The Candle in the Window otherwise in Gaelic Coinneal Mór na Nollag. On Christmas Eve a big candle was left to burn in the window, often lit by the youngest member of the family. The idea was to light the way of the Holy Family who was travelling the road. It was also lit as a welcome to visitors.
While we observe the winter solstice around the world, Germanic cultures of northern and western Europe primarily celebrated Yule. At the midpoint of winter, they celebrated the rebirth of the sun and the light it would bring to the Earth.
A Guide to Christmas Markets in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries.
The ancient origins of Christmas tradition are deep-rooted in European culture. The threads unwrap the magic of this sacred time of the year and their contents can be enjoyed completely free of charge or commitment.
The Roman poet Catullus described Saturnalia as “the best of times” — he didn’t even have to offer a caveat, like the Christmas-obsessed Charles Dickens did in his novel Great Expectations. Saturnalia was just straight-up awesome.
A 15th-century medieval manuscript, one of the ‘great books of Ireland’, is returning to its Irish roots almost 400 years after it was captured in a siege.
In Britain, the couple was banned from turning on Christmas lights worth $ 27 000. Too many people wanted to see their beautiful scenery.
This time of year, there are Christmas wreaths adorning everywhere imaginable—from doors and fences to lampposts and windows—even the front grille of the car! How did a round bit of greenery come to symbolize the holidays?
New Year and Christmas traditions in Russia re-appeared not so long ago. In times immemorial, this holiday was celebrated in the spring, then, after the baptism of Rus, a Byzantine calendar was established in Russia. Tthe New Year was celebrated on September 1 according to this calendar. Since […]
Saint Lucy’s Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-4th-century virgin martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution,who according to legend brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle lit wreath on her head to light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible. Her feast day, which coincided with the shortest day of the year prior to calendar reforms, is widely celebrated as a festival of light. Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucy’s Day is viewed as a precursor of Christmastide, pointing to the arrival of the Light of Christ in the calendar on Christmas Day.
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