Thoughts

These last few weeks have been filled with the joy and happiness that comes of a lifetime of living as our family began preparations for the forth coming holiday season. 

This year, L.W. and I were blessed by spending Thanksgiving Day with our daughter, Alesia, and her husband, Dan Talbot.  Their three children, Caleb, Nellie and Anna, were all able to be home for the holiday.  Joining them was Brian Pughe who will officially become a member of their family on May the 20^th when he and our eldest granddaughter, Nellie Talbot, are married.

Our eldest daughter, Whitney, shortly arrived from Salem with her husband, Todd Leeson, and their two children, Morgan and Jake. This year, Morgan’s friend, Alex Brown, was able to come along with her to share in our family’s celebration. 

             

It was such a blessing to be able to see the love and affection our grandchildren have for one another as they joked and shared the things going on in their own lives. You see, we no longer have toddlers or even small children in our midst.  All six of our grandchildren are now grown.

 

As we sat together and I looked around the dining room table, I could not help but recall the many small things, which seemed very trivial at the time they occurred, but which, when combined, were the building blocks of our family. 

When L.W. and I were first married, fifty plus years ago, we basically knew that we both wanted to live our lives together in the Elkton area.  We both knew that we wanted a family of our own and most importantly, we both positively knew that we wanted God as an integral part of that family.

 

During the years that followed, we were blessed with our four daughters, who like all children, were, at times, both a trial and temptation.   We both felt strongly that we could not spoil them as it was necessary for them to live in the real world.  Teaching all four girls to read and write before they entered school was largely a matter of self-preservation for me. 

As Whitney learned to read she loved sharing her new found knowledge with her sisters.  Of course, we carefully selected books that opened the doors of their minds to imagination and to things which would challenge them in the exploration of various aspects of the learning process.  To aid in this goal, art supplies were always available.

 

One time this sort of back fired on me.  Dr. Burtner, the girl’s pediatrician, carefully explained to me that Whitney simply must be made to take naps.  You see, she walked at the age of seven months and was constantly a little fireball of energy from that moment on.  My grandmother told me to leave the child alone as she was simply learning by absorbing the world around her.  But, being young and inexperienced, I did my best to listen to her doctor who was himself, the father of seven.  As instructed, I put Whitney’s crayons away and removed the toys from her room.  I carefully explained to her that it was necessary for her to stay on her bed and rest for one hour.

 Well, I am here to tell you this was the longest hour of my life as I quietly listened outside her door.  Once I thought that I had heard something moving about but as I had been instructed not to open her door until the hour was up, I ignored the minor noise in hopes that her doctor was correct and she was taking a nap.

 

Well, when I opened that door, I found my child behind it.  She just stood there beaming with both hands stuffed full of crayons. No artist could ever have been more proud of any creation.  By rolling her dresser nearer to her bed, Whitney had discovered that she could open the drawers like stair steps and that she could then climb almost to the top of the ceiling. She had quite happily colored every single wall in that room.  She had not miss a single one.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as I picked her up and hugged her to me. 

She was absolutely delighted with her accomplishment and I, well, I was so horrified and stunned by what was possible for a child not quite one of year of age to accomplish that I, then and there, decided that my grandmother was correct and that I not only needed to, but must always keep her with me as she explored her surroundings.

Foolishly, I thought that telling her doctor that I had failed would be the most difficult part of this episode, but I was dead wrong.  You see, at that time, crayons were made of wax and pure pigment. Getting the colors off of the wall meant that I literally had to tape sheets of paper onto the wall and then iron them, section by section, in order to remove the wax before the walls could be primed and repainted.

Believe me, this time around, I made sure that Whitney Ann was not only in the room with me but that she was busy doing something constructive. She found pleasure in retelling me stories that I had read to her as she sat on the floor happily eating her freshly quartered apple.

Now, as I look around the table at her two children, I cannot help but remember the many phone calls we have shared as she recounted their many adventures.

My grandmother also said that we each should be careful as “life has a way of paying you back when you least expected it.” But perhaps Galatians 6:7 states it best when it warns us, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Christmas

Traditions and symbols which are deeply engraved in the folk consciousness take on a much deeper meaning as holidays are observed.

