Winter Icons, Winter Solstice and Mother's Night
Welcome to the first of four supplemental articles for the Christmas season. While we in the southern hemisphere are heading towards our hottest, brightest and longest days of summer, many of you in the northern hemisphere will be experiencing the cold and dark slide into the depths of winter, buffered by the joyful celebrations of Christmastide. Wherever you are, whatever the season and weather, find a place of comfort with a hot or cold drink as the season and your mood dictate, and settle in for a cosy read.
The first three Wheel & Cross episodes with accompanying articles are from the start of Australia’s winter in June, where we explored the icons of winter, the history and traditions of the winter solstice, and the origins of our beloved Christmas celebrations. Enjoy!
Episode 2 - Holle’s Day and the First Day of Winter
Winter witches and snow queens (Frau Holle, Holda, Perchta, Cailleach, Skaði, Baba Yaga, Morana, The Snow Queen)
Kings of frost and snow (Jack Frost, Old Man Winter, Frosty the Snowman)
The Danish Art of Hygge
Episode 3 - Echoes of the Ice Age: Winter Solstice and Mother’s Night
The Ice Age in Europe
Sami - People of the Reindeer
Reindeer Folklore, Cult of the Reindeer Mother and the Deer Cult
Winter Solstice Traditions in Europe (Ancient Celts, Ancient Roman Saturnalia, Germanic Modranicht)
Episode 4 - The Origins of Christmas, the 12 Days of Christmas and Twelfth Night
The Christ Mass
Christmas in Britain and the Anglo-Saxon and Viking influence
Puritan Christmas Bans
The Victorian Christmas Revival
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Twelfth Night including the King Cake, Lord of Misrule, Feast of Fools and La Befana (the Christmas Witch)
The latest Wheel & Cross episode and article, A Very Aussie Christmas, is scheduled for publication on Thursday. It will feature images of my Aussie Christmas decorations and peek into my Aussie Christmas playlist. We’ll explore Australian Christmas traditions like Santa on a fire truck, native Christmas trees, hay bales and farm gates, beach Christmas, Aussie Christmas food and the most iconic Australian of all, Bluey. We’ll also unpack the more awkward colonial Christmas celebrations and explore the summer celebrations of our First People.
Hoo-roo and see you then!