Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 56: The Twelve Days of Christmas

Most people know about The Twelve Days of Christmas via the traditional song listing an array of strange gifts - including 'A Partridge in a Pear Tree' - that 'My True Love Sent to Me'. I had always assumed that the gifts were sent in the run-up to Christmas, but actually the Twelve Days of Christmas commence on 26th December, the day after Christmas. 

According to Caitlin Matthews, the Twelve Days of Christmas are called 'Omen Days' in Wales and Brittany (click through to the link for her full explanation of this). Each of the twelve days corresponds to a month in the coming year - the first day (today, 26th December) corresponds to January, the second day - 27th December - to February, and so on. The idea is that on each day you look out for an oracle which forecasts what you can expect for the corresponding month of the year ahead. You can either take note of events or occurrences during each day, or you can use a divinatory system such as the runes or tarot for your predictions. 

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 56

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Starting from today, until Twelfth Night (6th January) keep alert for oracles forecasting the months of the year ahead. Or do daily divinations using the method of your choice to get your forecast.      

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 55: Christmas

Christmas means many things to many people -  religious festival, midwinter celebration, family gathering, time out of time, day off work... 

Even more so than Samhain/Hallowe'en, Christmas is a victim of its own success in that many of the trappings surrounding it have overtaken and masked its original meaning. To add to the confusion, customs from other midwinter festivals have become mixed in over the centuries, creating something greater than the sum of its parts.

As a Pagan, I don't celebrate Christmas as a religious event but I do celebrate it as a secular midwinter festival which is a huge part of the over-culture I live in (just as I enjoy Hallowe'en as a secular autumn festival, celebrating Samhain as a religious event). 

All around me friends and family decorate their homes and get together to eat, drink, exchange gifts, make merry. We eat special seasonal foods, listen to seasonal songs, tell traditional tales and watch Christmas films. We pull crackers and roast chestnuts, kiss under the mistletoe and hope for snow. For some of these people Christmas has religious significance, for others it doesn't. Yet we are all united by the celebration itself. And this is what I - a Pagan - love about Christmas. Religious or secular, it brings people, communities, families, friends together in celebration.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 55

Christmas

Whatever the day means to you, and however you are spending it, I wish you a Merry Christmas - religious or secular. 

      

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 52: Family Traditions

 

In the days between Yule and Christmas, I'm thinking about all the personal or family Traditions I associate with this time of year. As I've mentioned before now, it was my family's Tradition that we put the Christmas tree and decorations up during the weekend prior to Christmas. We were also scrupulously careful to make sure they all came down and were neatly packed away on Twelfth Night - it's supposed to be unlucky to leave them up after that.

When T and I were married, we had a Tradition of enjoying a special feast on Christmas Eve - smoked salmon, caviar, oysters, avocado and king prawn salad, crusty bread and an indulgent dessert, accompanied by a bottle of champagne. It was the only time of year we ate such a luxurious spread, but we did it without fail every Christmas Eve. I'm not quite sure where the Tradition came from, except that it was something we did on our first Christmas Eve together, enjoyed and decided to keep doing every year! 

I should say here that I don't think something has to have originated way back in the mists of time to be considered a Tradition. After all even the most ancient of Traditions was a new idea once. The only thing necessary for something to become a Tradition is repetition. Then again, it is really something special when a Tradition becomes so established that it is passed along to others, or down the generations within a family. 

One inter-generational Tradition that was passed to me was that of 'First Footing' on New Years Eve. My maternal grandmother was of Scottish ancestry and this Hogmanay custom was very important to her. As a tall, dark-haired man, my Dad was called upon to step outside the door just before midnight on New Year's Eve. Then as soon as the clock had struck twelve, he'd knock on the door and be admitted back into the house, carrying with him a piece of coal and a glass of whisky, symbolically bringing luck and plenty into the house.

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 52:

Winter Traditions

What winter family Traditions have you inherited? Do you still follow them? Have you passed them along?

How do you feel about the Winter Traditions that you hold? How does continuing them make you feel? Are there any you would like to drop? What stops you from doing so? If they no longer serve you, think about leaving them behind. Consider starting new Traditions that better reflect you and your life. Which Traditions continue to hold meaning for you? How will you carry them forward? With whom will you share them?