Christmas is a sacred religious holiday celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth whose teachings form the basis of the Christian religion. People from around the world have observed Christmas Day (December 25^th) for two millennia. It has been a United States federal holiday since 1870 or for just one hundred forty-five years.

Christmas is also a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon which people observe by the decoration of Christmas trees, shared meals with family and friends, the giving of gifts, religious services at church and the arrival of Santa Claus.  

The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration.  In the darkest days of winter, early Europeans celebrated the winter solstice as a time when they could look forward to extended days of sunlight.

The Norse, in Scandinavia celebrated “Yule,” the winter solstice, from the 21^st of December through January.  Fathers and their sons brought home large logs which they would set on fire in observance of the return of the sun. A feast was held until the log burned out which took about twelve days. It was believed that each spark from the fire represented a new calf or pig to be born during the coming year.

In most areas of Europe, the end of December was the perfect time for a celebration as the majority of cattle were slaughtered in order that they would not have to be fed during the winter months. For many families this was the only time of year in which they enjoyed a good supply of fresh meat.  Also, most beer and wine made earlier during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking at this time.

In Germany, Oden was honored, as it was believed, that he flew the night sky to observe his people in order to decide who would prosper or perish. Because of this belief, many folk stayed inside.

Germany also gave the world their “tannenbaum” or as it is better known, “the Christmas tree.”  The old pagan custom of the sacrifice tree was revived by Martin Luther; but, ornaments and lights were used for decorations instead of the traditional live sacrifices.  The tree was brought to America by Hessian mercenaries in the service of King George III of England during the American Revolution. Later, in the 1840’s, Prince Albert, the German born consort of Queen Victoria, set up a tree in the Palace.

In Rome, “Saturnalia” was a hedonistic holiday honoring Satum, the god of agriculture which was celebrated the week leading up to the winter solstice and continued for a full month.  Perhaps this was because the winters in this geographic area were not as harsh as those in the far north.  Food and drink were plentiful and the normal social order of the Romans was literally turned upside down.  Slaves became masters and peasants were in command of the city.  During the “Feast of Fools,” business and schools were closed in order that all could join in the fun. Each year, a student or beggar was crowned the “Lord of Misrule,” who presided as celebrants played the part of his court.  Homes of the rich were visited by the poor demanding their best food and drink.  If it was not forth coming, the visitors would terrorize the home owner with mischief.  Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined debt to society by entertaining those less fortunate.

Romans also celebrated “Juvenalia,” a feast honoring the children of Rome about the time of the winter solstice.  On the 25^th of December, members of the upper classes celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun.  It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock.  Mithra’s birthday was the most sacred day of the year for some of the upper classes of Roman society.

Easter was the main holiday during the early years of Christianity as the birth of Jesus was not celebrated as a holiday. Church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday in the fourth century when Pope Julius chose the 25^th of December, even though some evidence suggested that his birth occurred in the spring. Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention the date of his birth.  Later, the Puritans pointed out this fact in order to deny the legitimacy of the Christmas celebration.

It is commonly believed that the church chose the 25^th of December in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival.  First called the “Feast of the Nativity,” the custom had spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the Christmas celebration had spread all the way to Scandinavia.

Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches of today, celebrate Christmas thirteen days after the 25^th of December.  This holiday is referred to as the “Epiphany,” or “Three Kings Day,” as this is the day on which it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.

By allowing Christmas to be held during the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the possibility that Christmas would be embraced by the people, but, in doing so, they gave up the manner in which it was to be celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had just about replaced pagan religion.  Believers attended church, then celebrated in a carnival-like atmosphere similar to today’s “Mardi Gras.”

The first eggnog was made and consumed in 1607 at Captain John Smith’s Jamestown settlement.

 In 1645, when Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe as they had vowed to rid England of decadence; therefore, they cancelled Christmas.

Charles II was restored to the throne by popular demand, and with him came the return of the popular Christmas holiday.

The Pilgrims, who were English separatists that came to the colonies in 1620 aboard the ship, Mayflower, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than was Cromwell, resulting in  Christmas not being a holiday in the Colony of Massachusetts. In 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings.

