No, don’t crane your necks! It’s supposed to be upside down, as you’ll see at this site, from which the extract below is taken:- “….Every year as December rolls in, some 2 billion people start to feel the Christmas cheer. While the celebration is primarily a Christian one honouring the birth of Jesus, its traditions… Continue reading The ancient origins of some Christmas traditions….
Tag: wassailing
My reaction to Lucy Worsley’s Christmas Carol Odyssey….
Sometimes the stories behind our much-loved Christmas carols are quite disheartening, involving as they do national and international strife and religious rivalry that was both bloody and filled with hatred. Yet every year we sing the resultant carols with joy. The reactions of the human race are sometimes contradictory. To say the least! I am… Continue reading My reaction to Lucy Worsley’s Christmas Carol Odyssey….
Epiphany – medieval and now….
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the following two definitions refer to the use of the word epiphany:- The manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12). Definition (1) A moment of sudden and great revelation/realisation. Definition (2) Epiphany has been a recognised feast of the Western Church since the 5th… Continue reading Epiphany – medieval and now….
I’ll Have What She’s Having: A Medieval Christmas Tasting Menu
“Let us consider some of our genuine English culinary assets. Among the best of them are our cured and salted meats. Hams, gammons, salt silversides…” So begins one of Elizabeth David’s chapters in “Spices, Salts and Aromatics in The English Kitchen,” a charming book that takes us through centuries of English cookery with its yin… Continue reading I’ll Have What She’s Having: A Medieval Christmas Tasting Menu
Gloucestershire Wassail Carol
As we take down our Christmas trees and put away our recordings of “Santa Baby,” perhaps some of the readers of the Murrey and Blue are preparing to stroll forth on Twelfth Night to sing the charming “Gloucestershire Wassail” song for friends and neighbors this January 5th of the new year 2017. This is the traditional day… Continue reading Gloucestershire Wassail Carol
murreyandblue 