Yuletide Festivities

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YESTERDAY the Winter Solstice or Midwinter’s Day occurred in the Northern Hemisphere and the very day before the Summer Solstice or Midsummer’s Day happened in the Antipodes.

Yesterday, here in Southwest England, at 51 degrees north latitude, I experienced only seven hours and 45 minutes of daylight whilst 13 degrees further north, the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik, received four hours seven minutes of daylight and Lulea in Sweden at 65.5 degrees north only three hours nine minutes!

With such few hours of winter daylight, it is not surprising that Swedes flock to sunnier climes in the summer months.

Here in Kuching, just 1.6 degrees north, little change happens throughout the year to our daylight hours. As winter darkness sets in in my hamlet and the hours of daylight decrease, thus lowering temperatures, so I ensure that my log store is full with my fire lit earlier each day and especially at “Yuletide.”

Origins of the word ‘Yule’

It is thought to have been derived from the old Norse ‘jol’ or ‘jul’ which was a heathen feast to celebrate mid-winter before entering the Anglo-Saxon language.

It was first recorded in Old English as ‘geol’ in 1136, commemorating a 12-day festival, held by pagans. With the advent of Christianity, the word Yuletide or Christmastide festival was adopted to celebrate the birth of the ‘Light of the World’ over a period of 12 days, beginning annually on 25 December. Hence the 12 days of Christmas.

It has become a tradition in the UK’s building trade to take a fortnight’s holiday at this time of the year, starting on Christmas Eve.

The word ‘yule log’ was first mentioned in the 17th century and depicted in artwork with a horse harnessed to a log, pulling it towards a farmstead in a snow covered landscape.

To most children today, a ‘yule log’ is a Swiss roll like cake, coated in chocolate with a sprig of red holly on top! For me, my yule logs are in my wood-store ready for use.

Winter Solstice, Dongzhi or Dong-ji Festivals

Celebrated throughout China, Korea and parts of South East Asia, these festivals are an appreciation of the ‘flowing energy’ as the daylight-hours increase until after the Midsummer Solstice.

As Yuletide/Christmastide is a time of family reunions and reflection on the last year’s events, so an appreciation of relatives is also demonstrated in the Orient with special fare served at mealtimes.

In southern China, balls of glutinous rice (tangyuan) are eaten in a savoury or sweet broth, washed down with rice wine. In northern China, dumpling soup is served to combat the cold.

Wherever they live in the world, elderly Chinese folk regard themselves as one year older after the Dongzhi festivities rather than waiting for the Chinese Lunar Year.

Wherever in the world winter solstice festivals are held, they are times for sharing and giving, be they in the form of presents from Santa Claus’s sack or simply spending time around a table with specially prepared food.

My Christmases of yesteryears and nowadays

I was born just after the end of World War II, with food scarcity and rationing still rife in the UK. It was a time of austerity but my parents and grandmother ensured that our table was always full of freshly cooked food and baked treats such as mince pies, Christmas pudding, and Christmas cake for all relatives to come and enjoy.

It was a tradition to stir sixpence coins into the Christmas pudding mix and to make a wish. When eating the Christmas pudding, one carefully tasted each mouthful to avoid swallowing a sixpenny bit!

I remember one cousin swallowing a sixpence, but it naturally reappeared a day later!

The house was decorated with paper chains, Chinese lanterns and a decorated Holly bush as the Christmas tree. Sprigs of red berried holly were hung over pictures on the walls and a bunch of mistletoe which dangled over the entrance door as a sign of affection for all who entered. The latter was no doubt part of a pagan ritual.

Christmas Eve was the time for the final baking by my mother and sister whilst my father and uncle went out for celebration drink. When I returned from university later in life, I would meet up with my old school friends in a Cornish pub where we had a few beers and recounted past days.

At 11pm, I arrived home to accompany my parents and sister to midnight Mass in a packed village church before getting to sleep at about 1.30am on Christmas Morning.

The legendry Father Christmas appeared overnight and left a host of presents under the Christmas tree. With a lit fire sending flames and smoke up the chimney, for there was no central heating, it always surprised me how Santa Claus never singed his beard or burnt his pants!

Christmas morning was spent sharing and opening presents with a small glass of sherry before lunch or Christmas dinner.This was the feast of the year with roasted turkey, home-made stuffing, sliced ham, roast potatoes, brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce and gravy followed with Christmas plum pudding topped with Cornish clotted cream and brandy butter, all washed down with soft drinks, beer or wine according to palates. Chocolates, figs, sugared fruit and dates were available afterwards.

By 3pm, all had to listen to the radio and later in time to watch on monochrome TV, “The ‘Queen’s Christmas Speech to the Commonwealth.” This was followed by a country walk with our dog before daylight faded at 4.30pm, returning home for slices of Christmas cake and a cup of tea and for me, placing more yule logs on the fire.

Those were the days when my treasured Christmas presents, as a boy, were always books and especially from the “Classics.”

Event timings have not changed much as I have aged, and now with eight grandchildren of a wide range of ages from 26 to six months, adaptations have been made to suit all.

Today, I own a Santa Claus outfit, to appear outside the house in the early evening of Christmas Eve to warn all the younger children to go to bed early before I can return with their presents for Christmas Day! It does the trick but the mystery still remains as to why ‘Grandpa’ is never in the room with them when Santa appears!

A Norwegian spruce tree is now our Christmas tree, replacing the original Cornish holly tree and is taken down on the 12th day of Christmas. I still prefer the Holly tree for its leaves never drop, unlike pine needles which I hate vacuuming up even as late as Eastertime!

Others’ Yuletide fare, traditions, and greetings I cannot whet everyone’s taste buds in this article for there are so many varieties of Christmas fare worldwide.

My former Icelandic neighbours ate their Christmas fish dinner on Christmas Eve, opening their presents that evening after I had knocked on their door dressed in my Santa Claus garb.

Fish and shell-fish fare are the treats in coastal areas worldwide. Turkeys were never the main Christmas meat in the UK until the late 17th Century.

Wherever you are in two days’ time on Christmas Day, I wish you all my sincere greetings in various languages from around the world – FelizNavidad, Joyeux Noel, BuonNatale, God jul, SelamatHari Natal, Selamat Natal, Sheng Dan, MeriKrismas, SubhKristmas, MaligayangPasko, FroheWeihnacten and simply’ Merry Christmas’. May Yuletide 2018 be a joyous occasion with our thoughts and prayers extended to all those far away from their families and to absent friends and relatives, wherever they are in this world and the next.

For me, I shall always treasure my Celtic boyhood Christmases in Cornwall, for my mother was Welsh and my father Cornish, thus, I respectively and respectfully add my Christmas Greetings, ‘NadoligLlanwen’ and ‘Nadeliklooannalooanblethennoweth’.

Fortunately for me my mother was born in the southwest county of Wales, Pembrokeshire, which was known as ‘Little England beyond Wales’ and did not speak Welsh and the spoken Cornish language died out on 26 December 1777 when my father’s great, great, great, great, great aunt, Dolly Pentreath passed away at 85 years of age as the last known Cornish speaker.