After the American Revolution, English customs, including Christmas, fell out of favor.  Christmas was declared a federal holiday on the 26^th of June 1870.  In the early 19^th century, Americans re-invented Christmas changing it from its raucous carnival style holiday into a family one which was centered upon remembrance, peace and joy.

This change most probably occurred as the early 19^th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil.  Unemployment was high with gang riots by the disenchanted occurring during the Christmas season. For instance, in 1828, the New York City Council instituted the city’s first police force in response to a Christmas riot.  This caused members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in the United States of America.

Washington Irving, the best-selling American author, wrote, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gentleman, which was a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house.  They feature a squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday.  The two groups mingled effortlessly in contrast to problems faced by those in American society.  Irving believed that Christmas should be a happy, peaceful holiday bringing groups together across lines of social status or wealth. His fictitious characters enjoyed “ancient customs.” Irving’s book was not based upon any celebration that he, himself, had ever attended.  Many historians state that Irving’s account “invented” tradition by implying that it actually described the true customs of the season.

About this same time, Charles Dickens, the English author, wrote A Christmas Carol, which became a classic holiday story. The importance of charity and good will toward all humankind showed Victorian society in both England and America the benefits of celebrating the holiday season.

 In America, Christmas was celebrated as the perfect family holiday resulting in people looking to new immigrants, the Episcopalian, and the Catholic Church to better understand the way this special holiday should be celebrated.  Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own during the next one hundred years which included the sending of holiday cards, decorating trees, candy canes and gift giving.

Clement Clarke Moore had introduced the American people to the iconic image of Santa Claus in his 1823 poem, “A Visit From St Nickolas,” more popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas.” Four decades later, the modern-day figure of St. Nick dripped off of the pen of the famous illustrator, Thomas Nast for the 3^rd of January 1863 cover of Harper’s Weekly.

Poinsettia plants were brought to the United States from Mexico in 1828. The plant was named for Joel R. Poinsett, an American minister to Mexico.

The practice of sending Christmas cards is fairly recent.   In 1843, Sir Henry Cole of England sent cards designed by J. C. Horsley to friends.

Since the 1890’s, the Salvation Army has been sending Santa Claus clad donation collectors in to the streets.

The Rockeffer Center Christmas Tree tradition was started in 1931 by construction workers.

In 1939, Rudolph, “the most famous reindeer of all,” came into being in the imagination of Robert L. May’s most famous poem, “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,” which was written to lure customers into the Montgomery Ward department store.

Merry Christmas To All.

Halloween

Antique Halloween Card

 The word Halloween or Hallowe’en is a  term dating to ca. 1745 meaning the evening before All Hallow’s Day.  The word “eve” is "even” which is then contracted to “e’en or een.”  Even though the term “All Hallows” is an old English term, "ealra halgena maessedaeg," meaning "all saints day," the term "All Hallows Eve" is not seen until 1556.

In Ireland, Scotland, Wales and other areas of Europe there was an uneasy truce between the customs and beliefs associated with Christianity and those associated with the “old” religions which existed before Christianity. 

Halloween Illustration 

It is now more generally believed that Halloween is dervived from the Celtic festival of Samhain or “summer’s end.” Samhain is prononounced as SAH-win or SOW-win.  This festival was held on the  31^st of October – 1^st of November.  It was the most important of the four quarter days of the medieval Gaelic calendar.

Samhain Illustration

Basically Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and began winter or the darker half of the year. Like Beltane, it was viewed as a liminal time when the spirits or possibly fairies known as “the Aos Si” could become more active in the human world simply because it was easier for them to enter the human world at this particular time of year.

Offering of Harvested Grain

Many scholars view the Aos Si as a downgraded form of the ancient gods whose powers remain in the people’s mind long after they were replaced by new religious beliefs. For instance, it was believed that the Aos Si needed to be appeased to ensure that human people and their livestock survived the harsh winters. Offerings of food, drink, or portions of the newly harvested crops were left for the Aos Si in most Celtic areas.   

Samhain Ancestors Illustration

   It was also believed that the souls of the dead were enabled to visit their former homes.  Places were set at the dinner table or by the fireplace to welcome them.  The belief that the souls of the dead were able to return on that one day or night of the year is a very ancient one which is found in cultures throughout the world.

