#Glastonbury Thorn

[maypoleman1]

5th January

Twelfth Night/ Old Christmas Eve

1986 Christmas stamp. Source: The Garden Trust website

Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus’ uncle, visited Britain according to Christian folklore and while here, planted his staff in the ground at Glastonbury and it immediately sprouted into a thorn tree. The Glastonbury Thorn was thereafter considered holy and it proved its divine provenance by blooming each Christmas Day. When the calendar changed and the former Christmas Day moved to 5th January which, confusingly, became known as Old Christmas Eve, the Thorn sadly did not accommodate its blooming habits to the new dating system. The Puritans had considered the Joseph legend stuff and nonsense and during the Commonwealth the Thorn was cut down. Cuttings survived however and were replanted, with the Thorn once again coming into flower in both midwinter and early spring to this day. To add some veracity to the legend, the Thorn is estimated by botanists to have its origins in the Middle East.

Twelfth Night, the night before the last day of the Christmas season was often celebrated by a final bout of wassailing. To wassail - the word is derived from the Anglo-Saxon toast waes hael , or good health - is to pass round a bowl of festive ale or mead punch and to drink to the season. Wassailing was also carried out by groups of beggars on a trip called the Visiting Wassail, who throughout Christmas would go door to door seeking food and wassail drink. Tonight was the last opportunity the alms seekers had to importune their neighbours in this way before being told to go away and come back next year.

[juliehowlin]

Glastonbury Thorn

According to legend the Glastonbury thorn originated when St Joseph of Arimathea stuck his staff in the ground and it sprouted.

On Glastonbury Thorn Day, 10 things you might not know about the Glastonbury Thorn:

[thepastisalreadywritten]

The Glastonbury Thorn: a resurrected symbol of Christmas

A stamp printed in United Kingdom in 1999 shows image of the dedicated to the Glastonbury Holy Thorn. | MarkauMark / Shutterstock

By Jonah McKeown, 26 December 2022

The Catholic celebration of Christmas is about God’s entry into our sinful world — a theological truth that is sometimes symbolized, in various forms of art, by the blooming of a flower into a snowy winter.

The hauntingly beautiful Christmas hymn “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” captures this theological reality beautifully.

But what if, instead of a rose, it was a thorn? 

The English town of Glastonbury, an ancient settlement primarily known today for its raucous annual music festival and also for its connections to paganism, is also home to a special tree — a hawthorn that blooms every Christmas and again in May.

This is notable since most hawthorns bloom only once a year and, generally, not in winter. Recognized for centuries as a Christian symbol, it’s known as the Holy Thorn.

The Holy Thorn refers collectively to the special variety of hawthorn that grows in and around Glastonbury but also to the legendary, original tree, said to have sprouted from the wooden staff of St. Joseph of Arimathea.

Joseph was the Jewish councilmember who offered his own tomb as a resting place for Jesus’ body after his crucifixion, and numerous legends say he visited Glastonbury.

Whether or not Joseph ever actually set foot in England is a matter of some debate — historical accounts of his visit did not emerge until centuries after the time that Joseph lived.

But nevertheless, the legend does speak to the holiness associated with the area.

At one point, Glastonbury was home to one of the only churches in the world dedicated to Mary.

Later, it was home to a monastery from the seventh century up until the repression of Henry VIII.

The first mention of the Holy Thorn blooming at Christmastime appears to be in 1535, in the midst of Henry’s oppression.

Through the years, popular devotion to the thorn fell in and out of favor, experiencing somewhat of a renaissance during the Victorian era.

The Holy Thorn also has royal connections.

Every December 8, in a tradition dating back nearly a century, a sprig of Holy Thorn is taken from a specimen growing in a Glastonbury churchyard and sent to Buckingham Palace, where it adorns the Christmas table of the monarch.

In 2010, a group of unknown vandals cut the limbs off the most well-known of the Holy Thorns, a lone tree on a prominent hill overlooking the town.

Whether it was senseless vandalism or an attack perpetrated by one of the town’s many pagan residents or visitors has never been determined.

