Neddy's Palaver

Today, January 5th is the Eve of the Epiphany.

For our ancestors, who celebrated “Old Christmas,” the night preceding January 6th is the Eve of Epiphany. It was on this night, over 2000 years ago, that the Magi came to Bethlehem to find the baby Jesus.

Today, the Day of Epiphany is still known as “Old Christmas,” which was the day that Christmas was celebrated before the calendar changed in the 18th century. One of the old beliefs concerning the Day of Epiphany was that a person should never lend anything to anybody on Old Christmas Day, because the lender would never get it back again. Also, the Eve of Epiphany is the night when the Holy Spirit manifests Itself upon the earth in many subtle ways. Upon that night, no matter how hard the ground was frozen, elder bushes would sprout from the ground. Even more mysterious is our ancestors’ belief that at midnight on Old Christmas Eve, if they crept silently into a barn or field, they could hear the cattle and sheep praying. At the exact stroke of midnight on Old Christmas Eve, animals would start moo-ing and baa-ing and bellowing as though they were crying, in remembrance of their own ancestors who had been present in the stable at Bethlehem to witness the birth of the Christ Child and His revelation to the Magi.

A wonderful book that I am reading about celebrating Christmas in England of long ago is “Old Christmas” by Washington Irving.

• “On The Twelth Day of Christmas”
• Old Christmas in Rodanthe, North Carolina.
• Epiphany 2007

The image, The Epiphany, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin’s account.

Visit Neddy’s Archives for more of Edna’s writings.

Celtic-Appalachian Folk Music

The DVD works! I have been wanting this set of DVDs, but it is from Scotland, and there did not seem to be any guarantee that it would work in an American DVD player. Well, it was a Christmas present for me, and it works. It works in my DVD player even though the DVD itself has “PAL” scribed upon it. When I ordered it at Amazon, it was listed as for NTSC. GADS, it is so difficult to figure out all the ins and outs of technology. I wrote about it here when I first ordered it: “Transatlantic Sessions 3.” This set of DVDs is a lovely musical creation - took a lot of musical and video-graphic talent to plan and create it. Of course, only those who love old time acoustic music will appreciate it.

This is a link to YouTube of a very great piece on the second DVD by Tim O’Brien - real old timey Bluegrass music: Tim O’Brien. Here is a link that has more video of some of the pieces on the two DVDs: http://www.squidoo.com/transatlanticsessionsvideoshowcase.

I found this musical creation so beautiful that I had to learn more about it and its meaning. I found it on an album at Amazon, which I just ordered: The Irish Tenors / McNamara, McDermott, Kearns, Tynan.

This is what I discovered about the song entitled “Grace.” Give a listen. (The Video)

“As we gather in the chapel here in old Kilmainham jail,
I think about these past few weeks; Oh, will they say we failed?
From our school days they have told us we must yearn for liberty,
Yet all I want in this dark place is to have you here with me.

[Chorus]
Oh Grace just hold me in your arms, and let this moment linger,
They’ll take me out at dawn and I will die.
With all my love I’ll place this wedding ring upon your finger,
There won’t be time to share our love for we must say goodbye.

Now I know it’s hard for you my love to ever understand,
The love I bear for these brave men, my love for this dear land,
But when Padraic called me to his side down in the G.P.O.
I had to leave my own sick bed, to him I had to go.
[Chorus]

Now as the dawn is breaking, my heart is breaking too,
On this May morn, as I walk out, my thoughts will be of you.
And I’ll write some words upon the wall, so everyone will know,
I loved so much that I could see His blood upon the rose.”

Joseph Mary Plunkett was an Irish nationalist, poet and leader and planner of the 1916 Easter rising. It was largely his plan that was followed in 1916, which ended in a military disaster. Plunkett was held in Kilmainham Jail and faced court martial. Hours before his excecution by firing squad, at age 28, he was married in the prison chapel on 4 May 1916, to his sweetheart Grace Gifford, a Protestant convert to Catholicism.

Grace remained loyal to the republican movement while earning a living as a commerical artist.She voted against the treaty which divided Ireland and during the civil war she was imprisoned in Kilmainham jail for three months. She died in 1955.

Veterans Day 2008 - In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, Row on Row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian physician, also died in France, the same year as my great aunt’s husband, Frank Heming, a casualty of World War I. In 1916 McCrae was Chief of Medical Services at a Canadian Hospital in France, where wounded soldiers from Arras were received. His poem remains one of the most memorable war poems. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres Salient in the spring of 1915. Poppies sprout best in newly cultivated soil and, when this was written, the entire Western Front was covered with poppies blooming as never before seen on the freshly dug graves.

Jesus was a physician or doctor and referred to Himself as such. He set a powerful example for all Christians to follow. See Mark 2:17 and Luke 4:23.

Medical doctors whose faith teaches them to cure people and then kill them, such as the seven physicians of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS, July 2007), should read the teachings of Jesus who said “Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.” Those who follow in the footsteps of the Master Healer will lead happier lives on earth, and blessed rewards in Heaven — minus the 72 virgins.

The Healings of Jesus

Christmas In The Trenches” by John McDermott

Letter from the Western Front, December 25, 1914

“This will be the most memorable Christmas I’ve ever spent or likely to spend: since about tea time yesterday I don’t think there’s been a shot fired on either side up to now.”