In Scotland, youths went from house to house with their faces masked or blackened, threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed by all those they encountered.

Jack O'Lanterns

The Jack-o’ lantern was believed to frighten away evil spirits. There was also another popular thought among Celtic folk associated with the Jack-o’ lantern.  Many Celtic folk believed that the Jack-o’ lantern represented a “soul denied entry into both heaven and hell.”

[Note: These beautiful illustrations have been collected from various sources over many years. They have been used to illustrate both Gaelic beliefs and the Halloween holiday in both Genealogy and Folklore classes.] 

Home

www.billiejomonger.com

Welcome, 

Have you ever thought about what life would be like without all of the sounds that we take for granted?  Phones, cars, television, planes, air conditioning, and motors all make a peculiar noise.   Are there days when just the sirens of rescue units stress you out?   

Do you sometimes feel that you would enjoy spending just one day outside in warm sunshine listening to the sounds of gurgling streams and birds chirping in the trees?

What about the smells around about you? Have you ever thought about the odors that you take for granted because they are part of your life and so familiar to you? Do you know that they are very different than the ones our grandparents experienced? Homemade bread and wood burning in the stove were part of their daily life.  Have  you ever smelled soil rich with forest loam right after a warm spring rain?

Once, I asked my grandfather what he missed most in his life that his grandparents had taken for granted as being part of their own.  He never hesitated an instant before he replied.  Lumber was the single word he uttered with such emotion that it startled me. 

Seeing my reaction, he went on to explain that his grandfather had a true understanding of the forest which he had  never been able to share because his  father never saw the value in his learning about any of it. It had become possible in his own father's lifetime to go to a sawmill and order whatever kind of lumber needed to build a house or to lay a floor.  His grandfather had gained his knowledge of timber from working with past generations of his family. 

My grandfather went onto say that  his grandfather could tell the board feet in any tree from simply looking at it as it stood in the forest. To know the quality and usable board feet of lumber in a tree before it was cut was a skill that my grandfather was sorry that he had never had the opportunity to learn.  It was a skill that he was unable to pass down to members of his own family.

A drastic new way of life emerged during my grandfather's lifetime.  As a young man he traveled by horseback and yet, before his death he sat in his own home and watched a man land upon the moon.  Within his lifetime the telegraph was replaced by telephones, radios and television. He remembered a time when all consumed food was produced at home.  Electricity and indoor plumbing were marvelous inventions that had became part of his own life which his own grandparents would never have believed possible. 

Indeed much has changed in just the past few generations.  Have you ever given thought as to what some of these changes may have made in the life of your own family?

I do hope that you will join me as we travel back in time to the days of not so long ago and explore all facets of life as it was lived by our families. 

                                                                      Until next time,

                                                                             Billie Jo 

                                                                      
pages

May Day

The tradition of celebrating May Day by singing and dancing around a maypole which is tied with colorful ribbons or streamers survive in America as part of the English tradition.  Weaving in and out while holding ribbons to  entwine the Maypole, the choosing of a May Queen and  hanging May baskets filled with flowers on the doorknob or steps of neighbors homes are all leftover bits of old European traditions whose origins date back beyond the birth of Christ.

An ancient rite performed throughout the world on this day was the setting of a new fire which was thought to lend its life to the springtime sun. In early Irish lore a number of significant events took place on Beltane [Beltine, Beltaine, Belltaine], which long remained the focus of folk traditions and tales in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.  For the Druids of the British Isles, this was the second most important holiday of the year.  Other pre-Christian Celtic peoples, divided the year into two main seasons as did the Irish. The beginning of the year [winter] which was known as Samhain meaning “death” by the Irish.  It fell on November 1^st.  Midyear [summer] was known as Beltaine and by Cétamain which means “life” in Scotland and also in parts of Ireland.

  

These two days were believed to be critical periods because the bounds between the supernatural and human worlds were temporarily erased.  Everyone knew that on May Eve, witches and fairies roamed freely making it necessary for measures to be taken against their enchantments.

