Tag: easter

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Anglo-Saxon Easter

Lullingstone Mosaic representing Spring
Easter – Lullingstone Roman Mosaic representing Spring

The German name for Easter is Ostern. The English name is Easter which the Venerable Bede, in the 8th Century, derived from the Goddess Eostra. They probably have the same derivation. But this is all the evidence there is for the Goddess, despite many claims for the deep history of Easter traditions.

Easter, Estry and Canterbury

Philip A. Shaw has proposed that the name of Eastry in Kent might derive from a local goddess, called Eostra. Canterbury had a leading place in the development of the early Church both in England and Germany. So, perhaps, this led to the adoption of a local cult name in these two countries. Otherwise, the name for Easter in Europe derives from Pascha which comes from the Hebrew Passover and Latin. In French it’s Pâques, in Italian Pasqua, Spanish Pascua; Dutch Pasen, Swedish Påsk; Norwegian Påske and so on.

The Church’s Choice for the Date of Easter

The timing of Easter is the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. I have already explained that Spring was the time the Church set for the Creation, the Crucifixion and other key points in the Christian Calendar. See my post the-beginning-of-the-universe-as-we-know-it-birthday-of-adam-lilith-eve-conception-of-jesus-start-of-the-year.

Eleanor Parker in her lovely book ‘Winter in the World’ gives a lyrical insight into how the dates were chosen. The Anglo-Saxons held the belief that God would only choose the perfect time for the Creation and the events of Easter. The Creation began with the birth of the Sun and the Moon. So it was fixed to the Equinox, when the days were of equal length, and the fruits of the earth were stirring into life. But Holy Week also needed to be in harmony with the Moon. Therefore, Easter was tied, like Passover, to the first full moon after the Equinox, which is also when the events take place in the Gospels.

Winters in the World by Eleano Parker

The quotations Parker uses from early English religious writing and poetry shows a profound interest in nature and the universe. It is a very appealing viewpoint. It seems to me that this is something the Church lost in later times, and replaced with a fixation with dogma and ‘worship’ of the Holy Trinity, rather than a spiritual sense of wonder at the Universe.

Celtic & Roman Churches in Conflict

At the time, fixing the date of Easter was very controversial as the Celtic Church in Britain had a different calendar to the Roman Catholic Church. Easter fell on a different day. The Anglian King of Northumberland, for example, celebrated Easter on a different day to that of his wife. King Oswiu was exiled to Ireland where he was influenced by Celtic Christianity. His wife, Eanflæd, from Northumberland, had been baptised by the Roman Catholic missionary, Paulinus.

Easter and the Synod of Whitby

Oswiu, became King of Northumberland and ‘Bretwalda’ (ruler of all Britain). He encouraged a reconciliation. This culminated at the Synod of Whitby (664AD), between the two churches. The Celtic Church finally agreed to follow the Catholic calendar and other controversial customs. The Abbess at Whitby during the Synod was Hilda of Whitby. The Celtic position was defended by Bishop Colmán and the Roman position by St Wilfred. Bishop Colmán resigned his position as Bishop of Lindisfarne, returned to Iona and then set up a monastery back in Ireland. Wilfrid studied at Lindisfarne, Canterbury, France and Rome. After her husband’s death, Queen Eanflaed became Abbess of Whitby,

The antagonism between the two churches went back to the time of St Augustine in the early 7th Century. In a meeting between St Augustine and Celtic churchmen, St Augustine was judged to have been arrogant, unwilling to listen. So agreement was not reached. Sometime afterwards, the Anglo-Saxons attacked the Celts at the Battle of Chester. Hundreds of monks from the Abbey at Bangor were slaughtered.

Days off at Easter & Rituals

Ælfric of Eynsham gives a powerful commentary on the rituals of the Church over Easter. They were full of drama and participation. These included Palm leaf processions on Palm Sunday, feet washing and giving offerings to the poor on Maundy Thursday. Then followed three ‘silent days’ with no preaching. Instead there were rituals and services aiming to encourage empathy for the ordeal of Jesus. This included the nighttime service of Tenebrae. All lights were extinguished in the Church while the choir sang ‘Lord Have Mercy’. The darkness represented the despair that covered the world after Jesus’ death. Good Friday was the day for the adoration of the Cross. The Cross would be decorated with treasures and symbolised turning a disaster into a triumph.

It seemed to me that I saw a wondrous tree
Lifted up into the air, wrapped in light,
brightest of beams. All that beacon was
covered with gold; gems stood
beautiful at the surface of the earth,….

The Dream of the Rood quoted in Eleanor Parker’s ‘Winter in the World’

The Harrowing of Hell

The days before Easter Sunday are known as the ‘Harrowing of Hell’. This was a very popular theme in the medieval period (featuring in Piers Plowman for example). Jesus went down to hell to free those, like John the Baptist, who had been trapped. Becauase when he died the world had no saviour until the first Easter. The name ‘Harrowing’ comes from ‘Old English word hergian ‘to harry, pillage, plunder’. The ‘Clerk of Oxford’ Blog provides more information on the Harrowing of Hell on this page,

The Clerk of Oxford Blog is written by Eleanor Parker. She started in 2008, whilst an undergraduate student at Oxford. The blog won the 2015 Longman-History Today award for Digital History‘.

