I'm dreaming of a White Christmas....

Sitting here listening to carols filled with yule tide greetings and cheer....I can't help but to wonder what exactly does 'Yule' mean and what origin did this word steam from?? According to my research it comes from several different backgrounds, each manifesting their own meaning. Yule itself shares the same root as Jolly. It is believed to have derived from an old English word 'yoole' which comes from the German Pagan Feast that lasted 12 days and became to the Christian faith - Christmas! Before you nod off bare with me-- There is one origin in particular that I found of GREAT interest b/c it's part of my heritage & fascinating, here is the excerpt........

Yule celebrations at the winter solstice predate Christianity. Yule is a feast celebrated by sacrifice on mid winter night January 12, according to Norwegian historian Olav Bø. There are many references to Yule in the Icelandic Sagas but few accounts of how Yule was celebrated beyond the fact it was a time for feasting. Swedish kings sacrificed male slaves every ninth year during the Yule sacrifices. 'Yule-Joy' with dancing continued through the Middle Ages in Iceland but was frowned upon after the Reformation. The ritual of slaughtering a Boar on Yule survives in the modern tradition of the Christmas Ham and the Boars Head Carol:

"On Yule Eve the best boar in the herd was brought into the hall where the assembled company laid their hands upon the animal and made their unbreakable oaths. Heard by the boar these oaths were thought to go straight to the ears of Freyr
himself. Once the oaths had been sworn the boar was sacrificed in the name of Freyr and the feast of boar flesh began. The most commonly recognised remnant of the sacred boar traditions once common at Yule has to be the serving of the boar's head at later Christmas feasts."

.......Hungry?