Yule Log


December 8, 2001


BROOKE GLADSTONE: An announcement this week by WPIX, New York's Channel 11, instantly cast me back to the halcyon days of 1966 when the station inaugurated the annual burning of the Yule Log, and like the burning Bush, no matter how long it burned, it was never consumed. At Christmastime the Yule Log burned in a fireplace on a continuous loop for 2 and a half hours without commercial interruption. Now I was pretty young in 1966, so I called up my older sister to reminisce. Hey, Barrie? [sp?]

BARRIE: Yup?

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Do you remember the Yule Log?

BARRIE: [PAUSE] The Yule Log?

BROOKE GLADSTONE: It-- took a little prodding, but then suddenly [MUSIC - JOY TO THE WORLD] those golden memories came rushing back, like Madeleines to Proust.

BARRIE: Oh, yeah!

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Now as we recalled the Log and the mulled cider soundtrack that smoked along with it, we could not figure out exactly who tuned it in, and especially why no one turned it off! And the weird thing that I don't understand is why we did that when we already had a fireplace!

BARRIE: [LAUGHS]! Because we didn't have a Yule Log! [LAUGHTER] We just had wood! I mean it was official!

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Oh, Yule Log, Yule Log, burning bright, On my set, in black and white. Thank the programming exec Who thought to bring the Yule Log beck. [MUSIC - JOY TO THE WORLD]

BOB GARFIELD: That's it for this week's show. On the Media was produced by Janeen Price and Katya Rogers; engineered by Irene Trudel, George Edwards and Dylan Keefe and edited-- by Brooke. We had help from Sean Landis. Our web master is Amy Pearl.

BROOKE GLADSTONE:Mike Pesca is our producer at large; Arun Rath our senior producer and Dean Cappello our executive producer. This is On the Media from National Public Radio. I'm Brooke Gladstone.

BOB GARFIELD: And I'm Bob Garfield.