Debunking the Yule Log Myth: The Disturbing History of a Plantation Legend

A powerful new book that corrects a false myth in African American history that Kirkus Reviews calls "a thoughtful antidote to white Southern propaganda." According to an oft repeated legend, during Christmas before the Civil War, all enslaved people in the American South enjoyed lengthy vacations of a week or more depending on how long an oversized "Yule log" burned in their master's fireplace. As long as the log held out, slaves escaped heavy labor and their masters' whips and enjoyed a rare freedom of movement to go and do what they wished as well as gorge themselves on food and drink they never got the rest of the year. No wonder they soaked those logs in swamps to make them burn even longer. But is it true? In this book, historian Robert May takes readers on a detective caper as he investigates a story that reaches back to colonial America and continues today. May finds no evidence of the Yule log tradition in the historical record, instead showing that it originated with pro-Confederate Lost Cause propagandists attempting to present the South's prewar system of human bondage in as soft tones as possible. Tales about good-natured masters and unresentful slaves jovially sharing Christmases played to this impulse beautifully. Debunking the Yule Log Myth does more than correct the historical record. It serves as a highly instructive case study in the process of historical mythmaking. This captivating tale will appeal to all readers interested in African American history and the long struggle to support white supremacy by creating a mythical antebellum American South.

About the Author :
Robert E. May is Professor Emeritus of History at Purdue University and the author of Yuletide in Dixie: Slavery, Christmas, and Southern Memory; Slavery, Race, and Conquest in the Tropics: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Future of Latin America and other works about slavery and the South.

Review :
Expertly crafted and deeply reflective, May's critical appraisal of what initially seemed a story about resourceful slaves "besting [their] masters" covers new ground, contributing meaningfully to both the history of slavery and the study of historical writing.-- "Choice" (3/19/2025 12:00:00 AM) An enduring piece of antebellum folklore has claimed that enslavers allowed enslaved people a week or more of time off during Christmas to "do what they wished." The actual length of time they were free from forced labor depended on how long it took for a water-soaked Yule log burned in their master's fireplace to burn down. This story--which typically highlighted the tolerance of enslavers and the willingness of enslaved people doing whatever it took to keep logs burning for as long as possible--was so entrenched in Southern culture that the Southern tourist industry was still using it for Christmas travel publicity campaigns in 2012. To find the truth behind the story, May, a professor emeritus of history at Purdue University, examined a wide variety of sources, including newspapers, first-person accounts, novels, and historical documents. What he discovered suggested conscious efforts, begun during Reconstruction, at a cultural makeover. The Christmas Yule log tradition was an import from England that was traceable to colonial Virginia. But by the 1870s, and just as "ex-Confederates regained their mastery over southern politics," May observes, reconciliationist narratives that peddled sentimental visions of the antebellum South began appearing in popular magazines like the Atlantic Monthly. The dark side of such stories was that they rarely denounced slavery because to do so would have implied a renunciation not just of the Confederacy but--perhaps even more importantly--white Southern values. A thoughtful antidote to white Southern propaganda.-- "Kirkus Reviews" As Hemingway might say, it would be pretty to think so. Among the many pleasures of Robert E. May's splendid Debunking the Yule Log Myth is watching a talented historian methodically dismantle one of American folklore's prettiest tales. Along the way, in a tour de force of historiographic sleuthing, May explores the origins of the apocryphal story of antebellum, southern plantation-masters allowing a sustained Christmas break for enslaved peoples and the motivations of those who have sustained and embellished the tale. A compelling cautionary-tale on the folly of blind acceptance of 'pretty' stories.--Tom Chaffin, author of Odyssey: Charles Darwin, the Beagle, and the Voyage that Changed the World In Debunking the Yule Log Myth, Robert May brilliantly excavates the fascinating story of a Christmas fantasy about giant logs and enslaved African Americans that white southerners used to justify slavery, the Confederate Lost Cause narrative, racial segregation, and then that became enshrined in American folklore. A major piece of historical detective work with surprising twists, it deserves a broad readership.--John David Smith, author of An Old Creed for the New South: Proslavery Ideology and Historiography, 1865-1918