FACTS
ABOUT THE MONTH OF DECEMBER.
Gemstone
Turquoise.
Flower: Narcissus.
The
month of December is the tenth month of the year in the Roman
calendar and is from the roman word
'decem'
which means ten.
The
Anglo - Saxons called
it Winter Monath or
Yule Monath
because of the custom of burning the Yule
Log at this time of the year. When the
Anglo - Saxons converted
to the Christian Faith they
then called it 'Heligh Monath'
or Holy Month because
of Christmas and
the birth of Jesus
that's celebrated in December.
Here
in the northern hemisphere December marks the beginning of our winter
the seasons of dark nights shorter days of cold weather, winds, rain
and snow.
The
month of December is very much about Christmas
the birth of Jesus Christ
who was born on Christmas Day December
25th
. The beginning of the month see's the start of Advent
the coming of Christ,
Advent means coming, getting prepared.
The
first day of celebrations is on December 6th
St Nicholas Day.
St
Nicholas is the patron saint of
children. In the Scandinavian countries
it was said that St
Nicholas woud bring gifts of sweets and
other presents to all the children that had behaved themselves
throughout the year. This tradition was imported from europe to
America who
later turned St Nicholas
into Santa Claus
and in later years he came back across the Atlantic
to europe and he became Farther
Christmas.
The
17th
December 'The Lord of Misrule'
In
ancient Roman times
the 17th
of December was the start of the festival of Saturnalia
in honour of the god of agriculture this was a period of orgys,
feasting and merry making lasting for seven days.
Saturnalia
was a holiday period for all including slaves who would be waited on
by their masters. Gifts would be exchanged and gambling games played.
It was customary to appoint a person to oversee these celebrations,
he was called the Lord of Misrule.
The
Winter Solstice ( The 1st day of winter. )
In the Northern
Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice
marks the first day of winter and it falls on the 21st
December.
The Pagans
called this period 'Yule Tide' and it is
one of the oldest of all winter celebrations in the world. It
celebrates the shortest day and the
longest night of the year, it is when
the North Pole is at it's furthest point
from the Sun. It is the time of the year at which the Sun is
appearing at Noon at it's lowest point on the horizon. In the
Northern Hemisphere this is the Southern
Solstice, the time at which the Sun
is at it's southernmost point in the
sky, which is usually on December 21st.
It was once the custom to
find a large log ( Yule Log ) to bring
into your house that would burn throughout the twelve day period of
the Solstice. It was lit on embers saved from the previous years
celebrations on the first night of the Solstice,
as a symbol of hope and belief
that the Sun would return. If the log
went out it was believed that it was an Omen
that there would be very bad luck to follow.
December 28th
Holy Innocents Day. ( Childermas. )
Holy
Innocents Day also known as Childermas
falls on December 28th and it commerates the massacre of
all the male children under the age of two, in an attempt by King
Herod to kill the young Christ.
New
Years Eve. 31st December.
The 31st of
December is the last day of the year, it is the New
Years Eve a time of Celebrations
when many people across the world see the Old
Year out and welcome the New Year
in. It is a time to wish each other good will
and wishes for the New Year with
a toast of champagne or a glass of wine, a time also to forgive
and forget your differences and start
'anew'.
In Scotland
the New Year celebrations is known as
'Hogmany' which traditionally lasts for
a day or more into the New Year.
Superstions.
Christmas
Puddings should be made with
13 ingredients to represent
Jesus and his Disciples and
every member
of the family should take a turn at stiring the mixture, with a
wooden spoon, stiring it from
east to west in honour of the
three wise men.
It is
said that on Christmas Eve
that all animals can
talk.
However it is bad luck
to test
this superstion.
( I wonder why? )
It is
said that good luck
will come to the home
where a fire is lit
and kept burning
throughout the Christmas Season.
( see Yule Logs.
)
Weather
Lore.
A mild December
precedes a cold snap
later on in the winter.
“A green December
fills the graveyard”.
“ A clear star-filled
sky on Christmas
Eve brings good
crops in the summer”.
Snow at Christmas means Easter will be green.
A green Christmas means a white Easter.
If New Year's
Eve night-wind blows south
It betokeneth warmth and growth;
If west, much milk and fish in the sea;
If north, cold and storms there will be;
If east, the trees willbear much fruit;
If north-east, flee it, man and brute,
Anniversaries.
December
4th.
The feast of St. Barbara.
December 5th.
St. Nicholas EveDecember 6th.
St. Nicholas Day.
December 13th.
Sir Francis Drake set sail around the world in the
Golden Hind.
….................... St.
Lucia's Day.
December 21st.
Winter Solstice.
December 24th.
Christmas Eve.
December 25th.
Christmas Day.
December 26th.
Boxing Day.
….................... St.
Stephen's Day.
December 28th.
Holy Innocents Day.
December 31st.
New Year's Eve.
Thank
you to all of you who have been reading my monthly write up through
the year. I hope you have enjoyed reading them.
Merry
Christmas.
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