Then he placed it on the hearth at the moment when the
church bell began to ring for the evening service. Kneeling reverently
at the hearth with the members of his family in a like attitude of
devotion, the old man recited three _Pater Nosters_ and three _Aves_,
and invoked the blessing of heaven on the log and on the cottage. Then
at the sound of the bell which proclaimed the sacrament of the mass, or,
if the church was too far off to allow the tinkle of the bell to be
heard, at the moment when they judged that the priest was elevating the
host before the high altar, the patriarch sprinkled the burning log with
holy water, blessed it in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Ghost, and drew it out of the fire. The charred log was then
carefully kept till the following Christmas as a precious relic which
would guard the house against the levin bolt, evil spirits, sorcerers,
and every misfortune that might befall in the course of the year.[647]
In the department of Orne "the Yule-log is called _trefouet_; holy water
is poured on it; it should last the three days of the festival, and the
remains of it are kept to be put on the fire when it thunders. This
brand is a protection both against thunder and against sorcerers."[648]
In Upper Brittany, also, the Yule log is thought to be a safeguard
against thunder and lightning. It is sprinkled with holy water on
Christmas morning and allowed to burn till evening.
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