November Country Days

 

A November page from The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden

   If there's ice in November to bear a duck

The rest of the winter is just mud and muck.

  

November takes its name from the Latin novem because it was the ninth month of the Roman year. The Anglo Saxons named November "Blodmonath" meaning Blood Month, maybe because this was the month when any older livestock would have been slaughtered before winter, so as to save fodder for the younger animals.

 Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves are whirling fast
(Months of the year by Sara Coleridge )

 

********************

 

 I love the fitful gust that shakes

The casement all the day,

And from the mossy elm-tree takes

The faded leaf away,

Twirling it by the window pane

With thousand others down the lane.

 

I love to see the cottage smoke

Curl upwards through the trees,

The pigeons nestled round the cote

On November days like these,

The cock upon the dunghill crowing,

The mill-sails on the heath a-going.

(John Clare)

Samhain which means "summers end" was the Celtic fire festival celebrated as the day shifted from October to November. The end of the light half of the year. Celts considered sundown as the start of a day, which is why although Samhain is November 1st, it would have been celebrated at sundown on the 31st. It was their new year and fires would have been lit on the hilltops to drive out the evil of  the last year and welcome in the new. Then later came the Christian feasts of All Saints on the 1st and All Souls on November 2nd, when the dead are remembered in prayers.

Back Soon

Sue

November Country Days and Country Ways

 

 Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves are whirling fast
(Months of the year by Sara Coleridge )

 

********************

 

 I love the fitful gust that shakes

The casement all the day,

And from the mossy elm-tree takes

The faded leaf away,

Twirling it by the window pane

With thousand others down the lane.

 

I love to see the cottage smoke

Curl upwards through the trees,

The pigeons nestled round the cote

On November days like these,

The cock upon the dunghill crowing,

The mill-sails on the heath a-going.

(John Clare)

 Today, All Saints Day, might bring a short burst of summer..........
.

All Saints Summer lasts three hours, three days, or three weeks.

November takes its name from the Latin novem because it was the ninth month of the Roman year. The Anglo Saxons named November "Blodmonath" meaning Blood Month, maybe because this was the month when any older livestock would have been slaughtered before winter, so as to save fodder for the younger animals.

  Samhain which means "summers end" was the Celtic fire festival celebrated as the day shifted from October to November. The Celts believed that ghosts of their relatives could walk the Earth at Samhain.

Below is the picture of the Wheel of the Year showing the Autumn into Winter segment from my book Celebrations of the Seasons. 

 

From around the 8th Century the Catholic church declared November1st  as All Saints' Day commemorating the Saints and Martyrs of the Christian Faith who didn't have their own days also known as All Hallows Day (Hallow meaning Holy, Saintly or to respect greatly, in old English) so 31st October being Hallows'eve which turned into Halloween and November the 2nd became All Souls Day. ........celebrated in many countries by people visiting and picnicking at the graves of their loved ones.

    If there's ice in November to bear a duck

  the rest of the winter just mud and muck

 Many other weather sayings in November are linked to St Martins Day on the 11th

Wind north-west at Martinmas, severe winter to come

 

We shall see what happens as the month progresses but October went out yesterday with strong winds and a torrential downpour. The last weekend of boot-sales was a complete washout so it will just be charity shop visits now until next spring.

Back Tomorrow

Sue

                                             

 

Trick or Treat

 

 Trick or treat ? Why? 

According to the book Ceremonies of The Seasons.........................

The origin of trick-or-treat is thought to be related to the Christian practice of Soul-Caking which was held on All Soul's Day on November 2nd. It's written about in the C17 but thought to be much older. Soul caking involved children going around the village asking for cakes in return for praying for the souls of departed loved ones. Soul-Caking often took place after the All Souls Day carnival or parade so the participants would be wearing costumes.

The only time we lived in a place suitable for Trick or Treating - the tradition hadn't yet traveled back here from the USA and since then I've lived in out of the way houses and had no small callers in fancy dress. This year I guess even fewer children will be out.

Many cultures around the world have festivals or traditions celebrated with The Eve of All Saints Day or Halloween  or the Night of the Dead, including Dias de Los Muertos in Mexico and Cheung Yeung in China

 

                                                       On Hallowe'en the old ghosts come 

                                                          About us- and they speak to some

(Anon)

The history of  Halloween goes right back to rituals performed for Samhain, the Celtic festival celebrated in Ireland and Scotland. Samhain was one of the four Celtic festivals known as quarter days. The meaning of the word in old Irish is 'summers end'. The end of the light half of the year. Celts considered sundown as the start of a day, which is why although Samhain is November 1st, it would have been celebrated at sundown on the 31st. It was their new year and fires would have been lit on the hilltops to drive out the evil of  the last year and welcome in the new. Then later came the Christian feasts of All Saints on the 1st and All Souls on November 2nd, when the dead are remembered in prayers.

In the past it was a night for staying by the fire, out of harms way, and telling fortunes............sounds OK to me. Perhaps at midnight I will peel an apple all in one piece, throw the peel over my shoulder and see what letter it makes - that will be the initial of my next lover.......!!!  

 

Have a lovely weekend. I'm back Monday IF I have anything to write about - at the moment my mind is blank.

 

Sue

All Hallows Eve and Samhain

The Eve of All Saints Day or Halloween as it's more usually called is now associated with pumpkins, and dressing up but it is a day that has for centuries been shrouded in mysteries and superstition.
The Night of the Dead - the most unpredictable night of the year - when festivals from many cultures collide.

On Hallowe'en the old ghosts come

About us- and they speak to some

(Anon)

The traditional beliefs of  Halloween are connected with rituals performed for Samhain, the Celtic festival celebrated in Ireland and Scotland. Samhain was one of the four Celtic festivals known as quarter days. The meaning of the word in old Irish is 'summers end'. Celts considered sundown as the start of a day, which is why although Samhain is November 1st, it would have been celebrated at sundown on the 31st. It was their new year and fires would have been lit on the hilltops to drive out the evil of  the last year and welcome in the new. Later festivities would have been influenced by the Christian feasts of All Saints on the 1st and All Souls on November 2nd, when the dead are remembered in prayers.

For on Hallowmas Eve the Nighthag shall ride,

And all her nine-fold sweeping by her side 

(Waverley by Sir Walter Scott published in 1814) 

 In the past it was a night for staying by the fire, out of harms way, and telling fortunes.

Fortune telling was done by throwing a hazelnut into the fire and seeing how it burned, or by peeling an apple and looking for the shape of the peel. These were ways of foretelling a birth or death in the family, the success of a marriage or the initials of a future husband.

In some parts of the country the 31st of October was known  as Mischief Night when mummers  would blacken their faces and knock on doors asking for cash. So although we think the trick or treat idea for Halloween came here from the USA, along with pumpkins, during the last 25 years, it's not completely  new............... before pumpkins,  faces would have been carved from swedes, turnips or mangle wurzels.

Years ago at the smallholding pumpkins were always one of the ways we made a bit of money through the  month of October when most other crops had finished. I searched the old blog and found the picture from 2014 - the year when we were given some seeds for giant pumpkins. We sold all these and also £75 worth of normal sized pumpkins. It was always hard work planting the small pumpkin plants out on the field in the late spring but a very useful income in late Autumn, as it is for many bigger farmers.

 

Back Tomorrow
Sue