Tag: Celebrations

Origins of the Christmas Tree.

Origins of the Christmas Tree.

The use of greenery and lights at Christmas goes back to the celebration of the Kalends of January in ancient Rome. Kalends was a celebration of the Roman New Year when people gave each other gifts of green boughs, honey treats, lamps for light and warmth, and silver and gold objects (The latter probably being the most popular.) They also trimmed trees with trinkets and toys during Saturnalia, and put candles on them to indicate the sun’s return to earth.             The Druids honoured Odin by tying golden apples and other offerings to tree branches, and set lighted candles on…

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OUT SOON-Christmas Under Threat

OUT SOON-Christmas Under Threat

Written by Lynne North and illustrated by Jack Foster. Christmas is the most exciting and busiest time of the year. All the elves are hard at work making toys for Father Christmas, and Bodo the Chief Inventor Elf is desperately thinking up new ideas for this year’s special toys. He loves the work, but someone else isn’t quite so happy. Luka is jealous. He is sure he could invent much better toys than Bodo, so decides Bodo should be out of the way. But wouldn’t that spoil Christmas for everyone? Luka finds out too late that he might not have…

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The First Christmas Card.

The First Christmas Card.

Have you written all your Christmas cards yet? No, neither have I. We all will be soon though won’t we, but why? Where and how did this tradition begin? The first Christmas card designed for sale was by London artist John Calcott Horsley and commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy British businessman of the 1800’s, who found himself too busy in the festive season to send individual messages to all his friends. Yes, I know the feeling. Being a man who liked to be prepared therefore, in the summer of 1843 Sir Henry commissioned Horsley to design an impressive…

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A light-hearted history of Bonfire Night  

A light-hearted history of Bonfire Night  

Bonfire Night will soon be with us all again. Would you like to know the origins of this eventful night? The historic origins of Bonfire Night date to the conflict between virtually outlawed Catholics and the Protestant establishment of the 16th and early 17th century. On November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes (the real one, not the stuffed variety) and a group of Catholic conspirators who felt badly treated by the King put 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar underneath the Houses of Parliament. (Not a bad idea, do I hear you say?) Some of those involved in the plot…

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Coming Soon!

Coming Soon!

This year Crimson Cloak Publishing are bringing out an illustrated children’s Christmas book! Written by Lynne North and illustrated by the highly talented Jack Foster it is not a book to miss! Christmas Under Threat Christmas is the most exciting and busiest time of the year. All the elves are hard at work making toys for Father Christmas, and Bodo the Chief Inventor Elf is desperately thinking up new ideas for this year’s special toys. He loves the work, but someone else isn’t quite so happy. Luka is jealous. He is sure he could invent much better toys than Bodo,…

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Autumn Equinox

Autumn Equinox

Are you wondering what the spiritual meaning of the Autumn Equinox is? Autumn Equinox represents a lot in the world. It is the equilibrium of day and night and this represents the light and darkness in our lives. The symbol of the Autumnal Equinox is a double spiral. It illustrates the in-breath and out-breath, the point of balance between the worlds, the inner and outer journey.The long summer nights have passed and we are now in a season of transition. Known to many as Mabon (pronounced May-Bun), the autumn equinox is not widely celebrated in the U.S., as it marks…

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Independence Day

Independence Day

The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day, has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. When the initial battles broke out in April 1775, few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain, and those who did were considered radical. By the middle of the following year, however, many more colonists had come to favor independence, thanks to growing hostility against Britain and the spread of revolutionary sentiments. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence,…

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