“The mindless vandals who have hacked down this tree have struck at the heart of Christianity. It holds a very special significance all over the world, and thousands follow in the footsteps of Joseph [of] Arimathea, coming especially to see it,” Katherine Gorbing, then the director of Glastonbury Abbey, told The Guardian at the time.

While tragic, it’s worth noting that the vandalized tree was not the one supposedly planted by Joseph of Arimathea — that tree was destroyed during the tumult of the English Civil War, around the year 1653, because it was seen as “popish” — that is, Catholic.

The vandalized tree wasn’t planted until 1952 in honor of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne.

Fittingly, a new tree was planted in September in Glastonbury, with shoots taken from the vandalized thorn.

Whereas the previous tree was planted to honor Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September after more than 70 years on the throne, the new tree honors her son and successor, Charles III.

Over and over, the Holy Thorn is reborn.

The question of whether the original Holy Thorn was planted by a saint is, at this point, almost irrelevant.

The association of this seemingly ordinary plant with the divine has, over the centuries, been enough to elevate its status from lowly to legendary.

In and around Glastonbury, the progeny of the original Holy Thorn will continue to flower every Christmas, reminding Christians everywhere of the birth of Jesus.

[sporadicarbiterearthquake-blog]

According to the early legends and traditions of Britain, the oldest of Christian denominations, Grail Christianity, also associated with Celtic, Druidic, Old Catholic, Welsh and other early Christian denominations, was first started by Christ himself during a visit to Glastonbury in the west of England with his great uncle Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph of Arimathea, who was also known as the "tin man" in Britiain, became the guardian of the Christ child during the missing years between his 13th birthday and his ministry in the Holy Land. 

As Joseph of Arimathea was a rich trader who sailed much of the known world in Phoenician ships, he was accompanied by Jesus when he traveled to Glastonbury near the Mendip Hills, whose mines produced much, if not most, of the world's then supply of lead and tin. Over one winter fierce storms forced the two to stay at Glastonbury for an extended period and they established what became known as the Wattle Church converting many of the area Druids to the very first Christianity. 

After the Passion Joseph of Arimathea returned to Glastonbury with the Holy Grail, planted the Holy Thorn and reestablished the Wattle Church on the 12 hides of Glastonbury, a royal land grant. Upon Joseph of Arimathea's death and subsequent burial at Glastonbury, the Holy Grail was lost and it became the quest of the knights of a later king, King Arthur, to relocate it and solve its mysteries. The true identity and nature of Arthur, his knights and the quest are discussed in detail. 

The Grail Church was eventually consumed by the much more aggressive Roman Catholic church although small and often competing revivals of the denomination are still underway. Grail Christianity has also been associated with the concept of Christian reincarnation, as well as a rejection of the concept of original sin.

[mrsctlandscapes]

Glastonbury Holy Thorn Tree, oil painting

[aziraphales-library]

Hello dear mods! I was wondering if you have some human aus in which Crowley doesn't feel attraction towards Aziraphale at first sight. Like, no going braincel-less mode as soon as he meets him. More of a slowburn from Crowley's side I suppose. For as much I like those sorts of fics sometimes, I wish there were more like what I'm describing. Or what tag, besides slowburn, should I look up?

Thanks!

Hi! Tags I would suggest on AO3 are Demisexual Crowley, as well as Pining Aziraphale (probably while also excluding Pining Crowley). Here are some more slow burn fics in which Crowley doesn't fall instantly for Aziraphale...

The Angel and The Holy Thorn by Z A Dusk (G)

Aziraphale has been in Glastonbury for five years but finds himself wondering if he’ll ever find what he’s searching for. Or even figure out what he’s searching for.

His neighbour Anthony has been in Glastonbury for six months and is about to open his new venture - The Holy Thorn restaurant. He loves the town but is having trouble finding his way.

When both men have a frustrating Christmas Eve, a chance collision leads to new connections. Perhaps this will be a happy new year after all?

To be Your Prince by Phoenix_Soar (T)

It was their shared dream to stand together on the Olympic podium, as figure skaters, rivals, best friends. But a twist of fate has Aziraphale and Crowley pursuing different paths, the former as a Singles skater and the other an Ice Dancer.

