This year’s 76th-annual festival — a traditional holiday production performed by a cast of more than 100 — dates all the way back to the year 1340 in Oxford, England. Legend says that a scholar was walking through a forest on his way to Christmas mass when he was confronted by an angry wild boar, which, in medieval England, was perceived as a symbol of evil. Having no weapon to protect himself, the scholar shoved a book of Aristotle he was studying down the animal’s throat. Today, the presentation of a boar’s head at Christmas represents the triumph of good over evil — a tradition that lies at the core of the Boar’s Head Yule Log Festival. The “living story” is performed by the production’s cast members, many of whom have been involved in the Boar’s Head for years, and its components — including carols, elaborate costumes, prayer and more — all remain true to the 14th century.
5 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 and 5 p.m. Sunday. Free; call 513-621-2627 for ticket info. Christ Church Cathedral, 318 East Fourth St., Downtown, boarsheadfestival.com.