The above is but a very poor précis of Eleanor Parker’s use of Anglo-saxon poetry and literature. She brings an Anglo-Saxon Easter to life. So if you are interested to know more please get a copy of her book.

Easter Days off

King Alfred’s law code gave labourers the week before and after Easter off work. This made it the main holiday of the year.

First Published in 2023 and republished in 2025, 2026

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Chelsea Buns, Hot Cross Buns. Long Rope Day & Good Friday

photo of three hot cross buns on a blue transfer ware plate
Good Friday Hot Cross Buns

This year, Good Friday is on Friday 3rd of April, and the day we eat Hot Cross Buns. The Hot Cross Bun is a simpler sort of bun than the Chelsea Bun, which was the bun to have at Easter in London in the 18th Century.

Hot Cross Buns Good Friday Traditions

There seem to be all sorts of dubious traditions around the origins of the Hot Cross Bun. It has been suggested that the Greeks knew how to put a cross on a bun. Also, that the Anglo-Saxons celebrated the Goddess Eostre with the crossed bun. It is suggested that the cross represents, not the cross, but the four quarters of the moon, the four seasons and the Wheel of the Year. But there is very little evidence for Eostre other than the Venerable Bede’s mentioning her name. Bede says:

‘‘Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated ‘Paschal month’, and which was once called after a goddess of [the English people] named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month’ (quoted from florencehrs.substack.com/p/eostre-pagan-fertility-goddess)

So nothing is known about Eostra herself nor her rituals and customs. So her association with Hot Cross Buns cannot be known. However, the cross, and the association with Easter, makes the bun powerful, so there are many superstitions on record. A piece of an Easter Hot Cross Bun given to the sick may promote a cure. It was said that a bun cooked and served at Easter will not go off for a year. This might help explain the traditions that hanging them up on a string or ribbon is a good thing. One hung in a kitchen prevents fire. On a ship prevents sinking. In East London, the Widow’s Son Pub in East London has an old bun. This remembers a sailor-son who never returned to eat it on Good Friday.

Making and Eating Hot Cross Buns

The technology of putting a cross on a Bun requires nothing more complicated than a flour and water paste so it might well be an ancient tradition. A more impressive cross can be made with shortcrust pastry. The bun itself is simply flour, milk, butter, egg, salt, spices and mixed fruit. Here is a recipe from the BBC www.bbcgoodfood.com

In my opinion, they need to be purchased from a shop. Home-made Hot Cross Bun might be better but would be strangely disappointing. It’s normally eaten toasted and buttered although I prefer the soft doughy untoasted and unbuttered bun. But then I can get carried away and eat the entire pack of four.

The Good Friday Chelsea Bun

Old Chelsea Bun House Frederick Napoleon Shepherd - from a print at the Museum of London (Wikipedia)
Old Chelsea Bun House Frederick Napoleon Shepherd – from a print at the Museum of London (Wikipedia)

‘RRRRRare Chelsea Buns’ as Jonathan Swift called them in a letter to Stella in 1711.

Fragrant as honey and sweeter in taste
As flaky and white as if baked by the light
As the flesh of an infant soft, doughy and slight.

The buns were made from eggs, butter, sugar, lemon and spices. The tradition was that, on Good Friday, 18th and 19th Century Londoners would go to Chelsea to buy Chelsea Buns. Thousands of people would turn up at the Five Fields. These stretched from Belgravia to what is now Royal Hospital Street. There were swings, drinking booths, nine pins and ‘vicious events that disgraced the metropolis’. The Bun House was on Jew’s Row as Royal Hospital Street was then called. As several King Georges visited the Bun House it became known as the Royal Chelsea Bun House. It was run by the Hands family. They were said to sell 50,000 Buns on the day. Stromboli tea garden was nearby.

Chelsea Cabinets of Curiosity

Inside the Chelsea Bun House was a collection of curiosities. Chelsea became known for its collection of curiosities in the 18th Century. Of course, there was the great Hans Sloane’s collection which was the founding collection of the British Museum. And then there was Don Saltero’s which was a coffee house that had curiosities on the wall. The Bun House displayed clocks, curiosities, models, paintings, and statues on display to attract a discerning Public.

Find me a Chelsea Bun! (Or make one yourself!)

Me. I love a Chelsea Bun above all buns, But can you get them any more? The British Library Cafe was the last place I found that sold them. And that was 7 years ago. I did Chelsea Buns on sale in the Empire Cafe in Newbury but apart from that nada. Their place has been taken first by Danish Pastries and more recently the ubiquitous Cinnamon Bun. If you see any Chelsea Buns on sale please let me know.

Chelsea Buns, middle top row, next to the white cakes
Empire Cafe baking in Newbury since 1874

To make yourself one follow this link. https://www.christinascucina.com/chelsea-buns-british-buns-similar-to-cinnamon-rolls/

Chelsea_bun by Petecarney wikipedia
Chelsea Bun by Petecarney wikipedia

Long Rope Day

There is a tradition of Skipping on Good Friday. I can’t say I ever saw it – in my school skipping was a perennial activity, mostly enjoyed by the girls, but the boys would sometimes be intrigued enough to join in.

