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#yule

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Winter in the pacific, the flamboyant royal poinciana gives a natural holiday-vibe

Having spent one of many December solstices abroad, the poinciana definitively reminds a Northerner of the traditional yule/xmas-celebrations.

In Vanuatu there where a lot of them, really making the islands a perfect spot for a winter break.

This tree, originally from Madagascar, are spread all over the zone where the global travellers of old needed a heavy spot of lively colours.

Understandably.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delonix_regia

#royal #poinciana #flamboyant #Delonix #regia #yule #winterholiday #xmastree #flower #color #red #green #bluesky #floral #winter #2015CE #holiday #Port #Vila #Efate #Island #Vanuatu #PortVila

We are back, did you miss us?
I'm the #webMaster( bit monkey ) for the blog #WordsByTerryl
https://blog/moonlitpress.org/index

They took the #Yule season off so
I used that time to create an index page for the blog.

Using a #fediverse #writefreely service an index page was created as just another blog page
but then "pinned" to the blog.
#TILT Writefreely will use the title of pinned pages to create a tab
on a nav bar which will show up at the top of every page in the blog.

In the past, Christmas decorations tended to stay up until Candlemas (February 2nd), but during the Victorian era the Christmas season was shortened. Now most people agree decorations should be taken down by the end of 5th January (12th Night), with it being considered unlucky to keep them up longer. There used to be considerable debate about what to do with the Christmas evergreens. Some insisted they should be burnt as soon as they were taken down. Others were aghast at this custom and laid them respectfully on rubbish heaps. Others still felt it lucky to feed them to farm animals. #Christmas #Yule #folklore #history #weird

A common folklore motif is the 'Wild Hunt', in which a crowd of dead or damned souls rampage through the air or across the sky. The hunt can be led by witches or by figures as diverse as Odin, King Arthur, the Devil, Cain or Herod. The hunt is most commonly sighted in winter, especially during Yuletide. In some parts of Germany, it's said washing should not be left hanging out over Christmas in case the hunt becomes entangled in it and that windows should be left open at night so the hunt can pass through. #Folklore #weird #Yule #Christmas #gothic #mythology

An interesting Christmastide tradition from Iceland concerns a giantess named Gryla. She punished naughty children by ... putting them in a soup and cooking and eating them. She was assisted by 13 Yule Lads - troll-like brothers who captured badly behaved kids in sacks and were also sometimes partial to snacking on them. Such stories were so terrifying that in 1746 the government issued a law forbidding parents to use tales of the Yule Lads to frighten their children. Today, the Yule Lads are jollier, kinder figures, perhaps having been softened by the influence of the American Santa Claus. #folklore #Yule #Christmas #weird #mythology

A custom often practised during Christmastide - especially in Yorkshire and north east England - is the sword dance. Participants dance in circular patterns before interlocking their swords to form a 'knot' or 'rose', which is raised towards the sky. Sometimes the blades are interlocked around somebody's neck then swiftly withdrawn in a mock decapitation ritual. My article about strange Yuletide traditions: davidcastleton.net/strange-chr #folklore #Christmas #Yule #history #weird #dance

Perchta is a Christmas witch or monster found in Austria and Bavaria. She is active during the 12 nights of Christmas and, especially, on 6th January. She rewards good children, but bad children are cut open with a ploughshare, disembowelled, stuffed with straw then sewn up using a chain as thread. Perchta will also punish anyone who works on household tasks during the Christmas period and anyone who doesn't leave food and drink out for her. #Christmas #Yule #folklore #weird #mythology #12daysofchristmas #gothic

The term 'Boxing Day' comes from the fact that servants, workers and tradespeople had 'Christmas boxes'. On 26th December - or in the run-up to Christmas - they expected those they had served throughout the year to place a tip in these containers. The boxes were earthenware, with a slot in the top, and had to be broken to get the money out. Working out who owed tips to who could be an expensive and complicated business and could cause resentment. An article in the satirical magazine 'Punch' from 1849 complained of "our postman ... who has all year scarcely condescended to greet us with the odd nod has ... been making a series of low bows, which for some time we thought were ironically meant, until we remembered the compliments of the season ..." #BoxingDay #Christmas #Yule #folklore #history

Proof I was oot and aboot, last night. Went to a tree trimming party briefly and hung an ornament (stayed masked). This was on the way home, in front of a restaurant/ hookah place on my block. The lights there will cycle colors; I like the warm white.
#Happy #Yule #tree #trimming #party #Manhattan #sidewalk #selfie #halo #restaurant #hookah #place #decor #ornament #NYC #NewYorkCity #high #rise #doorman #building #Solstice #longer #days #time to #celebrate #reason #season #Winter in #midtown

Merry #Christmas, a happy #Yule, a beautiful #WinterSolstice or just a good time!!!

The time around Winter Solstice is special to many cultures, and there are a lot of old stories. My favorite is the story of the Child of Light, who is born every year on the Winter Solstice as part of the Wheel of the Year.

And if there's one thing we really need in these dark times, it is more light, much more light.

A short 11 km trail run this morning at -11C in fresh snow

@running #running #TrailRunning