Category Archives: Lords of the Seas Blog

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.

Lords of the Seas is  heading to the Dayton Celtic Festival in Dayton, Ohio this coming weekend, July 29-31, 2016.  What a Festival this will be!  Incredible music…check out Gaelic Storm on YouTube with their song Johnny Jump Up!

One of our main purposes at the Festival is to help the Irish and Scottish attendees become aware of their Tartan if you currently  don’t know your Tartan.  We Celts have Tartans, our plaids!  Stop by Lords of the Seas Tent and we will help you determine who you are!!!

Our next posting will have our banner picture so you can find us at the Festival!  Don’t miss this Festival!

The Scandinavian Folk Festival occurred on Sunday, July 17th at the Gerry Rodeo Grounds, in Gerry, NY.  It was awesome to celebrate your Nordic Heritage with Danes, Finns, Swedes, Norwegians, and Estonians,  I’m not sure if there were Icelanders attending.

Lots of fun for the family, with Children’s Crafts, Adult Craft instructional lessons of Nordic Art and woodcarving, the Viking Ship Replica, The Dance Band from Sweden, Donnez, Toronto Swedish Folk Dancers, Jamestown’s local Swedish Group, Svenska Spelman and so many more things.

My Favorite shopping is at Mormor’s Attic (Grandma’s Attic) where one can find so many Scandinavian treasures!

And who knows the story about Nils, the Gooseboy?  Here’s a picture of what Nils probably looked like!!!  You can Google The Wonderful Adventures of Nils at www.wikipedia.org (for Anime) or You Tube Nils Holgersson Episode 1 (created by French animation)

Lords of the Seas was able to provide inscribed authentic whisky glasses for the Charlotte based McIntosh Law Firm’s fundraising event.

The story unfolds as such:  The McIntosh Law Firm of Charlotte was sponsoring a Fundraising Dinner entitled Rural Hill Scotch Dinner presented by Glenfiddich for Historic Rural Hill, a non-profit historic site in North Carolina.  This event was a four course meal paired with select whiskies by Glenfiddich and proudly sponsored by the McIntosh Law Firm of Charlotte, North Carolina.

In order to truly enjoy the whiskies, the proper glass had to be present.  The McIntosh Law Firm provided limited edition, inscribed, tasting/nosing glasses to the participants of the Four Course Meal.  The whisky glasses were ordered from Lords of the Seas.

Tickets sold fast and no doubt a good time was had by all…(how could you not have a good time with excellent food and whisky)?.

Please think of  Lords of the Seas for your organization’s needs for Whisky Glasses.  Just email [email protected]

This year, the Alma Highland’s Festival honored clan was the Tartan of the State of Michigan.  Who else would exemplify the tartan more than a drum major?  This drum major sewed her kilt and sash with the State of Michigan tartan cloth. Not only did she use 11 1/2  yards of tartan for her kilt, but she had to line her kilt due to the tartan cloth being a lighter wool.

Wow, what a lot of work and dedication…but she looks wonderful (and impressive!).  Her headdress is Ostrich Feathers….so the Ostrich is not as committed…if you know what we mean!  Our compliments to her for all her hard work towards the festival.

Arriving in Tennessee for the Smoky Mountain Highland Games and Festival, one can feel the difference of being in Tennessee.  Tall green grass, lush flowers, trees fully leafed…nature’s perfect picture.  Across from the Tennessee Welcome Center… A huge guitar sign advertising a music store.  You start thinking of Nashville, Grand Ole Opry, Pigeon Forge (Dolly Parton), Davey Crockett (yes, Davey) Knoxville and Chattanooga… all these places that seemed so far away!

The Smoky Mountain Scottish Festival and Games is hosted at the fields of Maryville College…named after the wife of the first governor of Blount County.  A beautiful campus evoking the beginning history of of our country being formed.  Samuel Houston signed up for the military in the town of Maryville.   The Games are nestled in the Smoky Mountains…such beautiful mountains.  So many events were at the Games…in addition to the usual Games there were Sheepdog demonstrations, Women’s Haggis Hurling, Children’s Stone Throwing Contest (honestly!), Parades of the Tartans and Soldiers/Veterans who have served our country plus a beautiful tribute to the Vietnam War Veterans… to highlight a few events.

The southern hospitality was ever present and manners and behaviors made the Festival a perfect place to bring your family.  For me,  the special highlight of the Festival was meeting two couples, JUST married, coming to the Smoky Mountain Scottish Festival and Games for their Honeymoon.  How sweet is that? www.smokymountaingames.org   Check it out for next year!

The Mid-Maryland Festival day started off bright and sunny. There were lots of people and the advance ticket sales were impressive. Around 2:00 pm, the gusts of wind blew in and then came the rain! People headed towards the music tents for shelter. About an hour later, the rain stopped… but the winds began to increase. There were still “hale and hearty” festival attendees browsing through the various merchandise tents after the rain. We had several people buy tartan serapes to wrap themselves in style and warmth. The wind did pick up more and some tents tumbled. It was a fun day…but you were really reminded that Mother Nature rules the outside events.

So come to the Celtic Festivals prepared ( ready for rain or shine) and keep a close eye on Mother Nature’s activities. See you at the Smoky Mountain Highland Games!