It wouldn’t be so terrible, Aziraphale thinks, if he didn’t have to watch Crowley skate with someone else day after day. Someone that isn’t him, and to know he’ll never get to be with Crowley like that, in front of the whole world.

(Figure skating AU)

Pieces Of My Heart by NaroMoreau (E)

From that reddit: Straight guy worries he’s being homophobic to gay roommate, realizes he’s fallen in love with him.

Or: It turns out I don't have any problems with Aziraphale kissing guys, says Crowley, if it's me he's kissing.

Of Size and other Matters by LCwrites (E)

When Crowley gets a random text from an unknown number, he thinks it must be a joke at first. Turns out it's by a rather amusing stranger who might have an interesting matter at hand.

Aziraphale just wants to get an upcoming function over with and not have people trying to set him up with anyone. At least whoever accidentally received his message seems to take the mishap with humour.

Going Overboard by Fyre (T)

When you do a job, you expect to get paid. What you don't expect is for things to go overboard.

You're Just a Little Under Rehearsed by MickyRC (T)

Drama teacher Crowley loves directing the Tadfield Community Players' shows—interacting with the rest of the staff at the community center, not so much. So when he meets the new accompanist for this year's musical, he's shocked to find that he might actually like him. Possibly more than like, if he's being honest.

Aziraphale is fresh from leaving a long career as a church pianist, and hoping that a new job will get him out of the lonely rut he's found himself in. The attention and kindness of the flashy community theater director are unexpected, but not unwelcome. Far from it.

But with a community theater to run, a show to put on, and a disgruntled R.P. Tyler looking for any excuse to get rid of Crowley and his theater program, will they be able to make a relationship work? And, more importantly, can they make sure the show still goes on?

- Mod D

[lunapokema]

Okay, but when Aziraphale mentions doing the apology dance he names three dates: 1650, 1793, 1941. We know Crowley saved him at the Bastille in 1793 and the whole Church Bombing and magic show disaster in 1941.

So what happened in 1650 that Aziraphale had to admit he was wrong and Crowley was right? There is no minisode for that year and the Shakespere bit happened in 1601. An internet search gives a few options for actual historical events that happened that year:

Third English Civil War / Oliver Cromwell

Volcanic eruption on Santorini

Puritans chop down and burn the original Glastonbury Thorn.

The first one seems the most on brand for the series in terms of Aziraphale accidentally involving himself conflict - like he gets confused for a Royalist and is going to be tried and hung by the Parliament, or got mixed up in the battle of Dunbar.

Though the Glastonbury Thorn or Holy Thorn with its ties to Christianity and Joseph of Arimathea is another good candidate.

I'd like to hear what other people think about this and if @neil-gaiman or Michael Sheen have said anything in interviews. Because this is one of the little details that is being overlooked for all of the big stuff this season.

[brookston]

Holidays 12.13

Holidays

Acadian Remembrance Day (Canada)

Anesthesia Technicians Day (Turkey)

Bicycle Built For Two Day

Blame Someone Else Day

Clip-On Tie Day

Count the "La's" in "Deck the Halls" Day

Ella Josephine Baker Day

International ACAB Day

Jane Addams Day

Jum ir-Repubblika (Malta)

Loki Day

Martial Law Victims Remembrance Day (Poland)

Nanking Massacre Memorial Day (China)

National Bring Your Brother-in-Law to Work Day

National Day (Saint Lucia)

National Day of the Horse [also 2nd Saturday]

National Guard Day (US)

National Violin Day

New Calendar Day

Nusantara Day (Indonesia)

Peace Day (Korea)

Pick a Pathologist Pal Day

Reed Plant Dat (French Republic)

Republic Day (Malta)

Sailor’s Day (Brazil)

Santa Lucia Day (Sweden, Scandinavia)

Skip Day

Swiftie Day

Unreturned Library Book Day

World Violins Day

Yuletide Lad #2 arrives (Giljagaur or Gully Oaf; Iceland)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Ice Cream and Violins Day

