If a piece of it is
thrown into the well, it will ensure a supply of good water.[649]
[The Yule log in the Ardennes.]
"In almost all the families of the Ardennes," we are told, "at the
present day they never fail to put the Yule log on the fireplace, but
formerly it was the object of a superstitious worship which is now
obsolete. The charred remains of it, placed under the pillow or under
the house, preserved the house from storms, and before it was burned the
Virgin used to come and sit on it, invisible, swaddling the infant
Jesus. At Nouzon, twenty years ago, the traditional log was brought into
the kitchen on Christmas Eve, and the grandmother, with a sprig of box
in her hand, sprinkled the log with holy water as soon as the clock
struck the first stroke of midnight. As she did so she chanted,
'_When Christmas comes,
Every one should rejoice,
For it is a New Covenant_.'
"Following the grandmother and joining in the song, the children and the
rest of the family marched thrice round the log, which was as fine a log
as could be got."[650] We can now, perhaps, understand why in Perigord
people who sat on the Yule log suffered from boils,[651] and why in
Lorraine young folks used to be warned that if they sat on it they would
have the scab.[652] The reason probably was that the Virgin and child
were supposed to be seated, invisible, upon the log and to resent the
indignity of contact with mortal children.
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