In a holiday season often defined by snowmen andsleighrides , continue warm is crucial . Anyone who dreams of snow on Christmas break of day knows that scarves , mittens and hotchocolatemust never be far behind . And perhaps nothing symbolizes holiday coziness easily than the yule logarithm , the centrepiece of any fireside gathering . But what makes this hunk of wood so prized ? Where else can you find one , besides yourfireplace ? And how did a New York television receiver impresario convey the Christmastide log into so many American homes ?
The tradition of yule logs has its roots in pagan ritual . In fact , the word " yule " is old English for a festival known to take place in December and January . northerly Europeans , like Vikings , celebrated the Festival of Yule to respect the winter solstice by journeying into the Wood in search of a hearty oak tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . The event was a family affair , with household members venturing out in hunting of a choice undercut of Grant Wood . They would return with the most racy log they could discover and burn it in compliance to various gods as well as in solemnization of life and prosperity .
Ultimately , the yule log was recollect to determine a mortal ’s good or bad luck , and there are many variations on this superstition . One European feeling held that the log had to catch fervour on the first endeavour to light it , lest bad luck accrue upon all the habitant of the home where it sting . Another submit that the remains of a log must be kept for the trace class ’s ceremony for dear fate , which would extend across successive contemporaries . The ashes were sometimes stored under a bed to make a home resistant to evil spirits andlightningstrikes .
English Christmas traditions call for a great oak to be cut on Christmas Eve . And it had to be able to burn through all12 days of Christmas , during which metre family appendage would refrain from labor to celebrate the time of year . The kinsperson would together with deplumate the log home with much celebration [ germ : Morton ] .
In the next segment , we ’ll look at how the yule log is celebrated in innovative times.
Fred Thrower’s Yule Log and France’s Buche de Noel
While a right yule log is n’t a vernacular raft in twenty-first - 100 open fireplace , it can be found in vacation kitchens — in the form of a sweet . Bûche de Nöel is of French inception and is a sponge patty replica of a yule logarithm . It come in flavors likechocolateand gingerbread and is ice in a wood - grain pattern .
It ’s believe that the dessert was created in response to French families who did n’t have a fireplace for a real Christmastime access their homes but want to share in the vacation custom [ seed : Jaworski ] . Yule logarithm cake are pronto available in French bakeries , but many residents in the United States must make their own variation of the delicacy from scratch .
But France is n’t the only place that has conform the conception of the yule logarithm . Urban area likeNew York Cityhave gamey - density populations , and , as a result , space is at a lower limit . Therefore , hearth are a rarefied trade good in apartments and condominium . In 1966 , New York City television programming director Fred Thrower had an idea for logarithm - deprived New Yorkers . Thrower had his local post , WPIX - TV , circularize a loop video of a blaze out fireplace — with Christmas music playing in the background — beginning on Christmas Eve . The broadcast , designed to provide city - dwellers with holiday ambience they might otherwise miss , was an instant winner and became a Christmas morning mainstay on the New York station . It begin air on national cable networks , and inhigh - definition , in 2004 [ source : The Yule Log ] .
Today there are many transmission line and streaming channels around holiday metre that show nothing but a video of a yule logarithm in a roar attack .
