On Mon, Dec 29, 2003, at 01:04 PM, Mate wrote:
>> What's the (sacral) significance of this "yule log"?
>> Is it connected with a solstice fire ritual? If
>> so, it could be a relic of some pagan (probably
>> pan-European) traditions/faith... (Anyway, I think we
>> should pay more attention to substrates of Christian
>> traditions).
>
> I already mentioned Croatian badanj "log" connected to
> Badnjak "Christmas Eve".
Thank you for doing this. But IMHO we should keep
asking: why was a log chosen (and for what reason?) in
this context of the Christmas? In other words: what's
the significance of the log in a (A) pagan context
(if any), in a (B) Christian context (if any).
Or it is a mere (3) Volksetymologie: the East
Romance (tongue) twisting of <creationem> sounded
krac^un-like to Slavic ears more than one millennium
ago.
George
PS: in the Catalan case, I'd ask: is that custom
typical of the region or is it possible that it
was imported by immigrants (say Goths & Alans, who
once happened to cross the primordial area of
krac^un).