Community based day today. I was the third customer in the newly opened community shop at 7.30am this morning. A great venture and I hope villagers will support it. Then off for a meeting in connection with Clovelly Archive Association.

I am still working my way through the transcription of C17th admiralty documents. Today’s offering saw a ship stranded in Greenland by ice, crew members dying of ‘scurvie’ and eating sea horse blobber (sic). Yes, I thought that this was odd too, until I realised they are calling whales sea horses. No idea what they called sea horses!

Thought provoking report on history in schools on the Historical Association‘s website. Sad to see it being squeezed out of the curriculum.

Finally got hold of a copy of last week’s local paper, where local historian, Peter Christie, mentioned my witchcraft talk in very favourable terms; a real compliment – so thank you Peter.

Today’s alphabetical offering is:-

Mince Pies

At a time when most livestock was slaughtered in the autumn, to avoid the expense of winter feeding, mince pies were made as a method of preserving meat. A 1394 recipe for mince pies required:- 1 pheasant, 1 hare, 1 capon, 2 pigeons and 2 rabbits. The meat was separated from the bone and minced. Livers and hearts of these animals were added, plus 2 sheep’s kidneys, little meat balls of beef, eggs, pickled mushrooms, salt, pepper, vinegar and spices. This was then baked in a pie. The Puritans under Oliver Cromwell disapproved of them, believing them to be idolatrous; the then oval shape of the pie was thought to represent Jesus’ crib.

Local Christingle Service today. Lovely to see the children taking part. Lacking the person power to pre manufacture Christingles for all and in the interests of self-help, the participants were provided with the ingredients in order to assemble the Christingles themselves. This was somewhat akin to an audition for the next Blue Peter presenter. Try making a hole in an orange sufficient to insert a candle with only the aid of the contents of a handbag and without squirting orange juice all over the church. Watching folk struggle with this and with cocktail sticks and lighted candles, it occurred to me that Christingles fail on the health and safety front on so many levels. Let’s just hope no one realises this and they don’t become the next victim of a nanny state. In the past I was always concerned on such occassions because my daughters had very long hair, which was in danger of being ignited by the candle. It had not occurred to me that I needed to ensure my companion’s beard did not suffer the same fate. Hindsight is a wondeful thing.

Lamb’s Wool

A traditional wassailing brew. From  La mas ubal  (apple fruit day – Lammastide) Made from warm cider or ale, sugar, roasted apples or crab apples, spices and cream.

Lord of Misrule

The Lord of Misrule was appointed on 31^st October to rule from Christmas Eve until Candlemas (2nd February). The custom was not revived after the mid C17^th Puritan ban on Christmas celebrations.

Note to self – 7th December is far too early to start Christmas celebratory food. A lovely lunch with fellow villagers yesterday left me semi-comatose for the rest of the day. I did manage to write the rest of the Christmas cards. It is sad to think that I am probably the last generation who will send ‘real’ cards but I am a sucker for them. And, yes, I do include the ubiquitous ‘Christmas Letter’. I used to handwrite these by the dozen but the days have long since gone when anyone could actually read my handwriting. I am still living down the incident when I wrote ravioli on the shopping list and my personal shopper came back with carrots. Personally I am always really excited when cards I receive contain some form of letter, I don’t care how round and robin like it is, so I naively assume others like my offerings.

Today my daughter sent me the link to the eagerly anticipated annual Christmas Quiz. One year 3 PhDs, 2 graduates and 3 other super brains failed to finish it between them. Unfortunately we were so nearly there – with just three answers to go (out of 120) we sat up late into the night. Not only am I mega competitive but I hate to be beaten. Had we only done half of it I would probably have been content to give up! So you can try too I’ve included the link – just don’t blame me if it gets to you like it gets to me – and it is all in aid of charity.

I am realising that I should have spaced the advent alphabet entries out more evenly so just one offering today – K.

