Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Yule \Yule\, n. [OE. yol, [yogh]ol, AS. ge['o]l; akin to
   ge['o]la December or January, Icel. j[=o]l Yule, Ylir the
   name of a winter month, Sw. jul Christmas, Dan. juul, Goth.
   jiuleis November or December. Cf. {Jolly}.]
   Christmas or Christmastide; the feast of the Nativity of our
   Savior.

         And at each pause they kiss; was never seen such rule
         In any place but here, at bonfire, or at Yule.
                                                  --Drayton.

   {Yule block}, or {Yule log}, a large log of wood formerly put
      on the hearth of Christmas eve, as the foundation of the
      fire. It was brought in with much ceremony.

   {Yule clog}, the yule log. --Halliwell. W. Irving.