Fire of Comfort

"There's something magical about having a fire. The crackles and snaps...the warm, flickering light...everything always seems safe and cozy if you're sitting in front of a fire. And if you've got a hot tiger tummy to lie against...well!"

—Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes

This is where a fireplace represents comfort, companionship and rest. Might be found at a Good Guy Bar or a Big Fancy House. Or at an inn.

Additionally can symbolize the relief and warmth of the home, which is a very old motif dating back to Ancient Greece.

Examples of Fire of Comfort include:

Advertising

• Every Christmas commercial ever made tends to use this in some way, but notable ones are Quaker Oats, York Peppermint Patties and various brands of coffee and eggnog.

Live Action TV

• A remote-controlled fireplace is used to suggest a newfound solace for DiNozzo in the beginning episodes of NCIS Season 5; the case had the character fighting to accept the departure of his love interest after the relationship, which was the Mole cover for his mission, went to hell with the mission itself. Served an in-plot purpose, too, as a running gag during the episode was to have DiNozzo all wet when the garden's... aspersor tubes? got activated again and again.
• The Yule Log is a television program which is broadcast traditionally on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, originally by New York City television station WPIX but now by many other Tribune Company-owned television stations. The program, which has been two to four hours in duration, is a film loop of a yule log burning in a fireplace, with a traditional soundtrack of classic Christmas music playing in the background. It is broadcast without commercial interruption.

Literature

• Gandalf is bearer of the the ring of fire in Lord of the Rings.
  • In Elrond's hall, the heroes gather to hear tales in the hall of fire.
  • The campfire at Weathertop where Strider tells the tale of Beren and Luthien. A very well done scene which captures what it really can feel like camping, clustering round the fire with the night all about.
• A fireplace appears in Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome.
• Kantri in Tales of Kolmar lighting fires for humans is repeatedly portrayed as a kind and friendly act. In The Lesser Kindred Kedra lights a fire for his father, who sits and wallows in it contentedly - Kantri can't be harmed by wood fire, so it's more like a hot bath to them.

Mythology

• Hestia is the Greek goddess of the hearth, home and family. All three are closely associated with each other.

Tabletop Games

• In Traveller, hearthfires are sacred to the Sword Worlders. It is the duty of men to guard them and the duty of women to tend them. Police, soldiers and such, in the sword worlds, speak of themselves as "guarding the hearthfires".
• In the first and second editions of Dungeons and Dragons, halflings, as a race, consider a fire on the hearth to be the central feature of a comfortable existence. The concept is so firmly a part of halfling culture that they will keep a small fire going even in the height of a summer heat wave.

Video Games

• In Kingdom Hearts, Kairi's home world is introduced with a pan up from the fire. The symbolism of home is obvious.
• In World of Warcraft, a campfire is used primarily for cooking, but it will hasten the health regeneration of those gathered around it. It's a bit silly, but not uncommon, for players to put one down before facing a dungeon boss; every little bit of Spirit helps, right?
  • In the Wrath of the Lich King expansion zone Zul'Drak, players assist the Argent Crusade against both the native ice trolls and the invading undead Scourge. Many quests involve taking the fight to these enemies, but one assigns you the simple (but not necessarily easy) task of gathering enough wood from the thorny local flora to make some tired soldiers a campfire. It's oddly satisfying to see a bunch of NPC crusaders sit down and rest around a cozy fire you made for them.

Web Comics

• Antimony in Gunnerkrigg Court (and her ancestors) has this as an always-active personal power: while her fire affinity is not readily obvious, magical beings invariably sense her nature and seek such a company. When she learned to turn her Etheric self into visibly Wreathed in Flames form and demonstrated it to the ex-fairies, this intensified to outright mass squeeing. Fire elementals as such, while not really met so far, are subjects of "wonderful stories" for other magical creatures.

Web Original

• For those outside the coverage area of a Tribune station and its seasonal Yule Log (see Live Action TV, above), YouTube has literally dozens of Yule Log videos, in durations up to 8 hours.

Other

• PC treasures Inc. publishes the DVD Fireside Reflections, which is a video of a fireplace to be played on a television set.
• Amazon has its own set of fireplace apps sold for a tablet. As a bonus the tablet's brand name is "Kindle Fire".