There is a great article about Long Rope Day in the Guardian with a wonderful picture of a collective skip. Find it here! https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/apr/06/english-heritage-tradition-skipping-aeaster

More Easter traditions here. My post on Pancake Day. For Lardy Cake read my Fat Thursday post.

First Written in 2023, and combined with the Chelsea Bun in April 2025, Revised and Newbury added April 3rd 2026

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Maundy Thursday

Maundy Money Pouches. and cover of the Order of Service for Royal Maundy service 1974 Photo Wehwalt
Maundy Thursday Money Pouches. and cover of the Order of Service for Royal Maundy service 1974 Photo Wehwalt

Maundy Thursday Meaning

Maundy Thursday is on April 2nd in 2026. This is the last day of Lent, and the day before the Passion. It’s also called Holy Thursday when Christians remember the Washing of the Feet, and the Last Supper. . Maundy is thought to be from the:

‘Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus’ words “I give you a new commandment.’ (Wikipedia).

I much prefer the derivation of Maundy Thursday from the English Kings giving alms to poor people.

‘English name “Maundy Thursday” arose from “maundsor baskets” or “maundy purses” of alms which the king of England distributed to certain poor at Whitehall before attending Mass on that day. Thus, “maund” is connected to the Latin mendicare, and French mendier, to beg.‘

Royal Maundy Thursday Wikipedia

The monarch gives out money in special red and white pouches to old people. In modern times, the money is specially minted for the occasion. It is now more symbolic than a practical gesture. But It dates back to the 13th Century, when the money was a vital lifeline for its recipients.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Wakefield Cathedral after the 2005 Royal Maundy Ceremony. Photo Runner1928
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip after the 2005 Royal Maundy Ceremony at Wakefield Cathedral. Photo Runner1928

In 1572 Queen Elizabeth 1 washed one foot of a group of poor women, then wiped, crossed and kissed them. In fact, the Queen was ‘protected ‘ as the women first had their feet washed by the laundress, then the sub-almoner, then the almoner. Only finally by the Queen. (The Perpetual Almanac of Folklore by Charles Kightley’)

When was The Last Supper?

One scholar, Prof Humphreys author of ‘The Mystery Of The Last Supper’, (2011) has reconciled differences between John and the other evangelists. He believes two calendars were in use, one from before the exile and the other using a Babylonian Calendar. This confusion means that there is too much going on between the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. He suggests that the solution is that Last Supper was on the Wednesday not the Thursday. He also calculates a date for the Last Supper as:

Wednesday, 1 April AD33.

Maundy Thursday at Chester Cathedral

Last year, I was in Chester Cathedral on Maundy Thursday where the Diocesan Eucharist was held. The Cathedral was awash with Clergy, (I counted at least 4 Bishops) and most of the priests in the area.

First published 2023, republished 2025. 2026

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Yew Sunday Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday (Yew Sunda) by Giotto. Entry into Jerusalem from the Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padova (sent to me by Lucia Granatella)

Yew Sunday (Domhnach an Iúir in Irish) is the medieval name for Palm Sunday. This is the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph on a donkey, with palm leaves being laid in front of him. It has always been very curious to me, this triumph preceded such heavy and heartbreaking tragedy. It is the Sunday before the Betrayal, which leads to the Crucifixion on Good Friday and the Resurrection on Sunday. A busy week for the Church.

I got a little insight into the powers of the procession when on a Field trip to Nice with Students from Central Saint Martins College. We set the Students the task of creating an ‘art intervention’. They came up with the idea of a Procession to the Mayor. It was extraordinary how deploying a few placards, saucepans as drums, and some chanting could create an instant event,. It made people smile and join in, even if clueless about the cause!!

Palms

Palm Sunday can be celebrated by making crosses out of palms, or with processions bearing palm branches or eating special cakes. There is always room in any ritual for cake). But in the North, where do you get your Palms from? So, it was often substituted by Box, or Olive or Willow and particularly, in Britain and Ireland, by Yew. Yew is evergreen and is so long-lived as to be a symbol of everlasting life. (I wrote more about the Yew here). See also my post on Ash Wednesday.

Giotto Bondone

Giotto was a Florentine painter of the 14th Century of whom Giorgio Vasari, in his essential guide to the artists of the Renaissance, ‘The Lives of the Artists‘ said of the 10 year old:

One day Cimabue, going on business from Florence to Vespignano, found Giotto, while his sheep were feeding, drawing a sheep from nature upon a smooth and solid rock with a pointed stone, having never learnt from any one but nature. Cimabue, marvelling at him, stopped and asked him if he would go and be with him. And the boy answered that if his father were content he would gladly go. Then Cimabue asked Bondone for him, and he gave him up to him, and was content that he should take him to Florence.

There in a little time, by the aid of nature and the teaching of Cimabue, the boy not only equalled his master, but freed himself from the rude manner of the Greeks, and brought back to life the true art of painting, introducing the drawing from nature of living persons, which had not been practised for two hundred years; or at least if some had tried it, they had not succeeded very happily.

Written in 1550.

