Blog entry

Happy Easter! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one pagan and the other Judeo-Christian. Both pagans and Christians have celebrated death and resurrection themes following the spring equinox for millennia.  A majority of religious historians believe that many elements of the Christian observance of Easter were derived from earlier pagan celebrations.  The name “Easter” itself originated with the names of an ancient goddess.  The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first mentioned in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. The "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility was also known as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eastra and others.  

Think Green for Artisan Christmas Gifts - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

Red and green are colors that are closely associated with Christmas.  Last week I shared how red became a Christmas color.  You can read that post here:  Think Red for Artisan Christmas Gifts.  This week, green, the other Christmas color, is explored mainly through the symbolism of holly, mistletoe and evergreen trees.

The color green and its association with the time around Christmas has a pre-Christian origin, more specifically tied to the Winter Solstice.  Evergreen plants, like holly, mistletoe and pine, spruce or fir trees have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long, dark, cold winter when life could be very tenuous.  Ancient peoples were scared of the short days and freezing nights and mistakenly believed that the Sun might disappear altogether. Evergreens reminded people that spring would come and that winter wouldn't last forever.  Historical records show that the Romans wove wreaths of holly to hang on their walls and doors to celebrate the winter solstice / Saturnalia. They also exchanged evergreen branches as a sign of good luck. The ancient Egyptians would bring green date palm branches into their homes during their mid- winter festivals as a symbol of "life triumphant over death." To the ancient people, the color green represented life, nature, peace, eternity and the hope of the future.  

The Autumn Wind is a Pirate - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

Since I live in the Desert Southwest, autumn comes creeping slowly in with cooler temperatures.  Most of the trees here are evergreen so there isn’t much color change.  This time of the year, I always think about the forest we lived in for 10 years in Northern Virginia.  Oh, the glorious colors as the leaves on the trees changed.!!!  Sometimes almost blinding color combinations.  Then sometimes, the wind would hit and the leaves became a carpet of color on the forest floor.  I ran across this great quote about autumn wind from Steve Sabol:  “The autumn wind is a pirate. Blustering in from sea with a rollicking song he sweeps along swaggering boisterously. His face is weather beaten, he wears a hooded sash with a silver hat about his head . . . The autumn wind is a raider, pillaging just for fun.”  A pillaging wind playing with and swirling the colorful leaves!