Kings

There is no biblical evidence for three kings; they were magi, or wise men. Magi were, like the followers of Zoroaster, those who read the stars and assessed what the stars foretold. Nor is there any evidence that there were three of them. The wise men brought three different gifts therefore there it is assumed that there were three wise men; an idea perpetualted by the carol, where they are given names. Their arrival is celebrated at Epiphany (6^th January).

Ivy today in our alphabet. Particularly special as this was my grandmother’s name. Her birthday was 3rd January, so perhaps the Christmas decorations were what inspired my great grandparents.

Ivy Gertrude Woolgar 1893-1963

Ivy

Ivy was a pagan sign of eternal life and this, like other pagan traditions,  was adopted by the Christians to represent everlasting life. Ivy was the symbol of the Roman god Bacchus. Bacchus is depicted wearing an ivy wreath, said to ward off drunkenness. Ivy was seen as the feminine compliment to the ‘masculine’ holly.

On New Year’s Eve people would put an ivy leaf in a dish of water. If it stayed fresh until Twelfth Night it was a sign of a good year to come.

More pudding boiling today. The snag with pudding making is that one always feels obliged to consume the remainder of the can of barley wine. As my recipe only requires an eight of a pint that leaves rather a lot to finish up. So, yesterday I was drinking alone and before 9.00am, definately before the sun was even approaching any sort of yardarm. As I rarely drink at all, this did leave one with a warm sort of a glow. Today it was time to rub brandy over the bottoms of the Christmas cakes, so again I end up reeking of alcohol.

Then there was a bit of an incident with the candles. The glass holder broke and the glitter on the glass holly balls was  interestingly flammable. Oh the joys of the festive season. Surely I can write Christmas cards without incident.

Hogmanay

Hogmanay’s origins date back to pagan rituals that marked the time of the winter solstice. Roman Saturnalia celebrations and the Viking celebrations of Yule (the origin of the twelve days of Christmas) were combined in Scottish celebrations of the New Year. Another Hogmanay custom is to thoroughly clean the house and burn juniper to rid the house of evil spirits in the coming year.

Many Hogmanay traditions involve fire, another throwback to pagan and Viking times. It is believed fire symbolized the sun’s return after the winter solstice or was used to ward off evil spirits.

Holly

Holly, Saturn’s sacred plant, was used to decorate Roman homes and images of Saturn during Saturnalia. They also gave each other holly wreaths.

This was taken up by early Christians trying to avoid persecution. They gradually converted it to a Christian custom and it came to represent the crown of thorns. Some believe that the holly originally had yellow berries and these became stained red with he blood of Christ.

Holly, from the Old English ‘Hollin’ was regarded as a magical plant and was also used in other pagan rituals. Druids believed that holly was evergreen, with attractive berries so the world was still beautiful when the oak shed it leaves. Druids wore holly wreaths when they went to cut mistletoe. Both the oak and the mistletoe were sacred to the druids.

Holly was used to protect people from witchcraft, although fairies and elves were thought to live in holly bushes. A holly walking stick was thought to protect the user from wild animal attack. To ensure pleasant dreams, holly should be tied to the bedpost.

A bit late with yesterday’s entry I’m afraid. Will try to get another one done later today. Just busy with Christmas and a mad social whirl – well, about as mad as it gets for me anyway. It is official, I have barn envy. Attended the Christmas social for a local Historical Society. It was held in the most amazing converted barn, complete with the biggest woodburner in the world. Said woodburner did consume half a tree during the evening but hey. My entire house would have fitted in the barn twice over. We provided some of the ‘entertainment’ by presenting this alphabet. I failed to print it quite large enough to read easily but the only mishap was when my partner in crime misread ‘idolatrous’ as ‘adulterous’. Not to worry, the audience seemed to think it was deliberate.

Christmas pudding making yesterday, followed by tree decorating and then the ‘Light up a Life’ service in aid of the local hospice.

Decorations

Houses have been decorated to celebrate the winter solstice since pagan times. Initially this was done using evergreens such as holly and ivy. The style of decorations changed in Victorian times and became focused round the Christmas tree for which glass decorations were produced. Now it is traditional to take down decorations before twelfth night but when evergreens were used, they were left until Candlemas day, 2^nd February.

