Kindle the Christmas Brand, and then Till Sunne-set, let it burne; Which quencht, then lay it up agen, Till Christmas next returne.
Part must be kept, wherewith to teend The Christmas Log next yeare; And, where 'tis safely kept, the Fiend Can do no mischief there.
But, even if lit with the remains of last year's log, it seems to be insufficient, unless the advice to the maids who light it be followed.
Wash your hands, or else the fire Will not teend to your desire; Unwasht hands, ye Maidens, know, Dead the Fire, though ye blow.
In some parts of Devonshire a curious custom in connection with the Yule log is still kept up, that of burning the Ashton or ashen faggot. It is well described by a writer in _Notes and Queries_.[37]
[Footnote 37: Sixth series, vol. ii. p. 508.]
"Of the olden customs, so many of which are dying out, that of burning an 'ashen faggot' on Christmas Eve, still holds its own, and is kept up at many farm houses.
"Among the various gleanings of the Devon Association Folk-Lore Committee is recorded a notice of this custom. We are there informed that, on Christmas eve, 1878, the customary faggot was burned at _thirty-two_ farms and cottages in the Ashburton postal district alone.
"The details of the observance vary in different families; but some, being common to all, may be considered as held necessary to the due performance of the rite. For example, the faggot must contain as large a log of ash as possible, usually the trunk of a tree, remnants of which are supposed to continue smouldering on the hearth the whole of the twelve days of Christmas. This is the Yule dog of our forefathers, from which a fire can be raised by the aid of a pair of bellows, at any moment day or night, in token of the ancient custom of open hospitality at such a season. Then the faggot must be bound together with as many binders of twisted hazel as possible. Remembering that the Ash and Hazel were sacred trees with the Scandinavians, their combined presence in forming the faggot may once have contained some mystic signification. Also, as each binder is burned through, a quart of cider is claimed by the Company. By this, some hidden connexion between the pleasures of the party and the loosening bands of the faggot is typified. While the fire lasts, all sorts of amusements are indulged in--all distinction between master and servant, neighbour and visitor, is for the time set aside.