Clare Florist Blog

I don't know about where you are, but the weather here has been bitter lately, and though the days are getting longer I find myself wondering when I can hope to see the gentler temperament of spring. Well, not long till we can find out, for February 2nd is the day of Candlemass, which has also become known (in the US at least) as Groundhog Day. The tradition around this is said to stem from an old Scottish rhyme, which goes:

    As the light grows longer
    The cold grows stronger
    If Candlemas be fair and bright
    Winter will have another flight
    If Candlemas be cloud and snow
    Winter will be gone and not come again

In cities around the US, this is the day that the local groundhog becomes fortune teller of the weather. When the groundhog comes out of his burrow on February 2nd, after his cosy winter's hibernation, it's said that he looks for his shadow. If he sees it then there's six more weeks of winter to come (so he heads back to bed), but if he doesn't then spring is just around the corner and he starts out to begin his year. This tradition harks back to the 1800's when it was brought to America by German immigrants who believed that the emergence of hibernating animals like badgers and hedgehogs foretold the coming of spring. The best known groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil (of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania) who rose to international fame after co-starring alongside Bill Murray in the 1993 film Groundhog Day.

Shadow or no, astronomically, spring doesn't begin until the equinox (the halfway point between the longest and shortest days of the year) around March 21st, but luckily that doesn't have to stop us enjoying some cheerful spring blossom like the tulips, irises and hyacinth in our spring range.

February 2nd  is also the date of the pagan spring festival Imbolc and the French pancake day, la Chandeleur, also known as Fête de la Lumière (festival of light) — see the previous post, on Pancake Day, for more on this.

This year Shrove Tuesday falls on February 5th. It marks the culmination of Carnival and is the last day before Lent. It has also become known as Pancake Day and many people now look forward to the tasty treat it heralds (I certainly do!).

Why pancakes? Well, for the 40 days following Shrove Tuesday (not including Sundays) it's traditional in Christian practice to eat only the plainest foods in remembrance of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert. Rich ingredients like the eggs, milk and sugar used in making pancakes would be used up before the time of fasting. Other traditional foods for this time of year are donuts and sweet fried dumplings called cenci. In the French tradition Shrove Tuesday is known as Mardi Gras ('Fat Tuesday'). The French have an earlier pancake day on the 2nd of February, called Chandeleur, which celebrates the returning of the light. It's thought that the crêpes (French-style pancakes, which are larger and thinner than those of the British tradition) made on this day symbolise the sun, which they resemble in shape and colour.

The word 'Lent' also suggests celebration of the Spring: it's an old English word meaning 'lengthen' (as Spring approaches the days begin to get lengthen noticeably). 'Shrove', however is the past tense of the verb 'shrive', and means to have obtained absolution for your sins through confessing and paying penance. In some Christian traditions worshipers are expected to take confession just before the onset of Lent.

Here's a link to a French-style pancake recipe for you to celebrate with: basic pancakes with sugar and lemon.Yum, yum.

Enjoy!

The New Year often heralds break ups but it's not long now till romantic Valentine's Day and the opportunity to express your love to that special someone. But don't be disheartened if you feel Cupid's turned a blind eye and you've no one to spend the occasion with — you're not alone! The 25th of January is the day of St Dwynwen, the Welsh Saint of love (and so the Welsh equivalent of Valentine's day). The story of St Dwynwen is not all roses and in her sainthood she's said to aid those who experience the sadness love can sometimes bring.

It's said that in her youth, the beautiful Dwynwen fell madly in love with a man named Maelon. He liked her too, but it soon became apparent that they had an irreconcilable difference in their feelings towards one another: he wanted them to sleep together but she wanted to preserve her virtue and wait until after they were married. When she told him this, Maelon was enraged and forced himself upon her. Devastated, Dwynwen fled to the forest to weep alone and beseech God for solace. There she encountered an angel who gave her a vial of magic potion which dispersed her love for Maelon and froze him into a statue of ice. She was also granted three wishes. With the first she wished never to marry, with the second she asked to become the patron saint of lovers that she might aid others through the trials of love, and with the last, still loving despite her pain, she had Maelon unfrozen. After this, Dwynwen became a nun. She built a church on the island of Anglesey, the Church of Dwynwen, Llanddwynwen in Welsh, and, true to her wish, she never married.

This version is thought to be closer to the truth, but there is also one in which her father forbids her from marrying Maelon and this is the cause of her sorrowful escape to the woods. You can find an account of this version here.

The prayer of St Dwynwen goes thus:
Saint Dwyn,
We beseech thee,
Comfort lovers whose vision is unclear. 
Send mending to those with love lost. 
Protect our companions.
In your name, we seek to do the same. 
In your name, we choose love first.

My own suggestion for getting round Valentine loneliness is to induce karma by following the golden rule and doing unto someone else as you would wish to have done unto you. I like to send someone a valentine gift, even if I cannot count on receiving as much myself. Do this in a spirit of selfless love and you'll feel better immediately, plus your generosity will come back to you sooner or later!

Yep, you may still feel in want of some cheering festive lights but it's time to take down the decorations. In the early days of winter solstice celebrations people believed that tree-spirits lived in the decorative greenery (holly, ivy, pine, yew and mistletoe) which they brought into their homes during the festive period. This was thought to give a safe haven to the spirits during the harsh days of midwinter, but if they weren't released back outside by Twelfth Night the plants wouldn't be able to start re-growing and there would be no spring! What's more, if stuck indoors after their midwinter hibernation, the spirits would start to cause havoc in the house.

If the maths is puzzling you, that's because back in the days of the tree-spirits, sundown was taken as the start of the next day, making what we now call the evening of January 5th the twelfth night after Christmas and from dawn till dusk on January 6th the twelfth day.

English traditions for celebrating Twelfth Night include playing tricks on each other and making Twelfth Night cake: a rich fruitcake in which would be hidden a bean. Whoever got the bean would be King of Queen of the Bean for the day and would get to order their fellows about as they pleased! A traditional practical joke was to conceal live birds in an empty pie crust; the birds would then fly out, surprising the unsuspecting cutter of the pie and onlooking guests —hence the 'Sing a Song of Sixpence' nursery rhyme.

Traditional food for the Twelfth Night feast, apart from the bean cake, would include cheeses, oyster stuffing, ginger snaps, spiced ale and other hot and spicy foods.

In Christian tradition Twelfth Day is celebrated as the day of Epiphany and recalls the visit of the three Wise Men to the newborn Jesus. In Spain this is known as the day of the Three Kings and is traditionally the day on which children receive presents. A perfect time for any of those belated Christmas gifts!