December
Nestled in the whirlwind of the festive season, there is a stillness. The sun is resting and we are invited to do the same.
Winter solstice, the 21st December, marks the shortest day and the longest night in the Northern hemisphere. For the following three days, the sun remains low before rising on the 25th. In past times and for some still today, the 25th December is a celebration of the return of light. I think this is beautiful; something as significant and impactful as the rising of the sun is surely worth celebrating.
With the start of a new sun cycle, December offers a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what has been and set hopes and dreams for the coming year. Although the light returns, the days remain short, often cold and commonly grey. Crafting, reading, cooking and spending time with people is what I lean on to get me through these Winter days.
In the Field
December ushered in cold spells. First there were frosts, sparkling white but equally bitter. There is something irresistible about a frost, it beckons me outside first thing. I could walk for miles after a frost, intoxicated by the sharp air, eyes flitting from one pretty thing to a next.
Then there was snow, silently it fell and in just two hours everything lay under a blanket of white. Unlike frosts, snow makes me feel sleepy, time seems to stand still and I find it just as magical to look at from my window as from outside. I love the ability of snow to soften the landscape and stop people in their tracks. For a few days, rules seem to change, adults revert to children and the usual hustle of life is swapped for play.
Outside my house there are several crab apples (Malus hupehensis). The redness of the apples against the purity of the snow had me mesmerised. Snow really does have that magical quality of awe and reminds us to slow down and appreciate the often overlooked.
In the Woods
I was recently shown an ancient orchard in which you have to meander along a narrow path with apple trees tumbling on either side and if you look up, you are greeted by mistletoe, lots of it! It stands out in December, the tree’s bare limbs reveal wiry green balls studded with waxy berries.
Mistletoe is hemiparasitic - meaning it cannot photosynthesise itself and so derives its food from a host plant, in this case, the apple trees. There is a lot of folklore surrounding Mistletoe. In pagan cultures, the berries are symbolic of male fertility while for Romans, mistletoe was used by the hero Aeneas to reach the underworld. It is perhaps best known for kissing under at Christmas time.
The berries of Mistletoe have wonderful medicinal properties and can be very soothing for arthritic joints. Michael showed me how to make a Winter balm using Mistletoe berries foraged from this orchard. We combined them with Sea Buckthorn berries and pine tree resin to make it especially soothing.
(It must be mentioned that mistletoe is also toxic if consumed internally!)
In the Cauldron
This is a 500 year old Austrian/German recipe that was kindly shared with me by Michael who originally learnt from Leaonard Fuchs.
Mistletoe and Sea Buckthorn Balm:
Use for dry hands and as a balm to help heal cuts or sore, achey joints.
Health Benefits :
Sea Buckthorn berries: Vitamin C and helps with circulation
Mistletoe berries: anti-oxidant and soothes arthritic pain
Pine Tree resin: anti-inflammatory, can help with rheumatism. Tree resin is produced by a tree to heal its wounds; the resin has the same effect for humans and so when added to a balm has the ability to seal skin and wounds.
Method:
Heat an organic oil of choice in a sauce pan over a water bath (we used organic sunflower oil infused with Viburnum opulus bark gathered by Micahel)
Add the mistletoe and sea buckthorn berries and allow to infuse for an hour over a gentle heat. The mistletoe berries will be gloopy and it is this gloop that will add goodness to the balm.
If you have tree resin (can be found on any trees with open wounds, simply scrape a bit off but ensure you leave enough for the tree and don’t dig into the tree further) add this to the oil mix and allow to dissolve
Strain the berries from the oil mix using a metal sieve
Add two tablespoons of bees wax pellets to the oil and dissolve, this will thicken the balm, add further medicinal benefits and allow the balm to set
Finally pour the warm oil liquid into small pots, leave to set and then label
In the Fire
I can’t imagine December without fires. For me, fire doesn’t only provide warmth, but a gentle source of light to gather around. Fire has a magnetic quality, it draws people closer and offers a common focal point for eyes to gaze. Huddled around a fire, something magical happens, people begin to talk, share stories, worries, hopes and dreams. It is as though the heat is literally thawing any tension in a group.
I love to sit by a fire when I am alone too. I don’t think there has been a day this month when I haven’t returned home from work and immediately set about lighting a fire. It has become a sort of ritual and way to destress after a long day outside. You have to be patient with fire, nurture it slowly and only when confident in its strength can I get on with the rest of my evening. An hour or two later I find myself back huddled close to it again, most likely with a crafty project in my lap. Lately that has been knitting. I find it soothing to keep my hands busy in the evenings and knitting doesn’t require as much thought as a sewing project. My hands repeat the same motion and my mind drifts off comforted by flickering flames.
Inspiration
The period between Christmas and New Year has become a firm favourite of mine. I can cocoon myself away with a stack of books and forget anything else for a while. I think books are one of life’s biggest joys. Not just the stories or knowledge found within the pages but the actual book itself; the art of the book covers, the feel of it in your hands, the thrill of finding a previous owner’s notes or underlining’s hidden in second hand books, books that get recommended or loaned, books that get you inspired to take up a new hobby or to travel. Books are an escape into another world and December is the perfect time to do just that.
These are the books in my December pile:
Wintering, Katherine May - A heart-warming book about the authors quest to understand what Winter is all about. Through observing nature, traditions and different cultures, May uncovers why Winter can be so hard and how we can not only find small triumphs in the darkest of days but also be kinder to ourselves in knowing we are not alone.
Four Hedges, Claire Leighton - A diary of Leighton’s journey in creating and connecting to her small garden. It is written in a beautifully naive and whimsical way that reminds us to celebrate the small joys of life. The book is illustrated with Leighton’s block prints of rural life which are reason alone to flick through the book.
A winter Boook, Tove Jansson - Uplifting, gentle humour and vast wisdom. Her writing convinces me I too am a part of the adventures in each short story.