First Footing

First Footing is a New Year’s custom, first associated with Scottish Hogmanay celebrations. The first person to enter the house after midnight on New Year’s Eve brought luck for the following year. Ideally the visitor should be a dark haired man carrying a piece of coal or other gift. Blond haired visitors would be reminiscent of Viking invaders so not welcome.

Good King Wenceslas

Wenceslas 907-935 was Duke of Bohemia from the age of fourteen. He was murdered by his mother Drahomira and brother Boleslav the cruel. The carol that bears his name dates from 1853.

Christmas Cake making time, a little later than usual this year. They seemed to turn out well. Then off to source a Christmas tree. The year I don’t have a tree I will have turned up my toes. Not for me the colour coordinated decor though. I have to have the largest tree my cottage will accommodate. Well actually, to be honest, I often opt for one that doesn’t fit in my cottage. Then I have to persuade someone of my acquaintance to wield a saw. I have to say that I am perfectly capable of wielding my own saw but not in zero temperatures. One year I famously took a tree back because it was too small, then there was the year that I took a seven foot tree on a bus crowded with Christmas shoppers – and that was in the days before trees got squished into handy nets. Anyway back to the reason for the large as possible tree. I have a large collection of tree decorations and they all have to be displayed. A large number of these are older than I am (that’s seriously ancient – what it is to be vintage!) and all have family significance; the collection having been added to each year. Some were made by my mother and daughters and all are precious. Last year, as I removed them from the tree, I made a note of any of particular interest so my descendants will know what they are disposing of! I even took the precaution of putting all the really special ones in one box. I haven’t worked out how these will be identified if I drop dead whilst they are on a tree!

Today then, the annual ‘spring’ clean of the living room that occurs pre decorations. This means all the historic brasses have been cleaned. In the days when I was a Tawny Owl, this task was delegated to the hapless Brownies – I am sure it was good for some badge or other. Now I am lacking slave labour I have to do my own. Tomorrow the tree comes in and the pudding gets made (yes late again).

Carols

Carol is a word of Anglo-Norman origin and actually means a circle dance, not necessarily accompanied by singing. Music was viewed as pagan and carols were banned from church services. Traditionally St Francis of Assisi is thought to have added singing to a Christmas service in a cave in Greccio, Umbria in 1223. In Medieval Times, carols or curls, were Christmas songs that were often regional in nature, sung by local groups of waits, sometimes as part of a mystery play. Most of the well known carols date from the C16^th. Carols fell out of use in the C17^th to be revived in the C19^th.

Christmas Carol

The well known story by Charles Dickens was first published in 1843, making Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and the three ghosts famous.

Christingles

Christingle means ‘Christ Light’ and they were originally part of the traditions of the Moravian Church. Each part of the Christingle was given a religious significance and Bishop Johannes de Watteville first used it as a way of explaining the meaning of Christmas in 1747. In 1968, the Christingle Service in the UK became a way of raising money for the Children’s Society

Crackers

Crackers were invented by confectioner Tom Smith in 1847 as a way of marketing his bonbons.

Yesterday it seemed like a good idea to join the community of Clovelly in their switching on of the Christmas lights celebration. That would be seemed. A lovely occasion but for some reason best known to myself, I failed to don my normal winter wear of a million thermal layers. We also arrived ridiculously early. Surely even I should have worked out that turning on lights and fireworks would require something resembling darkness? Unfortunately not. So I froze. Have already written note to self in next year’s diary along the lines of ‘on no account arrive before 4.30pm’ and ‘thermal socks required’. Clovelley’s cobbles may be iconic but the cold don’t half strike upwards from them! The Lapland holiday is looking increasingly like mid-life crisis madness.

The first half of the Cs for the advent calendar today and cake making for me, later than usual this year. For someone who can’t cook – and I do mean REALLY can’t cook – it is incongruous that I always make cakes and pudding.

