==== ==== PREFACE: From Somervell’s abridgement of Toynbee’s “A Study Of History”, volumes 7-10 page 236: “An air of failure or, where there is not positive failure, futility surrounds practically all the examples of Archaism that we have that we have been examinin, and the reason is not far to seek [should be “to be sought”]. The archaist is condemned, by the very nature of his enterprise, to be for ever tryin to reconcile past and present…. If he tries to restore the past without takin the present into consideration, then the impetus of life ever movin onward will shatter his brittle construction into fragments. If on the other hand, he consents to subordinate his whim of resuscitatin the past to the task of makin the present workable, his Archaism will prove a sham. Greetins, o Child of Wotan! RU fed up with bein treated like a 2nd-class citizen in your own land? Discover that, which the ancient sources prescribe for our victory! Check out THE BOOK OF WOTAN! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0065QN8KW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=4faskidstorem20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789 ==== ====
While Advent is a purely Christian celebration (Latin 'advent' = 'arrival') that heralds the birth of Christ, Yuletide (Jultid or Jul, pronounced Yule) is what Scandinavians call Christmas, and is a reminder of pagan traditions from the time long before northern Europe converted to Christianity. Advent marks the beginning of the Church Year, starting four Sundays before Christmas Day (the First Sunday in Advent) and ending on Christmas Eve (December 24th). If Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday, it counts as the Fourth Sunday in Advent, with Christmas Eve proper beginning at sunset. This is, of course, the case this year (2006), which caused some confusion: I checked on Google to see which Sunday I should light the first of my advent candles (see below), and got two different results; November 26th and December 3rd. Somebody clearly didn't know about the Christmas Eve rule! Swedes have a very pleasing custom, which I have adopted back in England. Swedish households have a special advent candleholder, which holds four tall candles in a row. On the First Sunday in Advent, the first candle is lit and allowed to burn just a quarter of the way down before being snuffed out. On the Second Sunday in Advent, the second candle in the row is lit and the first candle re-lit: both are allowed to burn another quarter of the way down (that is, the first candle now burns to half its height). Likewise, on the Third Sunday in Advent, the third candle is lit and the first two re-lit, and all three burn another quarter of the way down, while on the Fourth Sunday in Advent all four candles are lit and allowed to burn right down. My original advent candleholder, which I brought back with me from Sweden, was a rather basic gilt metal box that was put away for the rest of the year, so I often forgot to take it out in time for the beginning of the following Advent. Earlier this year, however, I bought (on eBay!) a very attractive four-candle holder, made of Scandinavian glass, in the form of a Viking longship. This is so decorative that I have it out all the time, so this year there was no problem remembering: just the problem of finding out which Sunday to start!
Swedish households also enjoy advent calendars, in which one window is opened each day throughout Advent. I had never heard of these in England in the 1960s - before I went to Sweden but found on my return that they had become very popular here too. A clear success for the UK chocolate makers' marketing people! Like all continental Europeans, and unlike we Anglo-Saxons, Swedes celebrate Christmas (Jul) on Christmas Eve (Julafton), usually with a meal based around the traditional Christmas ham (Julskinka). In contrast to Advent, Yule celebrations at the time of the winter solstice (now December 20th/21st) certainly predate Christianity. Although there are numerous references to Yule in the famous sagas of Iceland, there is little detail of what actually happened at Yule apart from the obvious eating and drinking. However, many activities associated with the modern festival of Christmas, such as burning the Yule log, eating ham, putting up a fir tree, decorating houses with holly, ivy and mistletoe, etc. are seemingly derived from ancient, traditional Scandinavian and Germanic celebrations of Yule. When the first missionaries began converting the Germanic peoples to Christianity, it was easier to provide a Christian re-interpretation of popular feasts such as Yule, rather than trying to put an end to them. The old Scandinavian tradition of slaughtering a boar at Christmas (hence the Christmas ham) is probably derived from the sacrifice to the god Freyr at the Yuletide celebrations. Freyr was then very important; he was the god of the sun, rain and fertility and thus the patron of plentiful harvests. Interestingly, in England, Saint Stephen may have inherited Freyr's legacy, because his feast day falls on December 26th, so he came to play a part in the Yuletide celebrations that had previously been associated with Freyr. So, to all readers, as they say in Sweden - God Jul! (God = good - no happiness there!).
An English science graduate, I learned modern, everyday business Swedish 'on the job' while living and working in Sweden for 11 years. I offer translation from Swedish to 'British' or internation al English as well as English copy writing from Swedish source material. My education and experience means that high-tech subjects are not a problem. Full details can be found at; [http://www.swedish-into-english.com]
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==== ==== PREFACE: From Somervell’s abridgement of Toynbee’s “A Study Of History”, volumes 7-10 page 236: “An air of failure or, where there is not positive failure, futility surrounds practically all the examples of Archaism that we have that we have been examinin, and the reason is not far to seek [should be “to be sought”]. The archaist is condemned, by the very nature of his enterprise, to be for ever tryin to reconcile past and present…. If he tries to restore the past without takin the present into consideration, then the impetus of life ever movin onward will shatter his brittle construction into fragments. If on the other hand, he consents to subordinate his whim of resuscitatin the past to the task of makin the present workable, his Archaism will prove a sham. Greetins, o Child of Wotan! RU fed up with bein treated like a 2nd-class citizen in your own land? Discover that, which the ancient sources prescribe for our victory! Check out THE BOOK OF WOTAN! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0065QN8KW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=4faskidstorem20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789 ==== ====