Christmastide traditions are a glorious amalgamation of customs and practices that have been appropriated wholesale from other belief systems, primarily those of Ancient Rome. But Rome is only part of the story because over the centuries Christmas has also acquired a number of key traditions drawn from the pagan Germanic and later Norse peoples who dominated Western Europe in the years following the collapse of the Roman Empire. This connection is all the more pertinent this year as Christmas Day falls on a Wednesday. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"68648","attributes":{"alt":"Christmas with the Yule Log. Illustrated London News 23 December 1848 (Public Domain)","class":"media-image","height":"700","style":"width: 579px; height: 700px;","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"579"}}]] Christmas with the Yule Log. Illustrated London News 23 December 1848 ( Public Domain ) Have a Cool Yule Today
