‘Yule Log’ still hot after 40 years on the air

There’s lots of Christmas-themed programming, everything from Miracle on 34th Street to the upcoming Rob Lowe made-for-TV movie A Perfect Day. But perhaps the most bizarre holiday “special” is Tribune Co.’s The Yule Log, originally produced in New York 40 years ago by WPIX but now shown on Tribune stations nationwide, including “superstation” WGN in Chicago, which is carried by many cable systems across the country. The “program” is a seven-minute loop of film that shows a fire burning in a fireplace, accompanied by Christmas carols and other holiday-themed music, with some easy-listening fare thrown in for good measure.