The clocks have also gone forward this weekend and it finally feels that Spring is on its way. The short dark days are the worst part of Winter for me. What I like about this time of year is how quickly the days change. Each day seems noticeably longer. Then we get this big push forward when the clocks change and lo and behold we are out of Winter's dark grip.
I mustn't speak to soon though as there is a severe weather warning in place for northern England next week - heavy rain rain and sleet/ snow. Charming! Hopefully it will stay up north where it belongs
We are busy planning a weeks holiday at the end of May and discussing where we might go in Summer. The heating has been turned down now that it is a balmy 7oC and we no longer have to take scarfes to work. Soon it will be t-shirt weather.
That palpable sense of change is one of the things I really like about living a bit further away from the equator than sunny Melbourne. London is 51oN whereas Melbourne is only 37oS. Even Hobart is only 42oS and the southern tip of New Zealand is only 46oS. The tip of South Africa is only 34oS. In fact you have to go to the very bottom tip of South America to the most southern point of Argentina to get an equivalent position to London. It makes a big difference
This marker of time passing is more important I think than many people give it credit for. One of the important roles that weddings and funerals play is as an opportunity to get together with distant family and mark how you and they have changed. You notice it more at these events because you don't see your cousins and nieces everyday. They are suddenly older, taller, more grown up.
So too we measure the passage of time by the seasons. Its not quite that "I did that three winters ago" but perhaps just that the passing of another year is more marked when it is clearly delineated by whatever is ones favourite seasonal change - the coming of spring or perhaps the colours of Autumn.
The importance of the seasons has long been celebrated in England (and Europe presumably) with ceremonies to mark the the Equinoxes and Solistices (what is the plural of those words??). The Harvest Festival is still celebrated in some counties. This occurs on the Harvest Moon or full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox. Mind you we dont get a public holiday unlike the American Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Mind you a google of topics like equinox and solstice festivals does bring up a strange amalgum of the esoteric, the pagan and the plain old nutters. Tree huggers and unreconstitued hippies who should by now know better are there in force but so to are the Chaos theory advocates and Gaia supporters. Should we so choose we may avail ourselves in mid June of the Equinox Festival. A quick glance at the list of performers says it all - http://www.equinoxfestival.org/performers.html.
Then again there is always that old stalwart - Galstonbury or the pagan celebrations at Stonehenge on the 21 June. The running battles between the middle aged pagans trying to get over the fence and up to the rocks of Stonehenge and the mildly amused police trying to stop them makes watching the news on 22 June highly entertaining.
Did you know that the first (or only) full moon in June is called the Honey Moon. Tradition holds that this is the best time to harvest honey from the hives. This time of year, between the planting and harvesting of the crops, was the traditional month for weddings. This is because many ancient peoples believed that the "grand [sexual] union" of the Goddess and God occurred in early May at Beltaine. Since it was unlucky to compete with the deities, many couples delayed their weddings until June. June remains a favorite month for marriage today. In some traditions, "newly wed couples were fed dishes and beverages that featured honey for the first month of their married life to encourage love and fertility. The surviving vestige of this tradition lives on in the name given to the holiday immediately after the ceremony: The Honeymoon." Bet you didn't know that
We're about to turn the clocks forward/back/something ... perhaps it is less important here, but I must say it was far too gloomy at 7:15am for my liking this morning and the light is closing in at 6:40pm this evening. Days getting shorter but still hot hot hot.
ReplyDeleteEaster break coming up (but not quite the sabbatical that Constandina is going to enjoy) - an extended break of eight days to celebrate birthdays down the south coast (Durras).
We've been collecting Tasmanian Tiger stuff for Michael ... I guess posting it would be good and have now, at last, finished reading 'How Mumbo Jumbo Conquered the World'. It seems like there is more of it every day. Last weekend's SMH had a story about the Sydney Diocese of the Catholic Church appointing an exorcist who was warning about the dangers of Harry Potter, the Twilight series (but not because of the standard of writing), yoga, Reiki and meditation ... freaky! This came the week after Richard Dawkins visited Australia ... methinks they were feeling a bit under the microscope so what did they do, go stark raving religious on us. And this coming from the same bit of the church that suggested that there was too much superstition in the world. So, your blog bits about stone henge and full moons and beltaine is probably enough to put us into a mood of concern with an inkling of an idea that an exorcism might be in order.
One can clearly not be too careful as the nutters in charge of the Catholic Church regularly remind (with their words if not actions anyway)
ReplyDeleteI am coming to the conclusion that us of sane disposition must get off the fence and confront the stupidity and offensive nature of much that is peddled by the Religious Right. Perversely it is dangerous to label them as I did above as mad because I am increasingly coming to the view that they are dangerous. Thier refusal to acknowledge human rights and argue positions from an absolutist point of view is dangerous and the source of fanaticism.
Do the world a favour, shoot a priest/ bishop/ iman today I say
Didn't get round to saying thank you Robin for the extended response. I got a bit carried away there
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