I never knew this....
The burning of the yule log was at one time one of the most firmly entrenched customs of Christmas. Everything to do with them was
fraught with ritual — certain formulas had to be followed very carefully lest disaster befall the household in the upcoming year.This tradition is Pagan but now intertwined with The Christmas we now know.
It was unlucky to buy a yule log. Lucky ones were obtained from one's own land or from a neighbours wood. Often it could be a stump or a root (not necessarily a proper log at all), it was brought home on Christmas Eve and laid in the hearth.
The first step towards lighting the yule log was fetching the carefully-preserved scrap of the previous year's log from under the homeowner's bed. Having done its job of keeping the house safe from fire and lightning since the last festive season, it was now used to light the new log. The new log had to catch fire during the first attempt at lighting it; its failure to do so was a sign of misfortune coming to the family. Such an important duty had to be handled gravely. And clean hands only, please — to attempt to light the log with dirty hands would have been an unforgivable sign Once lit, the log had to be kept burning for twelve hours. This was not always an easy task, as special caution was given against stirring the embers during the lengthy Christmas Eve supper. The log could not be tended as long as any scrap of the dinner remained on the table, or while anyone was still eating.
The only Yule Log that enters this household is the sponge type ,covered in Choccy Frosting and devoured in one sitting.