Giotto & The Development of Perspective

If you look at the painting, above. you will see, even the faces of the people are rounded and, and at least somewhat, individual. The crowd scene, particularly, to the right, has some depth. The people further away seem to recede from the viewer. This contrasts with the Byzantine style of paintings, where figures either float or seem to stand on or support themselves on each other’s shoulders. The Gate into Jerusalem has been rendered by an arist who has seen something that he believes has the key to realistic scenes. One day it will be rediscovered, and named single-point perspective.

Yes, Giotto doesn’t know the secret but he is working to find out what the trick is. The people in the trees are also in the distance. These are the giant strides that Vasari is referring to in the quotation above. Realistic people, in spaces with depth. The donkey is quite sweet too! Cimabue, Giotto’s Master was particularly good at painting Crucifix scenes.

For more on early attempts at creating perspective, see my post on Duccio and the Annunciation here.

Digital tour of the Cappella degli Scrovegni

The Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padova is a World Heritage Site decorated by Giotto and his team. They covered all the walls and ceiling with frescos. Depicting the Life of Jesus, the Life of Mary, and the Last Judgement.

Giotto, The Last Judgement. Cappella degli Scrovegni, In Padova. Wikipedia

Here is a real Digital Heritage treat – a 360 Degree tour of the Chapel! Follow the link below. If it seems to be taking a long time to load press the information button. Once pressed will allow the panorama to load immediately.

https://www.haltadefinizione.com/en/image-bank/giotto-di-bondone-scrovegni-chapel-360-view/

First Published in 2024, revised in 2025, 2026

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As Mad as a March Hare March 28th

March Hare. Hares Boxing in Yorkshire by yorkshireroestalking

The expression ‘Mad as a March Hare’ comes from the displays of hare boxing that takes place as the Hare mating season begins. And no, it’s not the male March Hare fighting in the spirit of romantic rivalry. It is the female hares fighting off unwanted attention from the males. Hares are solitary creatures, and the mating season is, perhaps, particularly difficult for them. The Country File website has more on the subject. www.countryfile.com

Not only March Hares but March Kittens too

There are also March Kittens and March Chickens. Edward Topsell in his ‘History of Four-footed Beasts‘ 1607 says the best Kittens to keep are those born in March. ‘The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Opened‘ 1669 says:

‘Keep a black cock hatched in March as a protection against evil spirits: his crowing terrifies them.’

He also gives a recipe for Cock Ale:

Eight gallons of Ale, a boiled March Cock, four pounds of stoned Raisins, half a pound of dates, nutmegs, mace. Beat the ingredients in a mortar, add to two quarts of Sherry. Add to the ale. Stop it in a container for 6 or 7 days. Bottle it, drink after a month.

Very weird. I challenge my readers to try it and let me know how it goes?

Was the March Hare Sacred?

But it’s not only March Hares because the hare itself was a sacred animal. It was sacred to Aphrodite because of their prodigious ability to have offspring:

‘For you know, I imagine, what is said of the hare, that it possesses the gift of Aphrodite to an unusual degree. At any rate it is said of the female that while she suckles the young she has borne, she bears another litter to share the same milk; forthwith she conceives again, nor is there any time at all when she is not carrying young.’

Classical Texts Library. Philostratus the Elder, ‘Imagines’ Book 1.1-15 c 3rd Century AD. Translated by Arthur Fairbanks.

Divine Celtic & Neolithic Hares

Research reported by Exeter University suggests that hares were worshipped in pre-Roman Britain. Julius Caesar wrote:

“The Britons consider it contrary to divine law to eat the hare, the chicken, or the goose.”

‘The Battle for Gaul’ Translation by Wiseman, Anne, Wiseman, T. P. Published by Penguin Random House, 1980 ISBN 10: 0701125047 (TP Wiseman was my professor for Classical Studies at Leicester University).

In Neolithic Ireland, hares were found buried with human remains at the Neolithic court tomb at Parknabinnia.

March Hares, Easter Bunnies, & Witches

illustration of a hare from 1873 fom the London Illustrated Almanac
The Hare

Hares are thought to be the original Easter Bunny. But finding good evidence before Germany in the early modern period is difficult. There is a tradition that witches can be scared away at Easter. Exactly, how this works is not at all clear to me. But it has been said that witches could take on the form of a hare. So eating Hare Pie at Easter helps rid the land of the witches.

Jugged Hares

You could have a jugged hare. Jugging is cooking a whole animal in a container over water. Follow this link for a recipe for jugged wild hare. Remember, you are not allowed to shot or trap them on a Sunday or on Christmas Day! For a discussion of hares and folklore, click here:

Hare’s Feet Totems

A jointed hare’s foot was considered very lucky and a remedy against gout, stomach pains and insomnia. (The Perpetual Almanack of Folklore by Charles Kightly, which I have used several times in this piece.) You can buy one on eBay. (Don’t click the links, it’s not an advert but a picture of an advert). I remember friends having rabbit feet which they carried around with them for luck. The foot would often be on a key rings.

