The christmas log

 
This culinary tradition existed in every countries of Europe is linked with a ritual which dates from middle ages in order to celebrate the winter solstice.
In North hemisphere, the winter solstice correspond to the longest night of the year -December 21st and 22nd-.
In South hemisphere, the winter solstice takes place on June 21st and 22nd. This custom consists to burn a wooden log and to keep the ashes in order to use it for curing the disease, protecting and fertilizing the land. The aim was to keep the ashes till the next Christmas.

The log must be big and comes from fruit tree. It must be cut before sunrise. It was often decorated with ribbons and was brought in the family room with a big ceremonial around the event. The head of the family put on the log some water, some salt and sometimes some wine. This is to perpetuate the ritual that the Christmas log is became a delicious dessert invented by a pastry cook in 1945.
At the begining, the Christmas log was a biscuit genoese on which some butter cream was spread perfumed whith coffe, chocolat, or grand marnier. Then, we rolled the biscuit to give it the form of a log. Last, we recovered it with a thin layer of butter cream.
However, now we find a large choice of fantasy log which aren't rolled but molded and garnished with fruit mousse rather than butter cream or mascarpone cream and with all sorts of biscuits.

It is also decorated with caracters, fir trees, sugar mushrooms. This Christmas log is became the aim cake of the Christmas dinner and 10 billion of liter are sold every year in France.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj51YRmAZxk

I Hope you've learnt the story of the Christmas log with this article and I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.