What winter Traditions have you initiated? How did they start? How have they developed? Who have you shared them with?

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 48: Saturnalia

 

The Roman Festival of Saturnalia was celebrated from 17th-23rd December, with feasting, gift-giving and much merry-making. It was a time when normal social conventions were turned on their head - gambling was allowed and slaves were waited on by their owners. A 'King of the Saturnalia', was elected by drawing lots and would preside over the festivities, issuing arbitrary whimsical orders which had to be obeyed by his 'subjects'.

It's believed that some of the customs associated with later European celebrations of a Winter festival have been influenced by the Saturnalia festivities, including that of electing a 'Lord of Misrule'.

To this day, the days leading up to the Winter Solstice and Christmas have a quality of 'time out of time' mixed in with a celebratory atmosphere. Schools wind down for the holidays and there is often more fun than learning going on; a festive air pervades the workplace and there are office parties, and meals out; the darkness is lit by a myriad of fairy lights; people frantically shop and prepare for feasting and merrymaking with loved ones. There is a sense of anticipation, and to a certain extent the usual rules are suspended. 

Isn't it interesting how our modern celebrations so closely mirror many of the ways the Romans celebrated their mid-winter festival 2,000 years ago? Is it because the Romans set a template that has been followed down the years? Or is it human nature to feel the need to cut loose, let our hair down and light up the darkness with a big party? Or is it just the tension between the darkest, slowest, quietest time of the year crashing up against our impatient desire for the return of the light?  Personally I suspect it's a little of each. 

Winter Blessings amd Beauties, Day 48

Saturnalia

Take a few moments to centre yourself. Breathe slowly and deeply and feel your way into the energy of midwinter. How does the contradiction between the slow, deep rhythms of the sleeping earth, and the excited, jubilant energies of the human world as it gears up for midwinter festivities in anticipation of the turning of the darkness feel? It feels to me as if the two opposing forces coming together generates a charge of intoxicating energy. Is it any wonder that the King of the Saturnalia and the Lord of Misrule revel in their ability to turn convention on its head and undermine the usual order of things?  They are the perfect incarnation of the paradoxical midwinter energies in this liminal time, when winter approaches its peak - which is simultaneously the point at which it begins to wane.

Winter Blessings and Beauties, Day 34: St Barbara's Twigs

Today, 4th December, is St Barbara's Day. It's uncertain whether she ever existed as a real person, but legend tells us that she was sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. While she was in prison awaiting her execution, she found a dried up cherry twig. She sprinkled it with a little water each day, and miraculously it blossomed, comforting her with its pretty flowers (some versions of the story say it blossomed on the day of her death). 

The story has led to a charming German and Austrian custom where people cut cherry twigs on St Barbara's Day and bring them into their homes - and the warmth causes the tight winter buds to gradually unfold and flower. They are called 'Barbarazweig', which means (St) Barbara's twig(s). If all goes well they are supposed to flower at Christmas - some sources say at Yule. I think this is a lovely idea, and I intend to try it this year.

Winter Blessings and Beauties: Day 34

St Barbara's Twigs

Usually cherry twigs are used for St Barbara's Twigs, but other flowering tree and shrub twigs are suitable, including apples, pears, plums, Japanese quince (chaenomeles), forsythia, witch hazel or lilac.

They should be cut on 4th December (if you want them to flower in time for Christmas) and they need to have been exposed to frost in order for the flowering mechanism to be triggered, so if it's still mild in your area apparently you can put them in the freezer for a couple of days. It sounds drastic, but I suppose they'd have to put up with such cold for longer than a couple of days if they were left out on the tree!

When you bring them in, keep them in a cool room overnight. The next day, soak them in tepid water for an hour or two. Then cut a couple of centimetres off the bottom of the stems, slanting the cut edge and arrange them in a vase. Place the vase in a warm, bright spot and wait... hopefully you will be rewarded with flowers. It is considered especially lucky if they bloom on Christmas Day as it means you have a good year ahead of you..     

The Ice Age

Like most of the UK, we are currently enduring the most extreme snowy weather for decades.