Advert for a hare's foot from ebay
Advert for a hare’s foot from ebay

Maybe you might like to look at my January Post of Rabbiting January-19th-kalendar-of-shepherds/

Object of the Day

Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (Johann Heinrich Hurter after Angelica Kaufman). Photo by K Flude of the miniature at the Victoria and Albert Museum

The Gilbert Collection has been re-displayed in the V&A in London. It has just opened, and is one of the most opulent displays you could hope to see! But, I loved this miniature of Georgiana. She was one of the richest women in Britain, a compulsive gambler, and a powerful political force for the Whig Party. And despite the Georgian Hairstyle the artist has contrived to make a very down to earth portrait. I can imagine bumping into her at the local Overground Station! She became better known after the bio graphy by Amanda Foreman, followed by the Film starring Keira Knightly. The Museum label says the portrait is ‘after Angelica Kaufman’. But I cannot find a Kaufman of Georgiana, that has this charming informality.

I have just heard news that the Arts Council wants to charge overseas visitors to visit our wonderful free national Museums, while allowing British Citizens free entry. Now, there are lots of arguments to be made about it, particularly in a time where money is in short supply. But, one result will be longer waits to get into Museums and Galleries. I am not sure how we Brits, are going to be asked to prove our nationality. If they have to inspect our Electricity Bills, Drivers Licenses, Passports, Library Cards, or Bank Statements, expect chaos.

One more object from the Collection is made of minature mosaics, and the V&A has several, But I have chosen this fabulous image of the Colosseum in Rome:

Colosseum by Domenico Moglia c1851

First published March 28th 2023, revised 2024, 2025. 2026 Object of the Day added and post revised 2026

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The Beginning of the Universe as We Know It; Birthdays of Adam, Lilith, & Eve; Conception of Jesus, Start of the Year March 25th

Lilith is shown coming her hair and looking in a mirror Study for Lady Lilith, by Rossetti. 1866, in red chalk. Now in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (Wikipedia
Study for Lady Lilith, by Rossetti. 1866, in red chalk. Now in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (Wikipedia) Lilith born at The Beginning of the Universe

This is now my most popular post. March 25th is the Annunciation—the day that the Archangel Gabriel tells Mary she is pregnant. (to see some very fine paintings of this meeting, look at my other March 25th post march-25th-feast-of-the-annunciation/). When I first wrote this post I was discovering how it all fitted together as I wrote.  So I’m leaving it the way it was, proof reading and clarifying if necessary, but keeping the thrill of the discovery of the the significance of March 25th as the day that saw the Beginning of the Universe.

March 25th is also the anniversary of the birth of Adam and Eve (and Lilith); the death of Jesus Christ; the anniversary of the Immolation of Isaac; the Parting of the Red Sea; the Fall of Lucifer; and, (until 1752 in the UK) the beginning of the Year. 

Of course, it isn’t. Or to put it another way, no one can, or ever could, prove any of these dates except 1752. So what they speak to is the way the Church saw the world as logically structured by God. Christian thinking about the year, the world, the universe, creation, developed over many years and took influences from many cultures. It is also very complicated to work out the sequence, so I’m going to summarise what I know (or at least what I think I know).

Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus.

Christians chose Christmas Day as the Birthday of Jesus, probably partly because it was a prominent birthday already shared with several Gods.  Particularly, Attis, Mithras,  Saturn and the Unconquered Sun. It was approximately at Solstice, the beginning of the Solar Year, and close to one of the main festivals of the Roman World, the Saturnalia. So it made it easier for new converts who could retain elements of their festivals after conversion.

December 25th might have been selected by the pagan religions because it is the time when the Sun begins to rise further north each day.  The days stop shortening and start lengthening, light increases with the promise of warmer weather and budding plants. It was considered a rebirth of the Sun.

Solstice Anniversaries

So, Jesus was born on/or around the Solstice, so he must have been conceived approx. 9 months earlier.  This is approximately at the Spring Equinox.

Ah, you are thinking!  But today isn’t the equinox. It’s a few days after the equinox. Surely, God doesn’t do approximately?

I have always thought that the 4 or 5 days difference between the Solstice, the Equinox and the Christian festivals was down to the fact that the Calendars were not well coordinated with the actual movements of the Sun (because the Sun does not circle the earth in 365 days, or in 365 and a quarter days, but 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes. Unless corrected for this means dates slip from their proper place in the Solar Year. It also makes lunar Calendars difficult to align with the Sun cycles, and vice versa.

But when I first wrote this a sudden revelation dawned upon me which will be revealed in the next few paragraphs.

So, God sends his Son to save the human race. God is a logical being, so she would send her Son at an appropriate time? If Jesus is born at or near the Solstice, which is an appropriate time for the Son of the Creator, then conception 9 months earlier, March 25th, is near the Equinox.  This is the beginning of Spring. For many people, Spring is a new beginning, for example, the Anglo-Saxons saw Winter as the death of the year, and Spring as the young Year. It all makes sense.

The Creation

So to the Creation. God, having a free choice, would have created the world at the beginning of Spring. In fact, if you think about it, God creates everything necessary for life at the creation in 6 days. As soon as it has all been created and put together, it is bound to immediately spring into new life. The first season must, therefore, be Spring? Right? So March 25th?

This gives a nice symmetry with Jesus’s Life. Conceived on March 25th, born December 25th, and died 30–40 years later, according to the Church, at Easter, on March 25th. (the only other famous person I know, born and died on the same day is William Shakespeare).

