The day went by so fast - not surprising considering it was the shortest day of the year! The previous night also felt like the longest night of the year, since we didn't get much sleep. I didn't start filming until after dark. (CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR VIDEO)
Ralph's place has a wood-burning fireplace, so we built up our first toasty fire of winter. I loved lying next to it just staring into the flames.
No one really knows the origins of the Yule log, but it's thought to come from Germanic paganism. In the tradition I'm aware of, a new log is presented as a gift to the host and burned over several nights. Then, a piece of the log is kept for next year's midwinter celebration. The unburnt log is supposed to give good luck through the year.
I don't plan on keeping the charred remains of our biggest log around. Where would I put it? On the mantlepiece among the pumpkies? Though there is a chance that we will be so lazy that we don't clean the fireplace out and it'll just sit there all year...
Do you have any winter solstice traditions?
- Katie, 
