Posts Tagged ‘Lore’
Welcome February with Cicely Mary Barker: the Fair Maids of February and the Snowdrop Fairy
“Cicely would draw the flowers and the fairies and then write poetry about them.” The English illustrator Cicely Mary Barker is remembered for depicting fairies and flowers. In Cicely’s fabulous fantasy world, every flower was granted its particular fairy to protect it from harm. For winter, Cicely created fairies and poems for these plants: Snowdrop,…
Read MoreHow to Wassail Apple Trees on the 12th Night of Christmas
“Wassail means “good health,” by wassailing the apple trees, you wish for good tree health, fertility, and productivity.” In England, tonight, there’s an ancient custom – an old pagan ritual – that involves waking up the apple cider trees with wassailing on the 12th night of Christmas. The written folklore around wassailing says that if…
Read MoreMichaelmas Folklore: Blackberries, the Devil, and a Lingering Curse
“Once he was cast out, Lucifer promptly fell straight into a blackberry bush, and a blackberry bush would not make for a soft landing. Incensed, Lucifer cursed the blackberry fruit, making them unfit for consumption.” September 29th Michaelmas is celebrated on September 29th every year. Since the Middle Ages, English farmers used Michaelmas to mark…
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