The first mentioned of Beltane was in a glossary attributed to Cormac, Bishop of Cashel and King of Munster, who was killed in 908. Cormac describes how on Beltane, cattle were driven between two bonfires as a magical means of protecting them from disease before they were led into open summer pastures.  This custom was still observed in Ireland during the 19th century. Other festivities enjoyed during this celebration included Maypole dances and the cutting of green boughs and flowers.

Cormac derived the word Beltaine from the Old Irish word tene meaning “fire” and the name of the god, Bel or Bil.  A number of 20^th century scholars have maintained modified versions of this etymology despite linguistic difficulties by linking the first element of the word with the Gaulish god Belenos which the Irish call Belenus.

Cattle were driven through the fire to purify them. Men, with their sweethearts, passed through the smoke for good luck. The word ‘Beltane’ is derived from the Irish Gaelic ‘Bealtaine’ or the Scottish Gaelic ‘Bealtuinn’, meaning ‘Bel-fire’, the fire of the Celtic god of light (Bel, Beli or Belinus). He, in turn, may be traced to the Middle Eastern god Ba’al. Bonfires [bone fires—from human sacrifice] were lit, and leaping the fire was a custom thought to encourage the crops to grow as high as the leaper could leap or jump the fire. These fires, also called “balefires” or “need-fires” were thought to have healing properties.

When the Romans came to occupy the British Isles, the beginning of May became a very popular feast time for them. It was devoted primarily to the worship of Flora, the goddess of flowers. A five day celebration, called the Floralia, was held in her honor. The five day festival started on April 28^th  and end on May 2^nd. Gradually the rituals of Floralia were added to those of the Beltane. Many of today's May Day customs bear a stark similarity to those combined traditions.

Maypoles were of all sizes which led to villages competing with one another to produce the tallest Maypole. Much merrymaking accompanied the bringing in of the Maypole from the woods.  The Maypole was usually set up for just the one day in smaller towns, but in London and larger towns, they were erected as a permanent fixture.

The Puritans discouraged May Day celebrations.  It was revived when they lost power in England, but the celebration did not have the same dedicated following as before.  Eventually it came to be regarded as more of a day of joy and merriment for young people rather than as a day of observing the ancient customs.

Attempts to do away with the practices which were obviously of pagan origins were brought about by the Reformation.  Although they basically succeeded, the Maypole with many of the other traditions still survives. In France, the name merely changed.  In Perigord and elsewhere, the May Tree became the "Tree of Liberty" and was the symbol of the French Revolution. Despite the new nomenclature, the peasants treated the tree in the same traditional spirit. And they would dance around it the same way as their forefathers had always done.

The tradition of celebrating May Day by singing and dancing around a maypole which is tied with colorful ribbons or streamers survived in America as part of the English tradition.  Weaving in and out while holding ribbons to  entwine the Maypole, the choosing of a May Queen and  hanging May baskets filled with flowers on the doorknob or steps of neighbors homes are all leftover bits of old European traditions.

 In the Shenandoah Valley, “Freckle Washing” was commonly celebrated on the first day of May.  To work it had to be performed in the following manner, one must arise before sunrise and not speak to anyone.  If you slept upstairs it was necessary to walk down the steps backwards before going to wash your freckles in the stump of a tree in which rain water had been trapped. If stump water was not to be found, one could place their hands on the dew dampened grass and moisten the freckles  by rubbing dampened hands  over the face or wherever the freckles were located.  The rest of the moisture must be removed by wiping it on a part of the body where the freckles would not show publicly.  It was then important to say, “The first morning in May, I wash my freckles away.  Where I put them I want them to stay.” as one rubbed the dew onto their body.  For this ritual to be successful, it had to be repeated three years in a row on the first day of May. 

It was also believed that if one looked over their shoulder into a well or spring with a mirror they would see their future spouse.  Your casket was said to appear if you were to remain unmarried.

Just in case one was interrupted during the three consecutive years of the May Day treatment or for whatever reason the above treatment did not work, there is a very old recipe with which to solve the problem. 

To Remove Freckles, Tan, Pimples, Etc.

To two gallons of strong lye soap suds add one pint of pure alcohol and four ounces of rosemary.  Mix together well. Apply mixture with a linen cloth twice a day until the object is affected.