17
Jan
Jan
Maple Sugar Festival March 22-23 and March 29 & 30 both weekends Saturday and Sunday. gcv.org
20
Nov
Nov
Engage with this newsletter at ScottishThrift.com
In the ancient Celtic lands, the winter sun hangs like a pale jewel in a pewter sky, its strength diminished but its significance magnified by the long darkness that surrounds it. Through the bare branches of oak and ash, it casts shadows that the Druids once read like sacred texts, telling stories of the year’s turning and the slow dance of light and shadow across the stone circles and burial mounds. The sun’s brief daily journey traces a low arc across the horizon, never climbing high enough to warm the frost-rimed earth, yet its presence remains a vital thread connecting the people to the promise of spring’s return.
During these shortened days, when the sun appears as if viewed through layers of thin silk, the Celts would gather in their roundhouses and great halls, telling tales of Grianán, the “sunny place” where their solar deities dwelt. They understood this wan winter light not as an absence or withdrawal, but as a necessary rest, a time when the sun god Lugh would journey through the otherworld, gathering strength for his triumphant return at Imbolc. The winter sun’s gentle touch upon the land was seen as a reminder of this divine promise, each pale ray a whisper of warmth in the midst of winter’s necessary sleep.
Sean Heely Band does it again!
11
Dec
Dec
2024 is off to a roaring start with the Northeast Florida Scottish Games & Festival. Who doesn’t love the sound of the Bagpipes, the Celtic Shopping and the delightful watching of the Games with all the friendly competition! The Scottish Games are a wonderful family friendly event to attend. We hope to see you. Come visit us, Lords of the Seas!
Have you seen our newest sock offerings that extend from kilt hose, Fairisle Norse patterns or fashionnable stripy socks! We are pleased to be working with the finest sock company in Scotland! The House of Cheviot! Check out our Mens and Womens socks…you’ll love them. And by the way, they make perfect gifts that look so rich but are actually quite reasonable. It’s a win-win all the way around!
09
Nov
Nov
Hello All: We are beginning our Blogs since we have so many things to say and share! The Scottish Games and Festivals season is slowing down so we can begin to think about the 2023 year and what needs to be done.
However, as we reflect on this year, there are so many stories of what has happened to many people during 2022. Some stories make you laugh, some are sad and some are tragic. Above all, though, it is good to be able to share stories with each other as we add another year to life’s experiences.
Lords of the Seas is committed to bringing you the finest items and the newest trends. We, however, appreciate the history of what items we sell, and are constantly learning and hoping that we share our learning with you. That’s what it really is about…sharing knowledge with each other. So when we find items of interest, we will post them. Slainte Mhath for the Celts and Skal for the Scandinavians!
HARRIS TWEED®
JOURNAL
Finding Inspiration
13TH AUGUST
It is good to know we are not the only ones who dream about our very own Harris Tweed® cloth design! Beth Spallanzani from Bristol – one of our Facebook followers – was inspired by our posts to write a poem imagining a tweed named after herself.
What’s in a name? Designing the Spallanzani Tweed
The turquoise sea and the blue of the sky
And the sand as white as the clouds in the sky
Are bringing last summer back into the room
Whilst creating the warp on the loom.
Inspired by a Harris Tweed® picture online,
Could I find a new weave that’s exclusively mine?
Should the weft be bright yellow, or camel or grey,
Like sunshine, or pebbles or puddles of clay?
Now my surname’s from Italy – not much wool there,
Thought they’re famous for flair and design,
But could it be closer to Harris than Rome
If the parts of my name are untwined?
“Spal” is the shuttle which flies to and fro,
And the start of my name, that you know,
“Lana” in Gaelic – maybe ‘pride’ or ‘replete’?
In Italian, strangely, it means wool!
The last part is harder – the Gaelic for “Zani”
Or “San” is a challenge – ’tis a fact,
But with summer bright colours criss-crossing my tweed,
“Zani” / zany – my design will be just that!
08
Nov
Nov
Feast of Juul
The Feast of Juul was a pre-Christian festival observed in Scandinavia at the time of the December solstice. Fires were lit to symbolize the heat, light and life-giving properties of the returning sun. A Yule or Juul log was brought in and burned on the hearth in honor of the Scandinavian god Thor.
A piece of the log was kept as both a token of good luck and as kindling for the following year’s log. In England, Germany, France and other European countries, the Yule log was burned until nothing but ash remained. The ashes were then collected and either strewn on the fields as fertilizer every night until Twelfth Night or kept as a charm and or as medicine.
Stormy sky in France.In the French countryside, like here in Provance, peasants used ask to would protect their house against thunder and lightning.©bigstockphoto.com/Breev Sergey
French peasants believed that if the ashes were kept under the bed, they would protect the house against thunder and lightning. The present-day custom of lighting a Yule log at Christmas is believed to have originated in the bonfires associated with the feast of Juul.
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