Dec 25 2021 - The Next Countdown is here!

 

We are on the next countdown - the twelve days of Christmas - traditionally starting on Christmas Day and ending January 5th.  January 6th is sometimes considered the twelfth day with the start December 26th.  The twelve days is called Christmastide or Twelvetide. Today is St. Stephen's Day.  Another feast day, as in 'The feast of Stephen'. We know it by the Christmas song with King Wenceslas.  Originally in Antiquity these days were taken up with saints' days and the first three days of the year were for prayer and penance.  Lots of heads-down activities.   Fast forward to England in the Middle Ages and this period was one of continuous feasting and merrymaking.  Twelfth Night will be forever in our social consciousness because of William Shakespeare and his wonderful play.   And where do we land with Twelfth Night now?  In New Orleans.  This is Twelfth Night taken to a different level of festivity.  January 6th is the day when King Cake Parties happen.  It is the first night of Carnival, as in 'Farewell to the Flesh'.  It goes from Twelfth Night to Fat Tuesday (that's right, Mardi Gras is  Fat Tuesday in French, to reflect the practice of eating rich, fatty food before Lent when fasting begins).   "Originally, King Cakes were a simple ring of pastry dough (brioche to be exact) with a small amount of colored sugar as decoration. Inside the original King Cakes was a tiny porcelain or gold baby, representing Jesus. If a person received a piece of cake with the baby they were declared King for the day... The top of the cake is covered with sugar icing in traditional Mardi Gras colors: Green, purple and gold." And reflecting on Christ in swaddling clothes, I just saw an ad for Pampers Swaddlers for active babies.  Perfect for this time of year.  Swaddling is a technique of wrapping infants in blankets or similar cloth so that the movement of the limbs is tightly restricted.  Probably something parents appreciate Pampers creating for active babies the day after Christmas. Here's a perfect Millie moment.  I don't know what she saw on the feeder outside, but her second reaction looks like it is coming right at her.  She is on the doggie bed on top of the desk.

Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Twelfth Night or What You Will

There are quite a few variations for this penultimate day of the Twelve Days.  Ladies dancing, ladies spinning, badgers baiting, lords a-leading, dancers a-dancing, lads a-louping, bulls a-beating.  Our Twelfth Night of Christmas is tomorrow.  It is "always on the evening of 5 January, but the Twelfth Day can either precede or follow the Twelfth Night according to which Christian tradition is followed. Twelfth Night is followed by the Feast of the Epiphany on 6 January. In some traditions, the first day of Epiphany (6 January) and the twelfth day of Christmas overlap". (source:  Wikipedia) So what about "Twelfth Night, or What You Will" - Shakespeare's play?  It is believed to have been written around 1601-02 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The first recorded performance was on 2 February 1602, at Candlemas, the formal end of Christmastide in the year's calendar.  A law student, John Manningham, who was studying in the Middle Temple in London, described the performance which took place in the hall of the Middle Temple.  The Middle Temple is a place with great  architectural history. The western part of "The Temple" was the headquarters of the Knights Templar until they dissolved in 1312.  There are many buildings in the four "Inns of Court" that are listed buildings. There has been damage over the centuries - fires, the Great Fire of London, and the Blitz. But the Halls' magnificent double-hammer beam roof remains along with the 29 foot oak High table. Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake have been known to dine in the Hall.  The buildings in the Temple itself are still held under the 1608 letters patent of James I.  The Middle Temple Hall where our performance took place was constructed between 1562 and 1572, and opened in 1576 by Queen Elizabeth I.  It was thought that Shakespeare himself was probably present for the first performance.  Our heroine in the play is Viola.  Violas and pansies are flowers that are closely related.  I've never considered how they are different.  I found this: If the flower has four petals pointing upward and only one pointing downward – you’re looking at a Pansy. If the flower has two petals pointing upward and three petals pointing downward – you’ve got a Viola.  These words, though, come from one of Shakespeare's other plays.