National Cocoa Day

National Cream Cheese Frosting Day

National Ice Cream Day

National Popcorn String Day

World Raclette Day

2nd Wednesday in December

Book Club Day [2nd Wednesday]

Independence Days

Vendsyssel (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Antiochus of Sulcis (Christian; Saint)

Aubert (Christian; Saint)

Comp-U-Coffee 2000 (Muppetism)

Emily Carr (Artology)

Euler (Positivist; Saint)

Feast of the Light-Bringer (Old Swedish Goddess of Light)

Hanukkah Day #6 (Judaism) [thru Dec. 15th]

Herman of Alaska (American Orthodox Church)

Ides of December (Ancient Rome)

John Marinoni (Christian; Blessed)

John Wayne Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Judoc (a.k.a. Joyce; Christian; Saint)

Kenelm, King (Christian; Saint)

Larry Storch Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Losar (Ladakh, India)

Losoong (a.k.a. Namsoong; Sikkim, India)

Luciadagen (a.k.a. Little Yule; Scandinavia)

Lucia’s Day (Pagan)

Lucy (Christian; Saint) [Writers]

Monkey Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Odile of Alsace (Christian; Saint)

Othilia (Christian; Saint)

The Sementivaem (Ancient Rome)

Tellus (Ancient Rome, with table spread for Ceres)

Thorn Cutting Ceremony Day (Glastonbury, England; Celtic)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Martes (Unlucky Tuesday; Spanish culture) [Tuesday the 13th] (2 of 2 for 2022)

Prime Number Day: 347 [69 of 72]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Triti (Unlucky Day; Greece) [Tuesday the 13th] (2 of 2 for 2022)

Premieres

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot (Web Series; 2016)

American Hustle (Film; 2013)

An American in Paris, by George Gershwin (Broadway Musical; 1928)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (Disney Film; 1971)

Beyoncé, by Beyoncé (Album; 2013)

Bugsy (Film; 1991)

A Chorus Line (Film; 1985)

Clue (Film; 1985)

Dark Star, performed by the Grateful Dead (Song; 1967)

Driving Miss Daisy (Film; 1989)

Emily of New Moon, by L.M. Montgomery (Novel; 1923)

Fool Coverage (WB LT Cartoon; 1952)

Foxy Lady, recorded by Jimi Hendrix (Song; 1966)

The Getaway (Film; 1972)

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Film; 2013) [3 of 3]

Jerry Maguire (Film; 1996)

The Jewel of the Nile (Film; 1985)

Jumanji: The Next Level (Film; 2019)

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (Animated Film; 2024)

Maid in Manhattan (Film; 2002)

Mars Attacks! (Film; 1996)

A Miser Brothers’ Christmas (Animated TV Special; 2008)

Monitored Noose or The Carbon Copy-Cats (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S1, Ep. 6; 1959)

My Name is Nobody (Film; 1973)

The Poseidon Adventure (Film; 1972)

Rakuen Tsuiho: Expelled from Paradise (Anime Film; 2014)

Richard III (Film; 1955)

Saving Mr. Banks (Film; 2013)

Scooby-Doo! Pirates ahoy! (WB Animated Film; 2005)

The Scorched Moose (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S1, Ep. 5; 1959)

Sense and Sensibility (Film; 1996)

6 Underground (Film; 2019)

Star Trek: Nemesis (Film; 2002)

Tristessa, by Jack Kerouac (Novel; 1960)

Uncut Gems (Film; 2019)

Wind (Pixar Cartoon; 2019)

Today’s Name Days

Jodok, Lucia, Odilia (Austria)

Jasna, Lucija, Otilija, Svjetlana (Croatia)

Lucie (Czech Republic)

Lucia (Denmark)

Ele, Ere, Hele, Loviise, Lucia, Luise, Viise (Estonia)

Seija (Finland)

Jocelyn, Lucie (France)

Jodok, Johanna, Lucia, Ottilia (Germany)

Aris, Efstratios, Ioubenalios, Evstratios, Loukia, Lucy, Stratos (Greece)

Luca, Otilia (Hungary)

Antioco, Lucia (Italy)

