Yule Log Ceremony

The first modern Yule Log Ceremony in 1910

The Yule Log Ceremony is one of Columbia's oldest traditions. Taking inspiration from a similar event at King's College, then-president Nicholas Murray Butler began the event in 1910 for students unable to return home for the holidays.

The ceremony begins immediately after the new Tree Lighting Ceremony. A Yule Log is carried around campus by students dressed in Colonial costumes, and eventually arrives in John Jay Hall. The John Jay lounge fireplace is lit, and then some readings are recited:

• the ROLM Phone Lady reads Clement Clark Moore's (CC 1798) "A Visit from St. Nicholas"
• someone reads Francis P. Church's (CC 1859) "Is There a Santa Claus?", the most reprinted English-language newspaper editorial in history
• Dean Austin Quigley reads Dylan Thomas's "A Child's Christmas in Wales"

The Columbia University and Barnard College presidents also offer holiday messages.