Date/Time
Date(s) - 04/08/25
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
543 S. Main Street
Geneva, NY
Categories
On Tuesday, April 8 at 7 p.m., historian Robert May will share his sleuthing into a long-held folk belief that he believes was intentionally fabricated after the Civil War about how enslaved people in the Old South experienced Christmastime. Based on his book Debunking the Yule Log Myth: The Disturbing History of a Plantation Legend, the program focuses on the post-Civil War use of history to recast slavery as benign.
According to an oft-repeated legend, before the Civil War, all enslaved people in the American South enjoyed lengthy vacations of a week or more during Christmas depending on how long an oversized “Yule log” burned in their master’s fireplace. As long as the log held out, the enslaved escaped heavy labor and the whip. They 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. They reportedly soaked the logs to make them burn even longer, with no one the wiser. Suspicious of this story, Professor May decided to plunge into surviving historical documents to root out the truth. Thus, his book and talk. Be prepared for some surprises, as he traces not only just when this folktale began but also who began it and why they did it.
The program is open to the public. There is a suggested donation of $5 to support Historic Geneva’s programming. For more information about the lecture, call the Historic Geneva office at 315-789-5151.