Easter

Easter, when Jesus is martyred, isn’t March 25th I hear you saying. But remember, Easter is a lunar festival, so its date varies each year. In fact the next time is 2035. Births and deaths, on the other hand, are fixed to the Solar Calendar. Therefore, the Church chooses March 25th as the most appropriate day to pin the death of Jesus, on the anniversary of his conception and the anniversary of the creation of the Earth. I am guessing that this is also the preferred date for the Day of Judgement.

It is also the Birthday of Adam, and his first wife Lilith (or so some say), and Eve. More about Lilith below. I hope this is all making sense?

Why was Adam born on March 25th?

I had thought this date was just one of the parallels that the Church liked, Jesus and Adam born on the same day. But, I have just worked out why Adam is born on March 25th, and why these dates are not the Equinox, March 20th/21 but March 25th, which has been bugging me.

Let’s go back to the beginning of Creation as described in Genesis. It has the following sequence of Seven Days, beginning with the Equinox March 20th. I have added dates to the 6/7 day sequence of Creation:

  • Day 1: Light – March 20th
  • Day 2: Atmosphere / Firmament – March 21st
  • Day 3: Dry ground & plants – March 22nd
  • Day 4: Sun, moon & stars – March 23rd
  • Day 5: Birds & sea creatures – March 24th
  • Day 6: Land animals & Adam, Lilith and Eve – March 25th
  • Day 7: The Sabbath of rest – March 26th
  • For more information www.bibleinfo.com

So there you have it! Adam, Eve (and Lilith) were created on Day 6 with the Land Animals – March 25th. Jesus conceived, also on this date, and so 9 months later is born on December 25th. It all makes sense, and aligns the Jesus’s Life, the Christian year fully with the Solar Year and the Creation!

And that, dear Reader, is the very first time anyone has been able to explain to me why Christmas is not at the Solstice, and why the Annunciation was not at the Equinox. Maybe you all know this, but it is very exciting to work this out for myself. And believe me, I have done a lot of reading about calendars and not spotted an explanation.

When was the Creation?

The Anno Munda‘s is a Jewish Calendar which begins counting from a year before the Creation – the Year of Emptiness. This was 5500 years plus 2026 years ago so 7526 Before the Present. And it was supposed to have ended in 600AD, 6000 years after the Creation. So, they got that wrong.

Dionysius Exiguus replaced the Anno Mundo year with the AD/BC system in the 6th Century AD). This became popular when the Venerable Bede used it in his writings in the 8th Century.

Beginnings of the year

The Celts chose October 31st, Julius Caesar chose January 1st, other cultures have other dates, and the Spring Equinox is another choice sometimes made. The Church and Dionysius Exiguus choose March 25th, although secular society also recognised the claims of January 1st. Britain kept to March 25th until 1752 when we adopted the Gregorian Calendar. But people like Samuel Pepys celebrated New Year’s Eve on 31st December. So January 1st was the secular New Year, but the Christian year number did not change until March 25th. So King Charles I thought his head was being cut off on January 30th 1648; while history books will tell you it was cut off on January 30th 1649. Same day, same head, different reckonings.

January 1st, the New Moon and New Year

December 31st/January 1st is essentially a Solstice New Year Festival. And I have, previously, used the difficulty of keeping calendars as to why these days has slipped out of alignment with the Solstice. But, today I realised that it is as likely that the reason is the Solar/Lunar nature of our time keeping. The year, and its festivals, is largely arranged around the Solar Cycle. But our weekly and monthly cycles are orginally derived from the Moon.

The first of a month, was called the Kalends by the Romans, the Nones the half moon, and the Ides signified the New Moon. The kalends of January is then, originally, the First New Moon after the Winter Solstice. So, January 1st is not a slightly misdated Solstice Festival it is a Festival celebrating the first New Moon of the New Year! Sorry, to seem excited but this is the first time I have realised this.

Over time societies give up trying to sync the lunar and solar calendars. Roman and Christian cultures gave up and fixed the moon months, completely abandoning any attempt to keep the months to the actual lunar cycle. This is our current system, in which only Easter and festivals that depend on Easter remain  true to the movements of the moon festival, much to our perennial confusion.

Maybe you all know this, but it’s put many things into perspective for me!

Lilith

The April 2023 Issue of ‘History Today’ had a short piece called ‘The Liberation of Lilith’ which suggests that the story of Lilith, a figure from Jewish Folklore, is first attested in a Medieval satirical text called ‘The Alphabet of Ben Sira’. The story goes that Lilith is created from the same clay as Adam. Adam then demands she lies below him during sex. She refuses, saying that they are both made from the same stuff and, therefore, equal. Adam refuses to accept this, and so Lilith leaves the Garden of Eden. So the story goes.

The story of Lilith, Sarah Clegg suggests, is one of a series of similar stories found around Europe and Asia. And Clegg assumes that it is gradually modified to make Lilith a demon who will kill babies unless the names of three angels are spoken out loud.

The story survived as a charm to keep babies safe, and perhaps to remind people of equality among the sexes. But this causes problems for, OK, let’s call them out, the Patriarchy. Lilith cannot be equal to Adam so she is made into a monster, not made from the same clay as Adam but from the scum and waste left over from Adam’s creation. I imagine the story then went on to propose that God creates Eve from Adam’s rib, and so she is created from Adam, and is, therefore, not equal, but subservient to him, although not as bad as Lilith. Lilith is now a significant figure in feminist folklore circles.

