and give thanks to our lifegiving sun. This year, I will light the candles on my yule log (with clean hands of course) and as it burns, I will wish for peace within my life. (And of course, we must never leave candles unattended!)

Sources : Boreal Forest www.borealforest.org/trees/
The Celtic Connection wicca.com/celtic/akasha/yule.htm
Natural Resources Canada : tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/trees/
Pagan Pages : http://paganpages.org/content/tag/yule-log/