What is blazing yule before us?

Answer 1

In the song "Deck the Halls", the line "See the blazing yule before us" refers to the large log in the fireplace or the campfire which (in the case of Christmas) takes one through Christmas, or sometimes practices as Christmas Eve, into the next day. Originally the yule log was used to take one from Saturnalia (at the winter soltice - Dec. 21 - the shortest day of the year) into the newness of time when the sun shows for longer and days begin to get longer. In either case, the yule (yule-log) before us represents warmth and light through the cold dark times and that good which you take with you through the year at hand into the next year. Nothing at all evil about the symbolic gesture of the yule log.