Calan Gaeaf

Calan Gaeaf - the start of winter in Wales celebrated on November 1st following 'Nos Calan Gaeaf' (Halloween, All Hallow's Eve, Samhain or what ever you wish to call it) on October 31st when spirits abound, and the old year is ended and the earth is ready to rest over winter.

The start of winter was observed, and in some places still is, in Welsh villages and towns. Traditionally the main celebration was when the women and children danced around a fire in the centre of the village, everyone would write their name on a stone which would be placed into or near to the fire. As the fire started to fade, everybody would run home through fear that Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta - an evil spirit appearing as a tailless black sow with a headless woman would take their souls.

The next morning, all the named stones would be retrieved from the ashes and checked, any stones missing would foretell the person named dying within the year.

Blue Monday...how are you feeling?!

Hi all, well it is officially the saddest, most depressing day of the year in the northern hemisphere apparently. I hope you are all coping and not getting too down - I am actually quite chipper today, but then I have always been a bit odd and I don't tend to conform...

It has been calculated (by an actual mathematical formula no less) that typically the third Monday of January is the most depressing of days. A combination of post Christmas blues, self-hatred of failing in New Year's resolutions (a great reason not to make any in my opinion), bills arriving through the letterbox and the generally dark, dull, damp, cold weather. I do agree that January seems never-ending, it's only the 21st today and it feels like the month has gone on for ages.

The thing is, if this is the drabbest of days, things surely can only get better...the days increase in length and although we are bound to get colder weather yet, spring is on the way - snowdrops are peeping through and there is light at the end of the tunnel. So I try to look forward, take my vitamin d supplements and think of this all being over.

Far too cheerful...back to researching dark things!

"When snow falls dry, it means to lie".

As I write, storm Emma is making her presence known! Outside the wind is gusting and the snow is swirling around...and it is COLD.  This made me think about the folklore relating to snow, and this one seemed more than relevant.

'When snow falls dry, it means to lie'...and that is exactly what we have here, tiny, hard pellets of snow mixed in with softer ones, the slightest breeze is making it start to drift and it stings your face if you venture out into it. Dry snow at this time of year is said to predict a dry summer, whereas softer snow tells of a wet spring and summer. It is also said that if a snow storm starts with small, dry, hard flakes it is more likely to last a long time and stick, whereas wetter, softer flakes at the beginning of a storm results in a shorter fall.

Well, by the looks of it, we are in for a doozy, it certainly makes me doubt the well-known saying 'its too cold to snow'. Kettle on again I think, stay warm out there folks.

Lych Way, Dartmoor - The Way of the Dead.

Ghostly funeral processions travelling through the Dartmoor mist have sometimes been seen along this ancient pathway. Lych Way is a track along which people used to have to carry the dead for burial at nearby Lydford where interment of the deceased was compulsory, so for people living on the far side of the Moor, this was an arduous task especially in the winter months. Things became slightly easier in the 1200's when Widecombe was permitted for use, however the ghostly site has still been reported in modern times.