The Boar's Head Festival

I had the wonderful experience of attending a Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival this evening. It's perhaps one of the oldest festival celebrated during the Christmas season. One of the first festivals on record is that at the Queen's College, in Oxford in 1340.

In Norman England, the boar was a ferocious beast and sovereign of the forest, and was a danger to all, and therefore a symbol of evil. The presentation of the boar's head at Christmastime signified the triumph of the Christ Child over sin. The fresh yule log, lighted by last year's ember, and representing the warmth of the family fireside, has, from the earliest times, marked the rekindling of love as the old year passes and the new one is born.

Long rooted in pagan times, the ceremony of the Boar's Head became a part of the Christmas celebration in the great houses of the Middle Ages. The Christian Church endowed the custom with symbolic meaning and elevated to a Christian ceremony.

I have to tell you it was one of the most fabulous things I have seen in a long time. This Church that put it on, prepares for a year, designing costumes, and sets. There was a full orchestra, and ballet, and choir.

The program started out with the Boar's Head festival, and then transformed into a regular Christmas Pagent with the story of the Christ Child, and then at the end combined both.

It was moving and spectacular, and if you have one of these Festivals in your area, I highly recommend attending one. The rich history, and pagentry are well worth it.