The Holly and the Ivy

A small sprig of holly and ivy found on a quick walk to the edge of the village's  millennium wood. I didn't go right round the wood - it was incredibly muddy after all the rain we've had in the last week or two.

Holly was thought to bring good luck and a tree was often planted outside the cottage door, protection against lightening in a storm and from witches. It was cut to bring into the house for early decorations

Although Holly has male and female varieties it was a plant for men, who in medieval times would put a sprig on their hats - making them irresistible to women!

One legend says holly had yellow berries until Christ's blood was shed on the cross and the cross was made from the wood of a holly tree and used for the crown of thorns (other legends say Blackthorn which is far more painfully prickly).

Illustration from my book "A Christmas Scrapbook" with a late Victorian or Edwardian Christmas Card

Ivy was not welcomed in the house so much, it was thought of as a weak and clinging plant and because it was often seen in graveyards, climbing over tombstones it became associated with death. 

The Roman god Bacchus, a God of wine, wore a crown of ivy. He had a group of female worshippers known as Bacchae who would drink an intoxicating concoction of the juice of ivy leaves and the poisonous fly agaric mushroom. It was once believed that ivy wood in a glass of wine would filter out poisons.

Now Ivy needs to be appreciated as an important plant for wildlife, both for winter shelter and as food for birds, bees, moths, butterflies and other insects. 

The Choir of King's College Cambridge singing the well known Christmas Hymn . Once the pagan story of the fight between the male Holly and female Ivy to rule the winter season.

Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.

Yesterday's coffee for the 6th day of advent was Hazelnut - lovely.

St. Nicholas

 Saint Nicholas, whose day is celebrated in many countries today, came from a very wealthy family. He was a pious child and eventually became bishop of the city of Myra in Asia Minor in the fourth century and tradition says he gave away all the wealth he was left but preferred to do it  secretly - legends say once throwing some money through a window and another time dropping a bag of gold down a chimney where it landed in a stocking (or a shoe). 

He died around AD 326.

A Byzantine enamel of St Nicholas from a museum in Madrid.

In the C6 the Emperor Justinian built a church in his honour in Constantinople and his shrine in Myra (now in modern day Turkey) was a centre for pilgrimage until 1087 when Italian sailors(or pirates) stole his remains and took them to Bari in Southern Italy where another church for St Nicholas was built. He had become the patron saint of sailors due to legends of him saving  seamen in a violent storm.

All through Europe in the Middle Ages December 6th was the day that churches elected a boy-bishop a custom that has carried on in many places. The boy would reign until the feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28th and Nicholas soon became the patron saint of children as well as sailors.

This story of Saint Nicholas was taken to the USA by Dutch Protestant settlers in the 19th Century and  his name - Sinterklaas - became Santa Claus. His traditional appearance is because a man called Thomas Nast whose drawing of him - with white beard, fur trimmed robe and toys appeared in Harpers Magazine in the 1860s, illustrating the poem 'A Visit From St Nicholas' by Clement C Moore published several years earlier.

Before this time, here in the UK a yuletide figure of fun and feasting had been called the' Lord of Misrule', 'Spirit of Christmas' or 'Sir Christmas', 'Prince Christmas' or 'The Christmas Lord' since the mid 17th Century. A character created by playwright Ben Johnson in the early C17 for a play performed for royalty was called Old Christmas and had a white beard and many children. Christmas was then banned in 1647 by the Puritans, brought back after the end of the Civil War.

Eventually all these different stories and legends came together to give us the Father Christmas we know now.

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I got the bread-machine on yesterday and made a large loaf of 50/50 wholemeal /white. A couple of weeks ago I thought the machine had gone wrong. A medium loaf came out about 3 inches tall - maybe I'd got side-tracked and measured the flour wrong? So next time I double checked all the weighing and same problem. Try again with a new packet of yeast and it was a bit better.(All loaves were edible so not wasted, just needed two slices instead of one). Yesterday I started a new bag of flour and set it to large and a proper sized loaf turned out at the end, although slightly lop-sided.

I used to leave the lid open after taking the loaf out so any moisture wouldn't make it go rusty inside but realised that gradually the lid wasn't shutting tight. Now I balance a chopping board and a couple of tins on the lid to shut it properly, but sometimes the loaves don't come out as level as they should. They taste good though. 

I was beginning to think that was my fifth thing going wrong after the heating boiler glitch, the tins of tomatoes over the floor, a tooth needing a filling and the car suspension repairs! 

Yesterday, day 5 of the coffee advent, was Columbian again - I'm beginning to wonder....... where are the mocha, Irish cream, hazelnut and special Christmas blend that are mentioned on the box?.... Patience - is a virtue Susan!

Christmas Tree

 One of the winter illustrations from Angela Harding's book 'A Year Unfolding; A Printmakers View' She also used this as the front cover of 'Winter's Song' One of four pocket sized books published this year for each season - mainly with illustrations already published in her original book as well as some newer prints.

Winter,  Bringing back the tree

There was a year at the smallholding when we could have walked across fields and pulled a tree home . Red House Barns in Sternfield - across the fields from us started planting Christmas trees and using a barn there as a Pop-up Christmas Decoration shop, we walked there once or twice but  with no snow, pulling a tree home across muddy fields  would have been a bit messy!

The trees we planted at the smallholding - in the hope of having our own - never did well, and never got big enough to use.

Ang at  Tracing Rainbows had Oh Christmas Tree or O Tannenbaum on her blog the other day so here's a different Christmas tree song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-se7zpa71DYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-se7zpa71DY

Got my tree out of it's box and decorated during the week. It was the turn of mainly red and gold to come out of the bags in the box this year along with more natural colours. I have so many bits and bobs gathered from charity shops, car boot sales and home made over the years that I can have a variation every year. 

 I came across a tiny decoration that I don't remember at all..........................

and 2 pottery Santas that I'd forgotten.......................

And then there is the Colin decoration the family gave me that first Christmas without him, decorations hand made by me, friends and the few bits found from the charity fairs this year

It would Never win any "Best Decorated Christmas Tree" competition for sure but it's fine for me - not many others will see it!

Yesterday's Advent calendar coffee, day 4, just said Dark Roast - so I'm still waiting for the more interesting. Then I went to see the hygienist who I've been avoiding, I do go to the dentist 6 monthly but opted out of hygienist for a couple of years, as the dentist bills were plenty big enough. I was really nervous and remembered why! Another big bill paid. Back there for a filling on Monday - Oh Great Joy!