It began on 21st December, when we awoke to find that heavy snow had fallen during the night. Temperatures had been below freezing for about a week beforehand, so the snow was slow in melting. The driveway here is steep, and leads out to a steep downhill slope, which made it impossible to use the car for a couple of days. However, by the afternoon of 23rd December, enough tarmac was visible for me to try driving into the village. The journey was a little hair raising on the way down, but the journey back was much worse. Although I was only gone for just over an hour, thick snow had begun to fall by the time I returned, and the car wheels spun uselessly as I attempted to get back to Halfway Up A Hill. Cursing my luck and coaxing the car, somehow I made it to the drive entrance, where I was only able to manoeuvre the car in through the gates and safely home with the help of my neighbour and IB, who was waiting anxiously at home for me.

Over the next couple of days, the snow fell, melted a little, re-froze into thick black ice, more snow fell, and repeated the cycle. By Christmas morning, the road to the house was completely impassable by car, and we feared we'd miss the family Christmas happening just a few miles away at my parents' new home. It was eventually arranged that if we could hike out on foot to the main road, Dad would come and pick us up. After making provisions for the animals, we quickly packed some goodies for an overnight stay, and stuffed them and the Christmas presents into two rucksacks. Dressed warmly in our Christmas finery with thick woolly jumpers, coats, scarves and boots, we slid gingerly down the hill where we were very relieved to find Dad waiting for us in a warm car.

Christmas was lovely, we had a wonderful time with Mum, Dad, and my brother, sister-in-law and nephew eating, drinking, laughing and of course watching the first instalment of the much anticipated Dr Who special! The next day, Dad drove us home. Overnight it had rained, and although there was still a lot of ice around, within a couple of days we were able to get the car out and stock up on much needed supplies for ourselves and the critters. We were also lucky enough to get a delivery of heating oil because on New Year's Day, the snow began falling again.
The day had been sunny and clear - although bitterly cold - and we were planning to drive over to Mum and Dad's again just after lunch to see my brother, sister and brother-in-law who were all visiting for New Year. Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately - one of the chickens (Blanche, who is now quite advanced in chicken years) was looking unwell*, and with the weather being so bitter we decided to leave our departure until after sundown to ensure she was safely tucked up in the hen house for the night. This proved to be our salvation, as just before the sun set the snow began falling heavily. We waited to see if it would ease off, but it continued to fall and in the end we decided not to risk getting stranded.

It was a wise decision. Heavy snow once again blanketed the area, and the car was again stranded on the driveway. I hoped that at some stage we would be able to escape our icy prison and see my siblings, but it proved impossible - and this time Mum and Dad's house was as cut off as ours.

On Monday 4th January, I was due back at work (I currently have 2 part time jobs) and I managed to hike down the hill to catch a bus, this time with the aid of a torch as it was before dawn - yikes! However, it was soon clear that the weather was a severe handicap to business as usual, and I was sent home early from both jobs. Since then, we have had about 6-8" more snow (it snowed all day yesterday) and my place of work has been closed due to the weather.

It is nice not to have to go to work, and the snow looks so pretty. But I am more than tired now of our enforced isolation. The snow is now so deep - with thick, treacherous ice concealed beneath - that even going for a walk is out of the question. Just feeding the chickens is becoming an extreme sport! It is true to say that the novelty of this weather has well and truly worn off for me! And as yet there is no thaw in sight. Luckily we have plenty of provisions and the house is warm. In the meantime, I'm praying for a rise in temperature outside.

* For those worried about Blanche, rest assured that she is currently nestled cosily in a cardboard box next to a radiator in the house and is showing signs of improvement.

Review

Snowed in on a cold, icy Christmas Eve, I have finally found time to look back over the last twelve months.





This year, I have mostly been

• Picking up the pieces of my life and starting over


• Re-finding myself and remembering who I truly am


• Giving thanks for the beloved friends and family who stick with me through thick and thin


• Stumbling my way back into paid employment for the first time in many years


• Realising that my home is now my home, and making it truly mine


• Mourning significant losses


• Trusting my intuition as never before


• Getting away from it all in Spain, Sussex, Somerset, Kent and Dorset with some of my favourite people

• Finding that actually, I can be organised and efficient!
• Contemplating a whole new world of possible futures
• Enjoying having family living close by
• Quite unexpectedly finding new love...