I wrote about more about eras and ages in my post which you can see her: Greater Cycles and the Six or Seven Ages

Lilith by Rossetti

Attached to the watercolour of Lilith by Rossetti (at the top of the page), was a label with a verse from Goethe‘s Faust as translated by Shelley. (Wikipedia)

“Beware of her fair hair, for she excells
All women in the magic of her locks,
And when she twines them round a young man’s neck
she will not ever set him free again.”

The model is Fanny Cornforth, Rossetti’s mistress. He painted another version a few years later, but the model in that is Alexa Wilding. His models are arguably more interesting than the man himself and include: Elizabeth Siddall, Jane Morris and Fanny Cornforth. Christina Rossetti, his poet sister, modelled for Rossetti’s painting, Ecce Ancilla Domini which you can see here.

For more on the Annunciation, look at my other March 25th post here.

I think I might have enough material to begin my own Cult.

First Written 25th March 2024, revised 2025, 2026

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Mothering Sunday & Simnel Cake

Virgin and Child (Image on a card of unknown origin) to illustrate Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day

In 2026 Mothering Sunday is on March 15th. In 2027 it will be on March 7th. Strangely, originally not about Mothers! Mothering Sunday is the 4th Sunday in Lent. It is, in fact the day in which we are enjoined to visit our Mother Churches. It, therefore, became a day when people made processions to their Churches.  Servants and workers could go to their home parishes. But not only go to the Mother Church but also to say hello to their mothers. So, it became increasingly about Mothers. It was called Mothering Sunday when I was little and has morphed into the Americanism that is Mother’s Day.

In Church the Reading is often Isaiah 66:10–11

‘Rejoice ye with Jerusalem; and be ye glad for her, all ye that delight in her: exult and sing for joy with her, all ye that in sadness mourn for her; that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations.‘

Jerusalem is personified, here, as the Mother. Further associations with motherhood came from the Gospel for the day which is John 6:1–14, the story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, which led to associations with the bounty of Mother Earth.

In the medieval period visits to the Mother Church seem to have become fiercely competitive. The Bishop of Lincoln, Robert Grosseteste decreed:

‘In each and every church you should strictly prohibit one parish from fighting with another over whose banners should come first in processions at the time of the annual visitation and veneration of the mother church. […] Those who dishonour their spiritual mother should not at all escape punishment, when those who dishonour their fleshly mothers are, in accordance with God’s law, cursed and punished with death.‘

(Letter 22.7 – Wikipedia)

Simnel Cake

It was also the Sunday in the fasting period of Lent in which the restrictions were relaxed. So a special cake called Simnel Cake was made for the purpose.

I’ll to thee a Simnel bring
‘Gainst thou goest a-Mothering
So that, when she blesseth thee
Half that blessing thou’lt give me.

Herrick Hesperides 1647

Photo: James Petts from London, England – Simnel cake (wikipedia
Easter 2012

The Simnel cake is a fine flour light fruit cake (Latin simila, fine flour), with layers of marzipan in it. It often has 11 balls of marzipan on the top, representing the 11 (not Judas) apostles. The cake is first boiled for two hours and then baked. Now, I know 95% of my American readers hate fruit cake. But believe me when I tell you – change your ways – iI’s delicious. Try this BBC’s recipe: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easter-simnel-cake

And I’m beginning to see that cake is an emerging theme of this Almanac of the Past.

See my post on Chelsea Buns here; Lardy Cake and Doughnuts here.

Written in March 23, slightly revised in March 24, and 25, Revised 26

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Leap Day & and the Roman Calendar February 29th

Druids at All Hallows, by the Tower
Druids at All Hallows, by the Tower

I have just come back from my very first Leap Year Walk, which I gave tonight for London Walks. It was one of a series of my walks, which are about the year through London’s History. So far, I have done, a New Year Walk, an Imbolc Walk (1 February, St Brigid’s Day), a Spring Equinox Walk, a May Day Walk, a Summer Solstice Walk, an Autumn Equinox Walk, a Halloween Walk, and a Winter Solstice Walk. All, at their core, have the subject of the year, how it is arranged, and celebrated in different cultures and different times in London.

I hoped to get this post done, today, but on arrival at home my burglar alarm was ringing, so had to get an emergency electrician out to pacify my neighbours, and tracking down the fault meant turning my house upside down. I rushed it out, with many bad proof reading errors and ommissions, And have now, on the dawn of a new month, and a new Season, updated it. Probably, knowing me, it still has a far few errors! Now, I am rushing to look after my Grandson!

So, the reason there is a leap year, is that the Sun and the Moon have different cycles, which cannot be easily aligned. And secondly, the solar year is not a fixed number, it is not 365 days, but 365 days and a bit.

Originally though, probably, most cultures lived their lives with time keeping controlled by time markers from their everyday environment, days and nights, the waning and waxing of the moon, the seasons, and the changes in the rising and setting of the Sun. Budding nature would have provided other markers as to when to sow, to harvest, to prune, to slaughter, to worship and marry.

