Morton Arboretum plans Yule Log hunt

When the last piece of colorful red and green paper is pulled away from the final gift and the eggnog is just a bad aftertaste from the night before, there might still be a house full of people.

Maybe they've parked a huge RV in your driveway, brought their destructive dog and kids and spread into every spare sleeping area in the house.

OK, so maybe every family doesn't experience the Griswolds' Christmas vacation. Hopefully there won't be a full-blown, four-alarm family emergency.

But let's say it's Dec. 26 and your Christmas house guests are still here. Now what?

The Morton Arboretum in Lisle invites the whole clan to press on for a healthy jaunt through its snowy acreage in search of the Yule Log.

Visitors, organizers say, can have the hap-hap-happiest post-Christmas at the 33rd annual hunt, which begins at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 26, near the Visitor Center, 4100 Route 53, Lisle.

Who couldn't use a good airing out after several days of indulging in sweets and drinks and yummy treats?

That's what arboretum organizers say, and that's why they bumped up the date of the annual hunt from after the New Year to right after Christmas — so people can share the fun with family visiting from out of town.

“We've had some requests,” said Marilyn Baysek, special events manager. “It would be a fun thing to do with the out-of-town guests. What can we do today? Well, let's go outside.”

Each year, Yule log hunters head out to embrace the majesty of the arboretum's winter landscape, bundled in full snow gear and clutching a clue sheet in search of the storied log.

It's OK to forget the saw. And the furthest you'll dig is under several inches of recent snowfall. Finders pull the log back with a rope.

Yule log lore dates back to pagan times in the north countries when each year on the winter solstice — the shortest day of the year — families would go out into the woods, cut down a tree and drag it home, Baysek said. They'd douse it in wine, saw it in half and burn one half and put the other half under their bed to ward off lightning strikes.

The ceremony was performed to bring back the light — and each day after would get longer.

The hunt requires no actual knowledge of the arboretum's 1,700 acres — just an ability to solve riddles and follow clues.

Fifteen trail guides will spread out across the grounds to keep people on track. As each riddle is solved, they'll receive a punch on their clue card. The group that finds the Yule log must have all the appropriate punches to prove they've followed every step to finding it.

The hunt is followed with a ceremonial bonfire and a toast of wassail.

“It's sort of like participating in a pageant or a Renaissance fair,” Baysek said. “People can sense themselves transferring back to what people long ago might have done.”

No need to wonder where the winners will store the giant log. They'll receive wooden medallions, as well as tree cookies made by Butter Bella Bakery.

A new character — Yulanda — will interact with the crowd and share her puns and riddles.

“She'll be the ghost of Christmas present,” Baysek said. “The whole thing is going to be very theatrical and very improv with the audience.”

For the littlest Yule log hunters, a twig hunt takes place near the Visitor Center.

For more information, visit www.mortonarb.org or call (630) 968-0074.

If you go

If you go

<b>What:</b> Yule Log Hunt

When: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 26

<b>Where:</b>Morton Arboretum Visitor Center, 4100 Route 53, Lisle

<b>Cost:</b>Adults $11, seniors $10, children ages 2 to 17 $8, younger than 2 are free

<b>Info:</b> mortonarb.org or (630) 968-0074