What have you mostly been doing this year?

Blessed Yuletide, Merry Christmas, and the Happiest of New Years to you.

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...

Although I'm a girl of simple tastes, once in a while isn't it nice to enjoy a little luxury?


The thing I've come to realise over the years is that the key to a true luxury is keeping it a special once in a while thing. For example, every Christmas Eve, T and I enjoy what we call our 'feast'. We prepare a spread of special luxury foods that we rarely eat the rest of the year round (and certainly not all at once!) - smoked salmon, caviar, avocado & king prawn salad, crusty french bread, oysters (fresh & smoked) etc., all washed down with champagne and followed by a wickedly tempting dessert. We have maintained this tradition for 22 years now, ever since our first Christmas together. As far as I remember, we haven't missed a year - but it has been a strictly once a year thing. And for that reason it has stayed special, something we can look forward to and really enjoy without it becoming stale or boring. Dining on these foods all the time would rob the event of its magic - as well as being prohibitively expensive!


Recently I've been thinking about the little luxuries I enjoy and how keeping them as luxuries really makes them that much more enjoyable. Because of this, they never fail to put a smile in my heart. Here, in no particular order, are a few of my favourite things:

• My subscription to 'Sagewoman' magazine. Sagewoman is an American magazine which is hard to find here in the UK. So I have a subscription and once every quarter a lovely thick, glossy new copy plops through the letter box and I find some me time to sit and enjoy every last delicious morsel of it.
• My special coffee mug. This is a mug I found in a charity shop and just fell in love with. It's a handmade earthenware one, and whilst this gives it a rustic solidity, at the same time its graceful curves and pretty speckled glaze lend it an air of delicacy. This is my special mug, not used for day to day cups of tea and instant coffee. No, this is the mug I use when I have time to make proper coffee (sometimes vanilla coffee, or hazelnut coffee if I'm feeling really decadent!), with plenty of boiled milk - homemade latte, I suppose. Yum!
• Although I can't often justify the time or the amount of hot water involved, I simply adore a long bath scented with something gorgeous from Lush. I often say I haven't yet found one of their products I don't like, so any of their bath bombs, bath melts or bubble bars fits the bill.
• A bag of Whittard's chocolate covered cappuccino coffee beans - bitter, sweet, crunchy - scrummy!
• 'Nest therapy'. This is the term I coined for some serious relaxation, when I'm absolutely exhausted and need to self-nurture. I simply pile up every pillow, cushion, blanket, duvet and eiderdown I can find, grab a stack of favourite reading material and a drink (perhaps cocoa if it's cold or home made lemonade if it's hot), and snuggle into my 'nest'.* I read if I want to, or snooze if even that's too much trouble! Nest therapy is cosy in winter and simply divine under a shady tree on the lawn in the middle of summer.

What are a few of your favourite things, your magical little luxuries? Do leave a comment letting me know!

* White peacocks are, of course, optional.

Winter Senses

Five winter sights...
Bare branches silhouetted against the low winter sun... The robin waiting hopefully on the bird table for scraps... My breath made visible... Fake snow and fairy lights... The red kites coming down off the hills in bad weather...
Five winter smells...
Roast chestnuts... Pine needles... The welcoming spice of mulled wine... 'Snowcake' soap from Lush... The pungent rubber of a hot water bottle...
Five winter sounds...
The creak and tinkle of breaking ice on the goose pond... Judy Garland singing 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'... Scraping ice from the car windscreen... The wind buffeting the house on a stormy night... Ancient radiators ticking and clanking as they warm up/cool down...
Five winter tastes...
Warm home made mince pies... The juicy citrus of satsumas... Sloe gin, sweet, strong and fruity... Brussels sprouts fresh from the garden... Christmas pudding and brandy sauce!...
Five winter sensations...
The frozen earth, rock hard underfoot... Cold nose, fingers and toes... My lovely soft mohair scarf, warm around my neck... The prickles of a holly wreath... The friendly weight of extra blankets on the bed...

Adieu, 2007

Let me be clear: I'm usually a happy, positive person. I see the silver lining in the cloud, the glass half-full, and make lemonade out of life's lemons. I don't believe in good or bad luck, I believe it's all in your perspective.

