The Yule Blog
Posted by Sara Beth Duyck on Wed, Dec 15, 2010
By Steve Manos
I’m certain that many of you know what a Yule Log is. I had to look it up. I suppose I knew that it was in fact “a log” and that you burned it for some reason but never knew why so I did some investigating. Turns out that depending on what country you live in, the Yule log takes on differing meaning/lore. My favorite of course, is the British folklore that essentially says a bunch of farm boys lug a giant log in to a farmer’s house and his wife gives them free beer for doing so. I can unabashedly say I’ve done more for a pint myself. I suppose that’s a good use of a log, or at minimum, a better use than what you’d find in Japan…
Usually the beer gets served beforehand in the Japanese scenario. In any event, the idea is that by burning the Yule log, it promoted prosperity and warded off evil in the upcoming year. With 2010 coming to a close, we can all agree that it has tested the mettle of many. With a very weak overall economy, horrific jobless numbers, projects shelved, budgets slashed, etc., we, in retrospect, should have burned down the whole ‘Yule” forest last December. All that being said, I wanted to make a request that everyone switch to generator, power one’s self down and recharge your systems on the pure, clean energy that is the holiday season. For Steve Manos, this fuel comes in the form of family, friends and little multicolored lights. I, like many of you, have little ones who perceive this time of year to be nothing but magical. The thought of a XXL bearded man in a red suit squeezing down our chimney with toys holds the same euphoric anticipation that many of us had as children. It certainly recharges the soul of this travel-worn father. Couple this with deeper connections with my wife, my father, my siblings and many of you who are reading this, it provides me the strength I need to strap the helmet back on and take the field in the coming year.
As a young man, I recall sitting in the living room, illuminated solely by the lights of the Christmas tree with my mother one late December evening. I recall asking her, (much like the Yule log) why we wrap a tree with multicolored lights? Her response that night has stuck with me ever since then. Her answer was that she wasn’t really sure, but to her, each light represented a memory of the year that was and the joy that each of them brought her. She said it “re-filled her soul” and in a sense, recharged her. As we close out these remaining weeks of 2010, seek out that which re-charges you. Whether that’s spending time with family, sharing a glass with a good friend or riding a 10 ton giant fir tree down a mountainside.
As my last post of the year, I want to thank all of you for supporting me and taking the time to read my ramblings. I count many of you among my multicolored lights this year and hope the tree grows brighter in 2011.
-SM