The months were given by the cycle of the Moon, which also gave us tides and menstrual cycles. The months were given names, which were often associated with the weather. The trouble was that the Solar year did not align with the Moon, soon the months would get out of kilter with the seasons. So over time, the society would find it was winter in June, or summer in December. (which is OK if you live in Australia).

Society dealt with this in a number of ways. It could be ignored, why shouldn’t it be cold in June, why should June always be in Summer? Another way was to add in extra days, or months, every so often to make sure June remained in the Summer. This is what Egypt, the early Romans and the Celts did. They kept their months aligned to the actual movements of the Moon, and aligned their Solar Year with it by the addition of extra days or a month or two. or a combination of both.

I reported on this in my post on the Terminalia for February 23rd. As I wrote:

Terminus was an old ancient God who was the God of the boundary, the border, the edge, the liminal God. February was the last month of the original Roman year, but the rulers of Rome added an intercalary month every so often, called Mercedonius in an attempt to keep the Solar year in tune with the seasons. And when the intercalary month was added, the last five days of February were given to Mercedonius and the resulting leap year was either 377 or 378 days long.. So, in those years, the 23rd of February was the Terminus of the year. (For more on Terminalia look at my post for February 23rd on Terminalia-god-of-the-boundary)

Now, as the Roman Republic became more sophisticated, the intercalary months were added at the direction of the Pontiffs, supposedly every two and sometimes every three years. But the Pontiffs were often swayed by political advantage, and by the time of Julius Caesar the seasons had got wildly out of sync with the calendar year. The Dictator, therefore, instituted ‘the Year of Confusion’ which was over 400 days long and brought in the Julian Calendar which realigned the calendar back in line with the seasons.

Caesar spent time with Egyptian Astronomers, trying to understand their solution to the problem. They identified that the year was not 365 days long but 356.25 days, so JC ‘fixed’the issue with a leap day every four years. Based on the almost correct calculation of a solar year being 365.25 days. The new calendar was inaugurated on the Kalends of Januarius 709 AUC, or as we would call it I January 45 BC. It became, in time, something the Romans were very proud of – rationalising, measuring, time itself. Romans counted their dates from the time their City was founded by Romulus in what we call 753 BC or 753 BCE. So, 45 BCE in our reckoning is 709 ab urbe condita (AUC ‘from the founding of the City) as the Romans saw it.

I prefer not to use BCE because it seems ‘dishonest’ to me. The idea of AD BC was made up based on a guess as to when Jesus was born. Changing BC to BCE may rid the date of an explicit Christian identification but masks the fact that there is no such thing as the ‘Common Era. What the Common Era is, is the idea made up in the Late Roman period guessing when Jesus was born/ So I think call a spade a spade, even if it’s a broken meaningless spade that is not fit for purpose, either replace it with something rational, or real or call it what it is.

The interesting thing is that Caesar put the leap year in on the 24th February. Why? Because February, being the month of death, was the end of the year. March 25th was originally the beginning of the Roman year (Caesar moved it to January 1st). Why March 25th? Because it was the Spring Equinox. If you look at my post for March 25th you will find out it is the date of the creation of Humanity, the Birthday of Adam, the conception of Jesus, and until 1752, the day the year number changed in Britain.

The other strange thing about the new leap day was that it was not called February 25th. It was not given a number. Rather, February 24th was two days long. This continued in Britain until the date February 29th started appearing in calendars in the 15th Century, although the legendary Lawyer, Edward Coke (1552 – 1634), refers to the two days of February 24th, but the two day 24th was completely replaced by February 29th in the 16th Century.

One slight complication to the story of February 29th was that February 29th did exist before the Julian reforms. When February was not interrupted by the intercalary month, as described above, it was 29 days long. Julius Caesar made the months alternate 30 and 31 except for February which was 29 days long. When the Senate gave Julius the honour of having the 7th Month named after him, things were OK, but then Augustus wanted the same thing. The Senate duly gave him the next month, which became known as August, but it only had 30 days. This could not be allowed! So they made it up to 31 and stole the 29th from February and made February only 28 days long. This change also meant that there were now three 31 days months in a row, so they reduced September from 31 to 30, boosted October to 31, reduced November to 30 and boosted December to 31,

Hence, we can no longer remember Caesar rational allotment of days in the month, and we need to hum to ourselves:

Thirty days have September
April, June, and November
February has twenty-eight alone.
All the rest have thirty-one.
Excepting leap year – that’s the time
When February’s days are twenty-nine.

But Caesar had not solved the problem of the shifting year, he had just minimised it. By the Council of Nicea in the early 4th Century (and not yet called AD!) the small error had changed the date of the Spring Equinox, from March 25th to March 21st. So, when Constantine convened the Council to bang the heads together of the Church leaders to unify their religion, particularly in regard to the date of Easter, and whether Jesus was equal to God. They fudged the complex issue of the date of Christ’s death, and used March 21st as the foundation of their calculation on the moon-based festival of Easter (more of which at Easter!)

It wasn’t until the 16th Century that Pope Gregory, solved the problem of the inaccuracy of Caesar’s solution, by introducting the Gregorian Calendar, for which see my post here.

See the following posts for the Roman Year:

Romulus’s 10 month year here

Spring & the Month of New Life March 1st

Roman Months here and more on the Ides of March here

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Chelsea Buns Good Friday

Page moved to Good Friday page here