The forgotten Studio: P.P.P.P. no 2 Winter Solstice and Mistletoe

Sunday 26 August 2012

P.P.P.P. no 2 Winter Solstice and Mistletoe

P.P.P.P. no 2 Winter Solstice and Mistletoe.

P IS FOR PERFORMANCE

Jethro Tull - Solstice Bells

Above; ''A Druid priestess bearing Mistletoe'', artist unknown.

Welcome to something new. I find I have an extreme lack of time during this Pre-Christmas period but, I think I have found a solution, and this is it. Introducing the four in one blog;

P. P.P. P.

And this is what it stands for; P is for POETRY, (or Poetry Wednesday), P is for PHOTO, (or Foto Friday), P is for PERFORMANCE, (or Song Saturday) and last but by no means least P is for PAINTING, (or Art Sunday).
This is how it’s going to be until Christmas, my economical four in one P. P. P. P. Take your time and savour this, it’s four in one and has to last all week.
P. P. P. P. The Winter Solstice and Mistletoe

The ancient pre-Christian celebration of the Winter Solstice (also known as Yule) is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year and has been celebrated in Britain from the earliest of times. The Druids would cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing. Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months. It's believed that the Druids began the tradition of the Yule log.

The Celts believed the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter and during this time a log was lit to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits and bring luck for the coming year.
Many of these customs are still followed today. They have been incorporated into both Christian and secular celebrations all over the world. Prior to the legalization of Christianity by the Emperor Constantine in 313, no universal date or celebration of the birth of Christ is recorded. Roman Pagans used to gather at the hill where the Vatican is now to commemorate the “Birth of the Unconquered Sun” This pagan feast was celebrated throughout the Empire either on December 25th, or January 6th, (depending on which calendar they were using). Most historians believe it was Constantine who replaced the pagan festival with that of Christmas. According to scholars of ancient writings the actual birthday of Christ was most likely around Easter time in about 3 BC. I find it somehow comforting to know that our ancestors celebrated the Winter Solstice and as times changed, belief changed, customs changed, the Solstice, under one name or another, has been constant through out history.

P IS FOR POEM; WINTER SOLSTICE & MISTLETOE

Mistletoe a Christmas poem by Walter de la Mare

Make it Snow !
Sitting under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
One last candle burning low,
All the sleepy dancers gone,
Just one candle burning on,
Shadows lurking everywhere:
Some one came, and kissed me there.

Tired I was; my head would go
Nodding under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
No footsteps came, no voice, but only,
Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,
Stooped in the still and shadowy air
Lips unseen - and kissed me there.

Exerts from; The Mistletoe (A Christmas Tale)
by Mary Darby Robinson

'Twas Christmas time, the peasant throng
Assembled gay, with dance and Song:
The Farmer's Kitchen long had been
Of annual sports the busy scene;
The wood-fire blaz'd, the chimney wide
Presented seats, on either side;
Long rows of wooden Trenchers, clean,
Bedeck'd with holly-boughs, were seen;
The shining Tankard's foamy ale
Gave spirits to the Goblin tale,
And many a rosy cheek--grew pale.

It happen'd, that some sport to shew
The ceiling held a MISTLETOE.
A magic bough, and well design'd
To prove the coyest Maiden, kind.
A magic bough, which DRUIDS old
Its sacred mysteries enroll'd;
And which, or gossip Fame's a liar,
Still warms the soul with vivid fire;
Still promises a store of bliss
While bigots snatch their Idol's kiss.

This MISTLETOE was doom'd to be
The talisman of Destiny;
Beneath its ample boughs we're told
Full many a timid Swain grew bold;
Full many a roguish eye askance
Beheld it with impatient glance,
And many a ruddy cheek confest,
The triumphs of the beating breast;
And many a rustic rover sigh'd
Who ask'd the kiss, and was denied.

P IS FOR PHOTO; WINTER SOLSTICE AND MISTLETOE
Dunnottar Castle

Dunnottar Castle has played an important role during many crucial episodes of Scottish History, however, it was originally known as a Pictish fortress, and its greatest hour came during Æthelstan 's invasion of Alba 934AD.

The castle is probably the most dramatic historical site in Scotland: a formidable castle rock, surrounded on three sides by the North Sea and accessed only by a narrow isthmus of land with a steep, stone-cut path leading to the top of the rock. For over 1000 years it played a crucial role in Scottish history, occasionally as Scotland’s last bastion, and has housed some of the nation's greatest historical figures including William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, and the Marquis of Montrose.

P IS FOR PAINTING
Druids Cutting the Mistletoe on the Sixth Day of the Moon
Henri Paul Motte
French, 1846 – 1922
Date: circa 1890-1900

The druidic mistletoe tradition in Britain is well known. The druidic priesthood valued mistletoe both as a peace symbol and in medicine. They harvested it with a golden sickle, never letting it touch the ground. Mistletoe on oak, the druids sacred tree, was especially valued.

An early 20th-century painting depicting the mid-winter festival at the
Gamla Uppsala temple.
Artist: Carl Larsson, Swedish

Before the arrival of Christianity in Sweden, Gamla Uppsala was the seat of Swedish kings and a ceremonial site known all over northern Europe. The settlement was home to royal palaces, a royal burial ground, and a great pagan temple. The stone church of Gamla Uppsala (Gamla Uppsala kyrka), is built over the pagan temple and dates from the early 12th century. Due to fire and renovations, the present church is only a remnant of the original cathedral.

"This is Yuletide!
Bring the holly boughs, Deck the old mansion with its berries red;
Bring in the mistletoe, that lover's vows Be sweetly sealed the while it hangs o'erhead.
Pile on the logs, fresh gathered from the wood, And let the firelight dance upon the walls,
The while we tell the stories of the good,
The brave, the noble, that the past recalls

anon

Ok..............thats it for this week, hope you enjoy it, all of the photos and paintings will enlarge if you click on them.

Sunday 26 August 2012

P.P.P.P. no 2 Winter Solstice and Mistletoe

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