PHOENIX FLAME - FIRE, LIGHT, CHRISTMAS AND YULE LOG ORIGINS

Sep 29, 2026

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PHOENIX FLAME traces how fire, warmth, and light became central to Christmas celebrations, linking later customs to earlier pagan traditions and winter turning points. It recounts fears that the sun god could be overtaken by darkness, then rejoices as the sun returns. The narrative connects Thor, the Druids’ temple fires, and medieval feudal Yule log practices, concluding that even in troubled times the world can use Christmas or Yuletide’s warmth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

PHOENIX FLAME

Fire customs and pagan origins

Winter turning time and sun return

Thor, Druids, and the Yule log

# PHOENIX FLAME 10.25 FIRE,as a source of warmth and light,good health and festivity,has held along and popular role in the celebrationof Christmas. "fire customs"associated with our greatChristian Holiday were the invention ofpagans two thousand years before thebirth of Christ. shipers and,to say the least,were asuperstitious lot.December 25th wasknown to them as Hweolor-tid(Yule-tide),or the turning time.As the powerof the sun diminished with the comingof winter they feared the sun god mightbe overcome by darkness and be forcedto remain in the underworld. sun started its return journey,there wascause for rejoicing. in the open to the god Thor during thewinter festival.Later,the Druids of an-cient England brought the fires insidetheir temples.By later extension,duringthe feudal days,a huge log was draggedinto the tapestried halls of great castlesand kindled with much ceremony in theopen fireplaces.This was the fabledYule log. colorfully lighted trees,both inside andoutside our homes.If we are fortunateenough to have a fireplace we burn asmall edition of the ancient Yule log.Noother holiday of our entire calendar pos-sesses the warmth and light of Christ-mas...or Yuletide.In these troublousand unhappy times,the world can use alittle of both! # PHOENIX METAL CAP CO. CHICAGO 8 door on the 969th floor of theObeliskos Building.Traffic directedby a combination of radio and elec-tric eye.Speed laws?There aren'tany—impossible to collide with an-other machine. niture.Skinless oranges,bananas,potatoes and shoppers.Syntheticeggs.Spinach comes in six deli-cious flavors,including razzberry. "Everybody required to spendminimum of four years in govern-ment service when arriving at ageseventeen.Anybody twenty-oneyears old may run for president,ifhe passes rigid preliminaries.Nopolitical parties.Voters'Informa-tion Bureau provides lowdown onall candidates.Campaign speechesstrictly forbidden.Presidentialterm,one to a customer,six years.No city,county or state govern-ments —federal only.More,notless,governmental regulation(sorry,that's what the ball says.) "Free vitamin bars on every cor-ner.Automat stores dispense every-thing from a toothpick to a multi-cabined land yacht.Factories runby solar power.Coal a semi-pre-cious stone.Four-hour work days,three-day weeks,six-month vaca-tions.Scientists,engineers,robotsand machines do all the work.Thevoice of the city a low powerfulwhisper.Automobiles like a BuckRogers dream come true;poweredby atomic energy—run them back-wards,frontwards,sidewards. WHENEVER we take a mental tripback over yesteryear,the distantpast shapes up much better thanthe immediate past.Last week orlast month haven't had enough oftheir rough edges removed to beincluded in what we like to call thegood old days.And so it is withtime-to-be.The future that is justa fip or two of the calendar away,seems dark and foreboding,whilesomehow we expect the distant fu-ture to be an era of permanentpeace,plenty of plenty,and mar-velous mechanization.In time,asin most things,distance lends en-chantment to the view. "Kids start to school at four.Ap-titude tests,by ten they're engineers,doctors,lawyers.Home courses onthe Visuaudio every evening forfree.Competitive sports and gameshave not been indulged in for thepast twenty years.Under scientificdirection all games end in a tie.Butthere's little change in fishermenand their stories. "Stratoships,one hour fromcoast to coast—seems unnecessarilyslow.Helicoplanes for private fly-ing.Land on dime,fold 'em up,shove under bed.Pneumatic tuberailroads.Flat-hulled liners thatskim the sea's controlled surfacelike gulls.International pontoonbridges between U.S.and Europe,U.S.and Asia.Everybody has aVisuaudio to see and hear events,comedy,drama.No newspapers.You don't read any more,youlisten.Open door of Bookographcabinet,insert bookroll,push but-ton,it reads itself.Listening time,"Gone With the Wind,"12-/minutes. "Phoenix Metal Cap Co.cele-brates 110th anniversary.PhoenixFlame

FAQs

Why did early celebrations center on fire during winter?

The text links fire to warmth and light, and to the belief that the sun could be threatened by winter darkness, requiring ritual celebration until the sun’s return.

What traditions does PHOENIX FLAME connect to the Yule log?

It mentions pagan fire customs, later worship connected with Thor, fires carried into Druid temple spaces, and medieval feudal practices of dragging and kindling a Yule log in castle halls.

What message does the piece give about Christmas in hard times?

It argues that the world can still benefit from the warmth and light of Christmas (or Yuletide), even during troubled and unhappy periods.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Ezra