“Some of our chaps went over to their lines. I think they’ve all come back bar one from ‘E’ Co. They no doubt kept him as a souvenir.”

“We can hardly believe that we’ve been firing at them for the last week or two - it all seems so strange.”

In his account of one of World War I’s most surreal moments, the British soldier described in his pencil written letter how German troops placed lights along their trenches before approaching the British lines to deliver Christmas greetings. He described the lull in fighting as soldiers played football, helped each other bury the dead, shared traditional Christmas foods, chatted and smoked peaceably together.

Irish singer Chris de Burgh recently purchased the newly discovered manuscript at auction, paying 14,400 pounds ($27,000) for it, according to Yahoo News.

Christian soldiers stopped killing each other along the Western Front on Christmas Eve of 1914. John McCutcheon wrote a poignant song voiced by one Francis Taliaferro about the Christmas Truce. The songwriter claims that it is based upon the true story of Scotsman Ian Calhoun, who was the commanding officer of the British forces involved. Calhoun was subsequently court-martialed for ‘consorting with the enemy’ and sentenced to death. King George V spared his life, praise be to God.

For more information and the words to the song see “Christmas In The Trenches”.

History News Network:

“They also gave us a few songs so we had quite a social party…

“After breakfast we had a game of football at the back of our trenches! We’ve had a few Germans over to see us this morning. They also sent a party over to bury a sniper we shot in the week. He was about 100 yds from our trench. A few of our fellows went out and helped to bury him.

“About 10.30 we had a short church parade, held in the trench. How we did sing. O come all ye faithful. … fried bacon and dip-bread followed by hot Xmas pudding, then muscatels and almonds, oranges, bananas, chocolate, cocoa and smokes”.

“You can guess we thought of the dinners at home. Just before dinner I had the pleasure of shaking hands with several Germans: a party of them came halfway over to us. So several of us went out to them. O exchanged one of my balaclavas for a hat. I’ve also got a button off one of their tunics. We also exchanged smokes etc and had a decent chat. They say they won’t fire tomorrow if we don’t, so I suppose we shall get a bit of a holiday - perhaps.”

“After exchanging autographs and them wishing us a Happy New Year we departed and came back and had our dinner. We can hardly believe we’ve been firing at them for the last week or two - it all seems so strange. At present it is freezing hard and everything is covered in ice…

“There must be something in the spirit of Christmas as today we are all on top of our trenches running about. Whereas other days we have to keep out heads well down…I had a parcel from B G’s Lace Dept containing a sweater, smokes, under clothes etc. We also had a card from the Queen, which I am sending back to you to look after please.”

“As I can’t explain to everyone how I spent my 25th, you might hand this round please…I never expected to shake hands with Germans between the firing lines on Christmas Day and I don’t suppose you thought of us doing so”.

“So after a fashion we’ve enjoyed our Christmas. Hoping you spend a happy time with George Boy as well. How we thought of England during the day. Kind regards to all the neighbours. With much love from Boy.”

The rest of my 350 photos from my quest for the tulips of Holland are at My Flickr.

April 19th is Primrose Day.

My father was born on Primrose Day, April 19th, 1901, at Forest Hill, London, England. For more about Primrose Day see my explanation at Neddy’s Nook on the Net.

Upon the death of the beloved British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield), on April nineteenth, 1881, Primrose Day was instituted in his honor, as the English primrose was his favorite flower. Queen Victoria sent bouquets of primroses to his funeral according to a contempory account; The coffin lies on its bier in an alcove leading out of the modest hall of Hughenden Manor. But of its material, one might almost say of its dimensions, nothing can be seen. It is literally one mass of floral beauty. Here are wreaths from every member of the Royal Family in England bouquets of primroses sent by the Queen, with an inscription attached to them, saying that they came from Osborne Hill, and that they are of the sort which Lord Beaconsfield loved. Two years later, a bronze statue of Lord Beaconsfield was erected at Parliament Square, and it became customary to decorate it with primroses every year on the anniversary of his death. Ofttimes at Easter the woodlands of England are seen carpeted with wild primroses.
~ Primrose Day — April 19th

Oh, to be in England
Now that April’s there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England–now!

~~Robert Browning

Christianity first arrived at Ireland’s shores in 431, when Palladius was sent by the Pope as the first bishop of Ireland. Saint Patrick, probably the most celebrated and famous figure in Ireland’s history, was not himself Irish. He was born in northern Britain to a wealthy Roman official. At the age of sixteen he was captured by Irish pirates and sold into slavery. After escaping from Ireland, he went to France, became a bishop and then made his life’s work the conversion to Christianity of the homeland of his slave-masters. His great success was aided by many other Irish saints including Saints Enda of Arranmore (died 530), Edna (died 516), Finnian (circa 470–550), Columba of Iona (7 December 521–9 June 597), Brendan the Voyager (circa 484–578), Brigid (453–1 February 523), Comgall (circa 515-600), Finbarr (circa 550-623), and Ciaran (circa 515-556). Together they melded the Christian religion with the pagan religion in Ireland and built the monasteries that preserved Christianity and its culture during Europe’s Dark Ages.

Saint Edana of West Ireland, 516 AD