Lūcija, Veldze (Latvia)

Eiviltė, Kastautas, Kastytis, Liucija, Otilija (Lithuania)

Lucia, Lydia (Norway)

Łucja, Lucja, Otylia, Włodzisława (Poland)

Dosoftei (Romania)

Lucia (Slovakia)

Lucía, Otilia (Spain)

Lucia (Sweden)

Louise, Lucia, Lukia (Ukraine)

Cinderella, Cindy, Cynth, Cynthia (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 347 of 2024; 18 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 50 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Ruis (Elder) [Day 16 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Jia-Zi), Day 1 (Yi-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 1 Teveth 5784

Islamic: 30 Jumada I 1445

J Cal: 17 Zima; Threesday [17 of 30]

Julian: 30 November 2023

Moon: 1%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 11 Bichat (13th Month) [Euler]

Runic Half Month: Jara (Year) [Day 3 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 81 of 89)

Zodiac: Sagittarius (Day 22 of 30)

Calendar Changes

冰月 [Bīngyuè] (Chinese Lunisolar Calendar) [Month 12 of 12] (Ice Month) [Earthly Branch: Ox Month] (End-of-Year Month)

Ṭēḇēṯ (a.k.a. Tevet, Tebeth & Tebetu) [טֵבֵת] (Hebrew Calendar) [Month 10 of 12]

[thethingything]

update on the iNaturalist observations: we're trying to figure out where some of the photos were taken and there's one where Lucy was like "I don't remember what town it was in but I remember that nearby there was a tree propagated from the Holy Thorn of Glastonbury so let's google that" and I'm? okay fair enough

[wixcollective]

Stubborn and sporting neon and animal prints, Emerson does everything heartfirst and believes in love so much it hurts.

Name: Emerson Brady Birth: October 23, 2005 in Glastonbury, England Nationality: English Species: Muggleborn Hedge Witch Gender: Cis male Pronouns: He/Him Disciplines: Love Witch (Glamour) Faceclaim: Charlie Plummer

Currently

Residence: Brady Home, South Barrow, UK Occupation: Finishing up Hairdressing Apprentice Level 2 in Wells; Thursdays at Strode College Affiliations: Brady Family Connections: Katie Thorne, Nate Pinnock, Paxton Brady

BLOG || WIKI

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Bedsit Disco Queen and Jeff Buckley at Glastonbury

January 9, 2014 No Comments

I’ve just finished reading Bedsit Disco Queen, the music memoir by Everything But The Girls’ Tracey Thorn. I’m not really an Everything But The Girl fan but I have a fondness for random bits of their catalogue and even knew Rob Peters, the drummer on their 1986 album Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. But as soon as I saw the book in the library, I knew it was going to be a fascinating read for anybody who lived through the era. The paperback is released on January 16 and I heartily recommend it.

There’s one story from the book I’d like to share, which concerns Jeff Buckley. Thorn was a fan of Buckley and in April 1995, EBTG played a low key gig at Sin-e, the New York cafe where he had recorded his 1993 mini-album. Ben Watt (other half of EBTG) randomly met Jeff while they were having their hair cut at an East Village salon, they discovered they were both playing the Glastonbury Festival and Jeff suggested they do a song together. This is all forgotten until an hour before Everything But The Girls’ midday Glastonbury set.

And now, without warning or preamble, at eleven o’clock in the morning here is Jeff Buckley standing in front of me in my workman’s hut of a dressing room, and he has come to remind me that we have agreed to do a song together. We are due onstage in about half an hour. ‘Bloody hell, isn’t it a bit late now?’ I ask. He doesn’t think so. With a kind of gauche enthusiasm that makes him seem like a spectacularly gorgeous younger brother, he produces a guitar and begins to throw ideas at us.

They decide to cover The Smiths’ I Know It’s Over and the peformance is chaotic but enjoyable. Fast forward to late afternoon when Jeff Buckley is playing the main stage and Tracey and Ben are watching from the wings.

