By Marielle Martin Traditional Scandinavian Christmas Fare Since ancient times, Scandinavian midwinter celebrations have centered around Norse and Pagan rituals of bringing warmth, joy, and light to the community to counter the darkness and cold of the season. Once Christianity was established in the region in the 11th century those traditions began to be called Christmas, but many practices continued. …
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By Melinda McNutt, Seanchaidh Yule or Winter Solstice: the shortest day/the longest night of the year usually arrives in our Northern Hemisphere December 21st or 22nd. Granny was clan matriarch. We’d gather around her hearth, light candles from the Yule log, feast, sing, tell stories, and hold vigil for Great Mother as she labored through the darkness. On Bay leaves…
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By Jen Padgett Winter bathing rituals can be traced back to ancient cultures. Ayurveda, an ancient Indian medical system in practice today, guides bathing as a purification process for the body, mind, and soul. Hindus who bathe in the River Ganga perceive its waters to be holy nectar. The Romans bathed communally in bathhouses constructed on natural hot springs. They…
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By Lars Fabiunke From the ashes, a community arises anew. Salt n Pepper shakers recovered from a burn site in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire area in California. “Oh my, here it is, it .. it looks pretty untouched” a voice, slightly muffled by a N95 mask, exclaims. The sounds of scraping and sifting through debris halts for a moment.…
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The Ben Lomond Gardener By Uncle Skip It is not easy to express the joy and relief a gardener feels with the season’s first real rain. You’ve spent months zealously tracking temperatures and watching your plants for the least hint of water stress. You might have overwatered, a time or two, just to be safe. You might also have watched,…
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