Swavesey Meridian Dec/Jan 2007
December already, short days, long nights, colder weather- sound depressing? Not if you live in Swavesey! Lots of events to brighten up our lives both before and after Christmas; Christmas Fairs, Markets, Children’s Plays, Christmas Lights in Market Street and the Carols in Market Street for all the family. After Christmas there are New Year celebrations and RADSOCs production of Toad of Toad Hall to enthral you, so whether you want a quiet time with the family or to be entertained there is something for you. Before we know it, it will be spring again.
A very Merry Christmas and Happy Healthy New Year to you all
Ed.
EDITORIAL
FRONT COVER - ‘Fireside at Christmas‘ from an acrylic painting by Alison Lucas
To our ancestors the shortest day (21st December) marked the lowest ebb of the year, but it also marked the day when the sun was reborn, gradually growing in strength to the Midsummer Solstice. Many ancient standing stones, stone circles and other monuments are aligned with the winter sunrise on the 21st of December. The most famous being Newgrange in Ireland, where a finger of sunlight shines along the dark entrance through a narrow aperture above the monument's entrance. Other sites are correspondingly aligned to the Midsummer sunrise, highlighting the importance placed on these two dates.
Yule was the traditional name for the celebrations around the 25th; the festival lasted for twelve days, which are now the twelve days of Christmas. The origin of the word Yule seems to originate from the Anglo Saxon word for sun and light. Most likely regarding the rebirth of the sun from the shortest day. In many places fires or candles were kindled to burn through the twelve days that marked the festivities. Another fire tradition was that of the Yule log, lit from the remains of last years log at sunset on the 25th of December. The Yule log was often of Oak or Ash, and the burned remains of it were thought to guard a home against fire and lightning. The ashes were also sprinkled on the surrounding fields to ensure good luck for the coming years harvest. The largest remaining part of the log was kept safe to kindle next years fire. Fraser in his book 'The Golden Bough' suggests that Midwinter was a major fire festival in ancient times, and it is highly probable that the Yule Log was a remnant of that tradition.
Yule was the traditional name for the celebrations around the 25th; the festival lasted for twelve days, which are now the twelve days of Christmas. The origin of the word Yule seems to originate from the Anglo Saxon word for sun and light. Most likely regarding the rebirth of the sun from the shortest day. In many places fires or candles were kindled to burn through the twelve days that marked the festivities. Another fire tradition was that of the Yule log, lit from the remains of last years log at sunset on the 25th of December. The Yule log was often of Oak or Ash, and the burned remains of it were thought to guard a home against fire and lightning. The ashes were also sprinkled on the surrounding fields to ensure good luck for the coming years harvest. The largest remaining part of the log was kept safe to kindle next years fire. Fraser in his book 'The Golden Bough' suggests that Midwinter was a major fire festival in ancient times, and it is highly probable that the Yule Log was a remnant of that tradition.
The Yule Log gradually transformed into a smaller, table ornament embellished with greenery and candles with the advent of closed fires and hearths. By the Victorian era it was also found in edible form as a chocolate roll smothered in icing sugar and topped with a Christmas scene or a sprig of holly.
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