At the end of one song he looks over to us, catches Ben’s eye and starts beckoning him onstage with furious jerks of his head. It’s the scene at the end of Spinal Tap when the band reunite onstage! Ben picks up a guitar, gamely ambles on and plugs in. ‘OK,’ yells Jeff. ‘ we’re gonna do “Kick Out The Jams”. One-two-three-FAWH!’ Now Ben may well be the only guitarist in rock music who had never heard MC5’s punk anthem, let alone played it. Still, he’s nothing if not a quick learner, and after about eight bars he has sussed it and is off and running.

And that’s why, at the end of the song, Jeff Buckley says ‘Uh, thanks Ben.’

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[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 12.19

Holidays

Advocacy Day (Ukraine)

Almanack Day

Bantha Appreciation Day (Star Wars)

Build a Snowman Day

A Christmas Carol Day

Digital Twin Day

E-Mail Santa Claus Just in Case He Didn't Get Your Letter Day [ mailroom ] 

Fiesta of Santo Tomas begins (Guatemala; until 25th)

Gender Critical Coming Out Day

Goa Liberation Day (India)

Holly Day

I've Got My Big Guy Fat Pants On Day

Liberation Day (Goa)

Look for an Evergreen Day

Mitch Marner Day (Canada)

National Emo Day

National Harry Day

National Heroes & Heroines Day (Anguilla)

Olive Day (French Republic)

Robinson Crusoe Rescue Day

Thorn Cutting Ceremony (Glastonbury, Somerset, UK)

Yuletide Lad #8 arrives (Skyrgamur or Skyr-Gobbler; Iceland)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chocolate Pizza Day

Cream Liqueur Day

Currant Buns Day (UK)

National Hard Candy Day

National Oatmeal Muffin Day

3rd Tuesday in December

Christmas Cookie House Day [3rd Tuesday]

Independence Days

Børge (a.k.a. Republic of Libri; Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Republic of Lakotah (Declared; 2007) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Adam (Christian; Saint)

Anastasius I, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Asgard Day (Pagan)

The Bee (Muppetism)

Bernard Valeara (Christian; Saint)

Cavendish (Positivist; Saint)

Dalek Remembrance Day (Pastafarian)

Feast of Goddess of Sankrant (Hindu)

Juventas Festival (Ancient Rome)

Lillian Trasher (Episcopal Church)

Lorenzo di Medici Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Nathan Oliveira (Artology)

Nemesion (Christian; Saint)

Opalia (Celebrating Ops, the old Roman Mother Earth)

O Radix Jesse (3rd O Antiphon or Great Advent Antiphon; Christian) [O Root of Jesse; 3 of 7]

Robot Awareness Day (Pastafarian)

Saint Nicholas Day (Eastern Christian) [Ukraine]

Samthann of Meath (Christian; Saint)

Urban V, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [49 of 53]

Prime Number Day: 353 [71 of 72]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 58 of 60)

Premieres

The Aristocats (Animated Disney Film; 1980)

Babes in Toyland (TV Movie; 1986)

Bars of Steal or The Hard Cell (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 136; 1961)

Being There (Film; 1979)

Blue Suede Shoes, recorded by Carl Perkins (Song; 1955)

Boris Badenov and His Friends? (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 135; 1961)

Captain Blood (Film; 1935)

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens (Novella; 1843)

A Clockwork Orange (Film; 1971)

Deal or No Deal (TV game Show; 2005)

The Fellowship of the Ring (Film; 2001) [Lord of the Rings #1]

From All of Us to All of You (Animated Disney TV Christmas Special; 1958)

Judgment at Nuremberg (Film; 1961)

Kramer vs. Kramer (Film; 1979)

Laughing Boy:A Navajo Love Story, by Oliver La Farge (Novel; 1929)

The Little Drummer Boy (Xmas Song; 1958)

Little Shop of Horrors (Film; 1986)

The Man with the Golden Gun (UK Film; 1974) [James Bond #9]

Mary Poppins Returns (Film; 2018)

Mona Lisa Smile (Film; 2003)

Monsters, Inc. (Animated Pixar Film; 2012)

More Kittens (Disney Cartoon; 1936)

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (Film; 2014)

