LL-L "Tradition=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=8Bs=22_?=2013.09.08 (02) [EN]

[Lowlands-L]

=====================================================

L O W L A N D S - L - 08 September 2013 - Volume 02

lowlands.list at gmail.com - http://lowlands-l.net/

Posting: lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org

Archive: http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html

Encoding: Unicode (UTF-08)

Language Codes: lowlands-l.net/codes.php

=====================================================

From: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding at wlandres.net>
Subject: LL-L "Traditions" 2013.09.06 (01) [EN

> From: Luc Hellinckx <luc.hellinckx at gmail.com>
> Subject: LL-L "Traditions"
>
> Beste Lowlanders,
>
> No more public celebrations of Christmas in the streets of Berlin:
> Berlin verbietet Weihnachten
> < http://www.mmnews.de/index.php/politik/14645-berlin-verbietet-weih
> nachten#13778853945952&if_height=6704>
>
> Any Bierfest is still allowed, the origin not being a religious one.
>
> Kind greetings,
>
> Luc Hellinckx, Halle, Belgium
>  =========================================================

The Scots have this properly organised! While the novel Christian
festival of Christmas is observed, it indeed normally takes place
quietly, and in private behind the closed doors of family homes.

By contrast, the ancient pagan festival of Hogmanay is a tumultuous
public event. Small groups bearing flasks of the Water of Life
(Uisge Beatha) turn up at the doors of friends and neighbours late
on 31 January, and may be invited in (or the neighbours may come out),
and Life is imbibed. The groups accumulate adherents, and move on.
This continues through the night, and much Life is assimilated.

In my memories from my Edinburgh days, sometime around 6am on the
1st of January we, by now brimming with Life, would set off to
walk to the lower slopes of Arthur's Seat[*] (which is not far
from the city centre), and then scramble up the rocky Gutted Haddie[**]
until we finally staggered to the summit rock.

By the time we had reached this, we were (usually) in good time
to watch the First Sunrise Of The New Year slowly bring light to
Edinburgh from the East. Beautiful.

The exuberance of Life endowed us with a perfect head for heights,
and rendered our party shoes impervious to the perils of any snow
or ice.

That is what a Festival should be like, and of course it must be
blatantly and joyously public.

This being a list for languages, I invite suggestions (in any
variety of Scots, or even Gaelic) for what might have been said by
those celebrating, had anyone dared to prohibit a public Hogmanay!

With best wishes to all,
Ted.

[*] For those unfamiliar with this city feature, see:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur%27s_Seat,_Edinburgh

and particularly savour the "360 degree panorama" -- and imagine
it at sunrise on a New Year's Day.

[**] For the Gutted Haddie ravine on Arthur's Seat:

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/82904757@N08/8179407681/

  http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/79/04/2790474_9de1a439.jpg

The modern zig-zag tourist path beside the Gutted Haddie did not
exist in those days! It was pure undiluted (like the whisky)
hill-scrambling.

-------------------------------------------------
E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding at wlandres.net>
Date: 08-Sep-2013  Time: 18:18:21
This message was sent by XFMail
-------------------------------------------------

 =========================================================

Send posting submissions to lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org.

Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.

Send commands (including "signoff lowlands-l") to

listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org or lowlands.list at gmail.com

http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html .

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=118916521473498

=========================================================
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lowlands-l/attachments/20130908/5ac66232/attachment.htm>