New Life
As winter releases its grip, the landscape breaks into vibrant life,
April in the United Kingdom is a month where the physical world mirrors the deepest spiritual truths of the Christian Faith. As winter releases its grip, the landscape breaks into vibrant life, offering a powerful backdrop for the central message of Christianity – resurrection and new life!
Famously, as the saying goes, we have April showers, although perhaps this year we don’t need too many of those before the blooms of May appear.
Of course, for Christians, this April is dominated by Holy Week and Easter, festivals that serve as yearly reminders of the cornerstone of faith. Following the solemnity and personal reflection of Lent, the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday brings an explosion of joy and hope, something sorely needed in the present times with the war in the Middle East and spiralling fuel and energy prices.
It's time for Sring to Spring
The spring equinox takes place when the Earth’s axis is tilted neither towards the sun nor away from it.
As I sit and write on another gloomy day in February, I cannot help looking forward to March and the meteorological beginning of spring on the first, St David’s Day. All around me is the evidence of the new life waiting to burst from the earth as daffodils, crocus and even primroses defy the wind and the rain. Spring traditionally begins, though, on the Vernal Equinox, which this year falls on 20th March.
The word ‘Equinox’ comes from the Latin, combining the words equi, (equal) and nox, (night). The spring equinox takes place when the Earth’s axis is tilted neither towards the sun nor away from it, giving the impression that day and night last for an equal amount of time.
Equinoxes take place simultaneously in the northern and southern hemispheres, but with the seasons reversed. So, whilst we ring in the spring this March, those south of the equator will be entering astronomical autumn.
February, the Unique Month.
To the Romans, February was a time to clear the land. We prepare for Easter.
February is a unique month. It is the shortest, having twenty-eight days unless of course it is a leap year when there are twenty-nine. In Welsh, it is known as “y mis bach” meaning ‘little month’ and being shorter than the other months, it is possible that February passes without having a full moon.
There is something about February, though, that is a relief after the gloomy days of January. Perhaps it is that it is a short month, or perhaps it is when we begin to notice the lengthening days beckoning us towards the spring.
Of course, we have the Romans to thank for February, who added it together with January to complete their calendar. The word February comes from the Roman Februa, named after a festival of purification that was much like a ‘spring cleaning’ to purge evil spirits and prepare for spring. Traditionally, the land was cleansed or prepared for spring planting.
I cannot help but find it interesting that, even in modern times, there is still a ritual held at this time of year that perpetuates the idea of cleansing and preparing as we enter Lent.
Journeying through the Festival Season
Journeying through the heart of our tradition
In December you can hardly escape the familiar Christmas songs heard in shops, on the radio and anywhere where music is played over a loudspeaker. To be honest, I love some of the old songs, but one which really springs to mind is ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ by Chris Rea. He wrote it while stuck in holiday traffic, travelling from London to Middlesbrough with his wife in their Austin Mini. Apparently, the record label wouldn’t pay for his train ticket home!
For me, it makes me think of one of my sons driving home on leave, navigating the darkness and weather, along with so many others, in the expectation of the joy of home and family.
This year, even Marks and Spencer is advertising its Christmas goodies with an advert of being on the motorway in a traffic jam at Christmas. Journeying then is something that so many of us are familiar with at this time of year, as an estimated 29.3 million journeys are taken over the Christmas period.
November - Darkness
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
November is truly the time when the approach of winter and darker days becomes a reality. Following a mild autumn, even I have finally put the heating on and find myself in the dark while walking my dogs first thing in the morning.
As a small child, darkness was something that made me feel anxious. Sounds that were a part of the normal creaking of the house seemed to magnify and my inability to see properly in the dark unsettled me. As an adult who is not anxious in the same way, and in fact would much rather have total darkness in order to sleep, I can still be unsettled with concerns that seem to have literally grown out of all proportion, until exposed to the light of day when they shrink back like weeds under a scorching sun.