9 to 5 (Film; 1980)

People Are Bunny (WB MM Cartoon; 1959)

Platoon (Film; 1986)

Porky in the North Woods (WB LT Cartoon; 1936)

Punch Trunk (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

Raging Bull (Film; 1980)

Seems Like Old Times (Film; 1980)

Song of the Sea (Animated Film; 2014)

A Symposium on Popular Songs (Disney Cartoon; 1962)

The Tale of Desperaux (Animated Film; 2008)

Titanic (Film; 1997)

Tomorrow Never Dies (US Film; 1997) [James Bond #18]

Topaz (Film; 1969)

Yes Man (Film; 2008)

Zero Dark Thirty (Film; 2012)

Today’s Name Days

Benjamin, Susanne (Austria)

Anastazije, Eva, Tea, Urban, Vladimir (Croatia)

Ester (Czech Republic)

Nemesius (Denmark)

Maarius, Mairo, Mario (Estonia)

Iikka, Iiro, Iisakki, Isko (Finland)

Urbain (France)

Benjamin, Susanna (Germany)

Aglaia, Aris (Greece)

Viola (Hungary)

Dario (Italy)

Jordisa, Lelde, Minjona, Sarmis (Latvia)

Darijus, Gerdvilas, Rimantė (Lithuania)

Isak, Iselin (Norway)

Abraham, Beniamin, Dariusz, Gabriela, Mścigniew, Nemezjusz, Tymoteusz, Urban (Poland)

Aglaia, Bonifatie, Grichentie, Trifon (Romania)

Judita (Slovakia)

Darío, Eva (Spain)

Isak (Sweden)

Boniface, Mecheslav, Mecheslava (Ukraine)

Daria, Darian, Darien, Dario, Darion, Darius, Haysten (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 353 of 2024; 12 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 51 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Ruis (Elder) [Day 22 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Jia-Zi), Day 7 (Xin-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 7 Teveth 5784

Islamic: 6 Jumada II 1445

J Cal: 23 Zima; Twosday [23 of 30]

Julian: 6 December 2023

Moon: 50%: 1st Quarter

Positivist: 17 Bichat (13th Month) [Cavendish]

Runic Half Month: Jara (Year) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 88 of 89)

Zodiac: Sagittarius (Day 28 of 30)

[silvestromedia]

SAINTS NOVEMBER 15

Bl. Hugh Faringdon, 1539 A.D. Benedictine abbot of Reading, once a friend of King Henry VIII. When he refused to allow the king to dissolve Reading Abbey, he was martyred with two companions.

St. Hugh Green, Blessed, 1642 A.D. Martyr of England. He was educated at Cambridge, converted to Catholicism, and went to Douai, France. There he was ordained in 1612. Returning to England, Hugh labored in Dorset until his arrest. He was hanged at Dorchester.

Bl. John Eynon, 1539 A.D. Martyred Benedictine of St. Giles, Reading. John served as the pastor of the local parish in St. Giles. He refused to surrender the parish to the authorities and was taken to Reading Abbey. He was executed at the abbey gateway with Blessed Hugh Farington and Blessed John Rugg. They were beatified in 1895.

Bl. John Rugg, 1539 A.D. Martyred monk of Chichester, England. In residence at Reading Abbey, he was martyred by King Henry VIII at Reading, with Blessed Hugh Farington and John Eynon for refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy. They were beatified in 1895.

Bl. John Thorne, 1539 A.D. Benedictine martyr of England. Treasurer of Glastonbury Abbey, he was martyred with Blessed Richard Whiting and Blessed Roger James for protecting various treasures of Glastonbury from seizure by the rapacious minions of King Henry VIII of England Who were implementing the Dissolution of the Monasteries. They were beatified in 1895.

Bl. Richard Whiting, 1539 A.D. Benedictine abbot and martyr. Born at Wrington, Somerset, England, he entered the Benedictines at Glastonbury and studied at Cambridge. Elected abbot of Glastonbury in 1525, he had the difficult task of ruling at the launch of the infamous Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII of England. Arrested for refusing to surrender his celebrated abbey into the hands of the crown, he was condemned as a traitor and hanged on Tor Hill, overlooking Glastonbury, with Blesseds Roger James and John Thorne.

