Editing Yule log (section)

===Italy===
{{main|Christmas in Italy}}
[[File:Vasari tempio santo stefano alla vittoria pozzo della chiana.jpg|thumb|[[Val di Chiana]], [[Tuscany]], [[Italy]], where it was customary to sing a prayer during the "cerimonia del ceppo" (log ceremony). Later, blindfolded children (later rewarded with sweets and other gifts), had to hit the log, while the rest of the family sang a particular song, called "Ave Maria del Ceppo".<ref name="BC" />]]

[[Christmas in Italy]] begins on 8 December with the [[Feast of the Immaculate Conception]], the day on which traditionally Christmas trees are erected, and ends on 6 January of the following year with [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]].<ref name="BC">{{Cite web|date=November 25, 2013|title=The Best Christmas Traditions in Italy|url=https://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/things-to-do/christmas-traditions-in-italy|access-date=January 26, 2021|website=Walks of Italy|language=en-GB}}</ref>

The tradition of the Yule log, once widespread, has been attested in Italy since the 15th century.<ref name="RC" /> The Yule log appears with different names depending on the region: in [[Tuscany]] it is known as ''ciocco'',<ref name="LT">{{Cite web|title=La tradizione del ceppo in Toscana – Consulenza Linguistica – Accademia della Crusca|url=https://accademiadellacrusca.it/it/consulenza/la-tradizione-del-ceppo-in-toscana/1030|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225212600/https://accademiadellacrusca.it/it/consulenza/la-tradizione-del-ceppo-in-toscana/1030 |archive-date=December 25, 2019 |access-date=January 26, 2021|website=[[Accademia della Crusca]]|language=it}}</ref> while in [[Lombardy]] it is known as ''zocco''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Natale 2020, la tradizione del ceppo in Lombardia|url=https://www.ilgiorno.it/cronaca/tradizioni-natale-1.5818416|access-date=January 26, 2021|website=[[Il Giorno (newspaper)|Il Giorno]]|date=15 December 2020 |language=it}}</ref> In Lombardy, the head of the family used to sprinkle juniper on the stump and place coins on it while reciting a prayer in the name of the Trinity.  Afterwards, people drank as much as they liked and the remaining wine was thrown by the head of the family on the log. It was also customary, during the log ceremony, to cut three [[panettone]] and keep a piece for thaumaturgical purposes for the whole of the following year

In Tuscany, in particular in Val di Chiana (province of Arezzo), it was customary to chant the following prayer during the Christmas log ceremony. Later, blindfolded children (rewarded with sweets and other gifts), had to hit the log with pincers, while the rest of the family sang a particular song, called "Ave Maria del Ceppo". 

In eastern Sicily, especially in the Etna areas, the Christmas log (Zuccu in dialect) is customary to stack wood in a pyramidal way in the squares of the villages, tradition has it that it is lit on the evening of the 24th before the midnight mass after the blessing of the priest. In addition to recalling the Christian symbolism of the "light source of life", it becomes a pleasant opportunity, after the celebration of the midnight vigil, to stop around the log and exchange Christmas greetings wrapped in the heat of the flames.In [[Valdichiana|Val di Chiana]], in Tuscany, it was customary for children, blindfolded, to hit the block with pincers, while the rest of the family sang the ''Ave Maria del Ceppo''. That tradition was once deeply rooted in Italy is demonstrated by the fact that Christmas in Tuscany was called the "feast of the log".<ref name="LT" />