Busy

[helwen]

Been reading away and trying to organize my thoughts this morning (after sleeping in late because I had trouble staying asleep -- yay time-change!).

Back is giving me grief, some muscles are in spasm behind the left shoulder blade I think... amusingly (and happily so), the right side is doing fine!

Need to grab some of the books on history of druids/druid revival to try to pin down some info on Samhain. I've always felt the new year should be celebrated in the spring... I suppose it doesn't really matter that much after all these years, but it's nice to know when various customs began.

For the curious, here's one site to look at: http://caeraustralis.com.au/CNYnotsamhain.htm . On other pages it would seem this person/group leans toward May 1 as the new year, although on the page I link to this paragraph, a poem from another site is mentioned, which implies the new year starting Feb 1 (Imbolc/Candlemas) or thereabouts. Which happens to sync better with the old Roman calendar, and also with the Chinese calendar, and perhaps other cultures' calendars as well that I don't know anything about. Spring is an imminently sensible time to start a year, as that is the time of beginnings, whether you're a farmer (preparing the field takes time, lambing is in spring) or a gatherer (first spring shoots, sap starts to flow, etc.). Many people say it isn't spring until flowers are blooming, but really, that's more like a high point of spring. The beginnings are more subtle - a change in the air, the quality of the cold, a change in the wind, a slight softening of the ground or the beginning of shoots just breaking the surface. And of course where one lives also determines when these things happen, so when looking at sources and trying to get clues from them, location and time period of the source need consideration. In truth, little seems to be known with absolute certitude of when the ancient Celts celebrated the new year. But it's interesting to poke around and see what tidbits one can find of old customs and traditions :)

If my shoulder/back allows, I'll do a bit of gardening today. Can't spend all day indoors!

Next though, is getting cat food and other supplies. Ta for now!

Comments

[lyanna-beth.livejournal.com]

Celebrate all of them! :)

[fitzw.livejournal.com]

Always a good excuse for a party. ;-)

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Indeed :) Just not necessarily all of them as the first day of the new year -- I think 4 times is enough for me :D

(Modern day calendrical, Chinese, SCAdian, and Druidic)

[silverhawkdruid.livejournal.com]

Now there you go, Spring has always felt like a start to me, not the depths of December, or the beginning of November (even though that is the start of my birthday year). I would struggle to say exactly when spring starts, but I usually feel a good rush of happy once I start to see buds appearing on trees, and under them. This can happen long before the weather improves to a level comfortable to me, but those first signs of life are a real boost when you are cold, and wet. :-)
To me, rushing out and digging, planting, etc is the start of the new season of growth, and by November I feel that my year is winding down, and I am settling in for the winter. During the quieter time, round Dec and Jan, I would, in an ideal world, be effecting repairs, cleaning and storing, and replacing tools as required, and planning out the beds and planting for the coming year.
Of course when we lived on the sheep farm, spring was marked by hearing the first new born orphan lambs bleating through our cat flap because they had escaped again! LOL

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm definitely more of a spring person myself. As far as the group goes, I don't mind celebrating whenever the majority wants to party, but personally... spring is it! Love the lambs :D