Bl. Roger James, 1539 A.D. English martyr and monk at Glastonbury Benedictine monastery. The youngest member of the monastic community of Glastonbury, he served as sacrist until the seizure of the community by the troops of King Henry VIII during the infamous Dissolution of the Monasteries of England. Arrested and condemned as a traitor when the monks opposed the royal decree, Roger was hanged, drawn, and quartered on Tor Hill, over looking Glastonbury, with his abbot, Blessed Richard Whiting, and with Blessed John Thome. They were beatified in 1895.

ST. ALBERT THE GREAT, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, DOMINICAN

ST. JOSEPH PIGNATELLI, JESUIT

St. Kanten, 8th century. Welsh founder, also listed as Cannen. He started Llangeanten Abbey in Powya, Wales.

St. Machudd. The abbot and founder of Llanfechell Abbey, Anglesey, Wales.

St. Findan, 879 A.D. Benedictine hermit, also called Fintan. He was born in Leinster, Ireland, and was made a slave by Norse raiders in the Orkney Islands. Escaping to Scotland, he went on a pilgrimage to Rome and became Benedictine in Sabina. Findan was a hermit at the Rheinan Abbey in Switzerland for more than twenty years.

St. Malo. Welsh bishop and missionary to Brittany, France. He is also called Machutis and Maclou. Malo was born near Llancarfan, Wales, and became a monk under St. Brendan, going with him to Brittany. He founded a center at Aleth, now called Saint-Malo. Pagan opposition forced him and his fellow monks to move to Saintes, France, where he is regarded as a bishop. Malo was recalled to Aleth but died on the way. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/11/15/saint-malo.html

[maypoleman1]

18th June

Bawming The Thorn

Source: Adam Everett/ Warrington Guardian

On the last Saturday before the Summer Solstice (in 2023, actually yesterday), Bawming the Thorn takes place at Appleton Thorn, near Warrington in Cheshire. Originally a raucous Midsummer festival, the bawming is now rather more quaint. An old hawthorn tree, (the Appleton Thorn) now fenced off and protected, is garlanded and decorated by the townspeople and then a ring of schoolchildren, dressed in uniforms of red and white, dance round the tree before taking part in a procession leading to a gala and summer fayre. The original thorn was allegedly descended from the Glastonbury Thorn which itself was supposed to be the progeny of Joseph of Arimathea’s staff. That tree sadly died in 1967, but its replacement is still going strong. The ceremony is a great watch for the tourists but is a genuine pagan survival, harking back to tree worship - the most ancient of the pre-Christian religions.

[thecorpselight]

Glastonbury Thorn On Christmas-eve, (new style), 1753, a vast concourse of people attended the noted thorn, but to their great disappointment there was no appearance of its blowing, which made them watch it narrowly the 5th of January, the Christmas-day, (old style), when it blowed as usual. - London Evening Post On the same evening, at Quainton, in Buckinghamshire, above two thousand people went, with lanterns and candles, to view a blackthorn in that neighbourhood, and which was remembered to be a slip from the famous Glastonbury thorn, and that it always budded on the 24th, was full blown the next day, and went all off at night. The people finding no appearance of a bud, it was agreed by all, that December 25 (new style) could not be the right Christmas-day, and accordingly refused going to church, and treating their friends that day as usual; at length the affair became so serious, that the ministers of the neighbouring villages, in order to appease them, thought it prudent to give notice, that the Old Christmas-day should be kept holy as before. This famous hawthorn, which grew on a hill in the church-yard of Glastonbury-abbey, it has been said, sprung from the staff of St. Joseph of Arimathea, who having fixed it in the ground with his own hand on Christmas-day, the staff took root immediately, put forth leaves, and the next day was covered with milk-white blossoms. It has been added, that this thorn continued to blow every Christmas-day during a long series of years, and that slips from the original plant are still preserved, and continue to blow every Christmas-day to the present time. -The Everyday Book, Vol. II. William Hone.