Cake

Originally a ‘plum pottage’ was eaten at the end of a period of fasting on Christmas Eve. Spices, fruit and honey were added to make a celebratory dish and to represent the gifts of the wise men. Richer household, with ovens, converted this to a plum cake. Neither contained plums but they did include fruit such as raisins. This was traditionally eaten on Twelfth Night rather than Christmas Day. It didn’t become a Christmas Day cake until Twelfth Night celebrations were banned in 1870.

Candles

The use of candles at Christmas derives from the many light festivals that accompany the winter solstice in different traditions. In Victorian times, candles were placed, rather dangerously, on Christmas trees, before these gave way to electric fairy lights. Martin Luther is credited with being the first to add candles to an indoor tree in the C16^th. He was trying to recreate the impression of the stars shining on the outdoor trees.

Candy Canes

It is thought that sweets in the shape of shepherds’ crooks were first made in 1670 at the request of Cologne Cathedral’s choirmaster in order to quieten children during services. Candy canes were white until the beginning of the C20^th. According to the National Confectioner’s Association, in 1847, German immigrant August Imgard used the candy cane to decorate a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. Religious symbolism has been attached to the candy cane. The white is said to represent Christ’s purity and red His shed blood. Traditionally, the three red stripes are for the Holy Trinity.

Cards

The First Christmas Card

The earliest reference to a Christmas card is thought to be that of  1843 in the diary of Henry Cole, director of V & A Museum. The first commercial design, by John Horsley, was issued in 1846 when 1000 copies were printed.

Bells

The association between Christmas and bells, particularly church bells, is a longstanding one. Christian church tradition starts the new day at sunset on Christmas Eve. Services that began after that time would be regarded as the first Christmas Day service and bells would be rung. Some churches ring only the largest bell four times before midnight, followed by all the bells being rung in celebration at midnight.

Boar’s Head

This tradition probably dates from Anglo-Saxon times and is based on Norse sacrifices to the goddess to Freyr, to bless the new year. A boar’s head with an apple in its mouth is the heart of a traditional Medieval banquet. Queen’s College Oxford celebrate the Boar’s Head on the Saturday before Christmas. Apparently a former student escaped from a boar by thrusting a copy of Aristotle down its throat.

Boxing Day

The day to box up excess food to share with the poor. Church alms boxes were often distributed on this day. Modern Christmas ‘boxes’ take the form of money.

The first in my alphabetical historical trivia advent calendar. Yes I know there are 24 days and 26 letters of the alphabet. Actually I am in trouble as I have several letters with no entries thus far.

Advent

The modern period of Advent was established by The Council of Tours in 567 as a period of fasting. They also declared the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany to be a sacred, festive season. Previously there had been a 6 week fast from St. Martin’s day (11^th November Martinmas).

Advent Calendar

A Lutheran idea originating in Germany in the early C19^th to mark the count down to Christmas. Originally this might have been as simple as drawing a chalk line on the door each day from 1^st December. Others hung religious pictures on the wall or lit candles each day, sometimes the 24 candles would be arranged in a frame known as an advent clock. This developed into the modern wreath. The first reference to a (handmade) calendar is in 1851 and printed calendars appeared in the first decade of the C20^th.

Advent Wreath

In ancient Rome people used decorative wreaths as a sign of victory. Some believe that this is where the hanging of wreaths on doors came from. The roots of the Advent wreath go back to the pagan practices of the Germanic peoples who, in the dark days of winter, decorated their houses with evergreens and lit candles as symbols of hope of spring to come. These traditions were adopted by the Christian church and the symbolism was transferred to represent Christ the everlasting light. Traditionally, the wreath is made of four candles in a circle of evergreens with a fifth candle in the middle. Three candles are violet and the fourth is rose but four white candles or four violet candles can also be used. Each week in church, the candles are lit, one candle the first week and then another each succeeding week until the Sunday before Christmas. The last candle is the middle candle. The lighting of this candle takes place on Christmas Eve. It represents Jesus Christ being born. The first reference to a public hanging of an Advent wreath is in Hamburg in 1839.