Tag Archives: Christmas and other holidays

The Fires of Easter

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Andrew Stuttaford

From the not always reliable The Golden Bough:  In Münsterland these Easter fires are always kindled upon certain definite hills, which are hence known as Easter or Paschal Mountains. The whole community assembles about the fire. The young men and … Continue reading →

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Christmas in Jablonovka

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Andrew Stuttaford

Furlough in Jablonovka by the Austrian-Jewish writer Joseph Roth (1894-1939) includes a description of Christmas just behind the front lines of the Eastern front during Roth’s time with the Austro-Hungarian army during the First World War (the translation is by … Continue reading →

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Eostre Debunked?

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Andrew Stuttaford

The Guardian (from 2011): Did you know that Easter was originally a pagan festival dedicated to Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, whose consort was a hare, the forerunner of our Easter bunny? Of course you did. Every year the … Continue reading →

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Happy Easter!

Posted on April 5, 2015 by Andrew Stuttaford
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Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

Captain A. D. Chater, 2nd Batallion, Gordon Highlanders, Dec 25, 1914: I think I have seen today one of the most extraordinary sights that anyone has ever seen. About 10 o’clock this morning I was peeping over the parapet when … Continue reading →

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Happy Easter!

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

I’m not entirely sure that this card from 1915 (“thundering Easter greetings”) is in keeping with the spirit of the season, but Happy Easter nonetheless… H/t: GERArmyResearch

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Lighting a Candle for Syncretism?

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Andrew Stuttaford

Candlemas (the feast of the purification) is today. A full explanation can be found here, but here’s an extract: Today is a day of purification, renewal, and hope. On this day, exactly 40 days after Christmas, we commemorate Mary’s obedience … Continue reading →

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Happy Christmas!

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

This may well be my last post here for a day or so, so how to mark the imminent arrival of Christmas, grandest and jolliest and most syncretic of festivals, this year? With this extract, I think, from Dylan Thomas’s … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry’s “Merry Christmas”

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

MSN reports: AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday signed a law protecting Christmas and other holiday celebrations in Texas public schools from legal challenges — but also stressed that freedom of religion is not the same thing … Continue reading →

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Happy Christmas!

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

How to mark Christmas, grandest and jolliest and most syncretic of festivals, this year? With this brief extract, I think, from The Exiles by Ray Bradbury, who, of course, died just a few months ago: A door banged wide in … Continue reading →

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