First recorded in 1715–25
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So in that case, you treat it more like the Yule log, right, at Christmas time.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2025
In Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, hundreds of worshipers gathered outside St. Sava Temple, the largest Serbian Orthodox church, for the traditional burning of dried oak branches that symbolize the Yule log.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 6, 2022
Oysters, frog’s leg-chervil soup and an ice cream Yule log round out the meal, $98: 30 East 20th Street, 212-267-7426, lecoqriconyc.com.
From New York Times ● Dec. 13, 2016
Every year, my parents, my older brother, and I would haul out our fake tree from the basement and watch the Yule log on WPIX.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2016
In the light of twenty centuries around the Yule log we have forgotten to be afraid and have made out of our weird dreams friendly fancies.
From Old Plymouth Trails by Packard, Winthrop
The yule log, for example, existed during the Viking era.
From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025
As with most holiday-related rituals, digging into the history of the yule log as a TV tradition dispels some of its mystical wonder, revealing its origin in desperate necessity.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025
The sound of the fire, crackling and popping, struck Borsay as weirdly familiar, like the YouTube yule log video he put on at Christmas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2025
The main draw of the Christmas Regale is the arrival of the yule log, which is towed in by young visitors and greeted with toasts and Christmas carols.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2022
He could see the pages coming from the forest, dragging the yule log and branches of holly to decorate the Hall.
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