But let me also be clear: 2007 sucked. Big time.

I can't honestly remember another year which has been so determinedly, stubbornly, negative. And I don't mean just for me. Everyone I know has had a lousy year - bereavements, illnesses, financial hardships, job losses, workplace dramas, failed relationships have abounded. All topped off by truly awful weather. As I look back on the year, the overriding sensation is of a constant uphill struggle.

It seems to me there must be some big, cosmic pattern at work. I don't know enough about astrology to make an informed comment, but surely there is some kind of major planetary disharmony going on? And hopefully if that is the case, it can't last forever?

In my search for clues that the tide of fortune may be turning, I remember that Christmas 2006 was a bit of a disaster for my family. We had all planned to have Christmas together at my sister's house. Unfortunately the building work they were having done wasn't finished in time so the venue had to be changed to Mum & Dad's. Then the person who'd promised to house sit and care take the animals for us so we could be away, discovered she couldn't house sit after all - so T & I couldn't go. In the meantime, my parents went down with food poisoning which lasted throughout Christmas, my sister-in-law's car broke down on the journey up from Somerset leaving her stranded at the roadside with my 4 year old nephew, and to cap it all off, while my sister and her husband were spending Christmas at Mum & Dad's, their own home was burgled.

This year, Christmas has been a much more enjoyable experience! After a somewhat manic lead up to the big day, all has gone smoothly and easily. Everyone has been relaxed and happy, the food preparation went smoothly, there was plenty of it and it was delicious: no culinary disasters to report. Excellent gifts have been given and received, the house has been comfortable and cosy, the cats accepted my sister's dog quite happily and even the weather's been quite mild, allowing for pleasant walks interspersed with all the feasting! Quite a contrast to last year. So now I'm feeling quite positive that perhaps the change is coming. 2007 is drawing to a close; 2008 will be better!

Yes, at heart I'm an optimist. And there is plenty to look forward to in the coming year. My Mum & Dad are moving to Wales, Avalon Spring is going to be wonderful, my brother is planning another big party in the spring, and that's just the tip of the iceberg! We have a whole new year to fill up with fun.

Thanks, 2007, for the lessons learned about coping with adversity, the strength of family and community and acting with grace when under pressure. Thank you, and adieu.

And hallo and welcome, 2008! We've been SO looking forward to meeting you!

Full

Full of mince pies. Full of warmth. Full of giving. Full of receiving. Full of mulled wine. Full of fun. Full of laughter. Full of hugs. Full of roast goose. Full of memories. Full of surprises. Full of gratitude. Full of love.

I'm satisfyingly full of family Christmas. Yum.

'Twas The Afternoon Before Christmas...

It's Christmas Eve. The presents are wrapped, the fridge is full of food and drink, my loved ones have arrived safely through fog and ice.

Full and content after a lunch of pumpkin soup we're going to sit snugly by the fire and just enjoy the pleasure of all being together, and watching our cats make friends with my sister's dog! If only my brother and his family were here it would be perfect!

Wishing all my blog friends a Blessed Yule, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - or Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Da, as they say hereabouts.

December Will Be Magic Again...

It's December - which means Christmas is nearly upon us.

Yes, I'm Pagan, but I do celebrate Christmas. Christmas has always been a time to get together with my family, and I wouldn't miss it.

Yule, the winter solstice (21st December) is when I shall make my Pagan seasonal celebration. Rather like my attitude to Hallowe'en and Samhain, I enjoy both Yule and Christmas, but they mean very different things to me. Yule is a spiritual celebration marking the shortest day (and from then on, the returning sun), and my Christmas is a secular one, a time of family reunions and celebration.

This year I will celebrate Yule with the members of my local Pagan Moot, as well as a small solo ritual. Then a few days later my Mum and Dad and also my sister and brother-in-law (and their dog!) will be joining us here in Wales for Christmas. I'm really looking forward to doing the entertaining. We've ordered a goose from a free-range farm just up the road (don't tell Buffy & Angel) and I'm planning lots of other locally produced Welsh yumminess too. I've been splitting lots of logs so we'll be able to have plenty of fires in the woodburning stove. And I'm already getting excited about putting up the decorations in our lovely new kitchen-diner.

Three cheers for multiculturalism!