Advent 2024 and The Winter Solstice

Today, with the fewest hours of daylight, is the day to go out and fetch greenery to bring into the house, to encourage the return of the sun.

The tradition of bringing greenery into the home goes back a Very long way. This would have been the only decoration available to the poorest homes.

And even earlier each plant had a meaning.........Holly was a symbol of everlasting life and fertility, Ivy was an anti-witching plant with medicinal values, Rosemary was holy and magical and Bay was sacred to Apollo and Aescutapious, the God of medicine. Mistletoe was also associated with fertility and used by Druids in their ceremonies.

Christmas wreaths made of greenery are also ancient, thought to date back to Roman times when they decorated homes during Saturnalia. The wreath is thought to be a symbol of the wheel of the year. (The word Yule is usually thought to come from the Nordic word jol but may come from their word for wheel.......houl).

I've included this a few times on the day of the Winter Solstice but not for a year or two, so here it is again.

Susan Cooper is an author best known for a series of fantasy novels for children

And I've had this book for at least 3 years and still not got around to reading it, must make an effort this year despite having all the good library books to get through.

It has 12 stories from various countries that have been passed down through the generations.

(Anyone in the BBC Look East area would have seen that they featured the Christmas Tree Festival at Stowmarket, that I visited a couple of weeks ago, on the programme last night, it really was the best ever in all the years I've been visiting)

Back Tomorrow

Sue