As I told in my previous post some of the posts I will share in December are going to have a very Christmas or Yuletide (Winter) vibe. I am myself a December child as I was born mid December, so for me it's a very special time of the year, a time of new resolutions.

I write this article to draft a glimpse of the background story behind this tradition of using "Evergreen" during the closing of the year, Winter or Yule. But also I take the chance to say how sad is that millions of trees are chopped just for the sake of this tradition. If you must use a real tree, please consider to buy it in a pot instead of chopped off, even deprived of light it might make it if you plant it again after the festivities are over.

There are always ways to do things with balance.

I understand that for some people this is a very important tradition and I respect... I only call for moderation... There will be always be debate as Faux plastic trees are a poor alternative and also rise another kind of environmental concern... so as I say there are pros and cons... still sharing just my personal approach and then moving on to the origins. I'm also aware of the jobs that it provides in rural areas but there is something very sad in a "clone forest" perfectly programmed to be consumed, used and thrown away.

As for me, trees belong to the woods (not farms), growing and living

That is why I always take a fallen branch from the forest floor or use a tiny faux tree as ornament. Most of live Christmas trees that are sold as objects have grown for over a decade just to be used and neglected after a handful of days. I also cover one particular sad XIX century fairytale "The Fir Tree" by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (who wrote also The Little Mermaid) which actually contemplated this very thought almost two centuries ago and that broke my heart at a very tender age. I include a synopsis and a link to a full read of the tale (now public domain) at the end of the article. I want to say that this is my personal opinion, and I'm not trying to preach anything to the ones following this tradition but always a call to moderation, because as usual things are getting environmentally out of hand (even Amazon will sell live trees this year) and vast surfaces in protected rainforests being replaced by Christmas tree farms, which is just sad. It could be argued that fake trees in fact (most of them ) are made of plastic which are even worse for the environment... but still we can be recycle it many years or be creative and use other materials like paper or fallen foraged materials from the woods. Growing 10 years just to be adorned and then cut down or burnt after a few days is sad. There are some that can be replanted and come in pots, but people usually want the bigger more sumptuous one. More than 30 million trees are cut down and sold in USA alone each year. Oh but they plant trees right... yes but that land takes away from wild forests land with higher diversity... so yes, there are pros and cons. and again this is just my opinion and is not intended to generate debate, keep on reading because this article is not only about my personal opinion but about the origins, stories and curiosities behind this tradition.

The Origins of Christmas Trees

The origins of of Christmas trees date to pre-Christian era, for thousands of years evergreen plants (mistletoe, holly) and trees (pine, spruce, fir) has been used during winter as "promise" of the life to come after the bleak winter, and thus keeping evergreen plants (including holly and mistletoe) is meant to brighten our spirits during the stark bare winter. They are symbols too of everlasting life.

Boughs of evergreen would adorn the doors of houses to keep away evil spirits.
It was considered in many cultures that the Sun God was weaker or ill during Winter. Egyptians would use evergreen palm rushes. Old Vikings also provided special powers to evergreen plants for the same reason so did the Druids of Ancient Celts.

Evergreen plants were used by Romans in Saturnalia Festivals (17th -23rd of December), and also by countries in the far North of Europe who used Evergreen as a token of "hope" during the bleak Yule and usually included December and January. Nowadays Yule starts 21st of December (Winter's Solstice) and last for 12 days... those are the 12 days of Christmas. There is no real evidence of Jesus being born the 25th of December though it felt sensible to adapt the already existing "Pagan Winter Feast" as after the Solstice days become longer and they could relate it with the light of God entering the World. But just to say date was picked as convenient and not as accurate

Christians later changed this meaning of "evergreen" to represent the everlasting love of god. And thus Yuletide became Christmastide.

First Christmas Trees as we know them were originated in Lavonia (now Latvia and Estonia) and placed in the Square for everyone to enjoy. First indoor trees are usually placed in Germany.
Later on Martin Luther , 16th-century Protestant reformer Luther was credited for starting to decorate the trees with "candles" to resemble the trees against the starry sky. This was the origin of the Christmas Tree lights (despite a very dangerous practise that was finally replaced by safer electric lights in the XX century). If you are a traditionalist and still use real candles on your tree, never leave them unattended... custom was responsible of a great deal of unintended casualties though no electric light can replace the warm vibe of those vintage Christmas Trees that our ancestors remember.

The origin of tinsel and the story of the Christmas Spider

As for the famous tinsel , the word means spark and before being made of plastic it was extruded from real silver hammered into a thin foil and then cut into strips.
It is believed that the idea of tinsel came from the sparkling frosted cobwebs. And thus in many European countries spiders are considered good luck and are related with Christmas this way. There is even an Ukrainian folk tale about the "Spider of Christmas Cobweb" that tells the story of a very poor family that found their bare Christmas tree all adorned by iridescent cobweb woven by the spiders during the night and how they never felt poor again grateful for the gifts life had provided them. That is why some ornaments are shaped as cobwebs, especially in Ukraine where the legend is originated. I will talk more about this in another post as I have a collection of frosted cobwebs I've made myself, but meanwhile it's not difficult to imagine how tinsel was inspired by it.

Oh Christmas Tree: The Christmas Carol

"O Tannenbaum" (literally "The Fir Tree") is a german traditional folk son which origin can be tracked back to the XVI century though was provided the modern lyrics by Ernst Anschütz in 1824. The song that now we know as "Oh Christmas Tree" was not related with Christmas but to the evergreen quality of the fir tree to represent the faithfulness in love. And thus "true" was replaced by "green" in the English translation as it became a Christmas song. There are many English variants. But I'll include here an excerpt of the original.

Hans Christian Andersen tale: The fir Tree (very sad fairytale, very real though)

^{Above an illustration of The Fir Tree in one of the Andersen compilations I own}

 

For me one of the saddest and more pessimist fairy tales that Danish author Hand Christian Andersen ever wrote and one that as a child (as Andersen was the first book I ever owned) made me opt for a faux tree or just a fallen branch token. Childhood trauma about Christmas trees... ;-) But still a must-read.

The tale is about a fir tree anxiously looking to grow up, aspiring to grow tall, and it is told as if the tree has a will and awareness. And as sparrows chant of trees in warm rooms with decorations and being worshipped, the tree longs to be cut... until one day it happens and feels the delight of being admired with all the decorations then to be abandoned in a dark room.

That night many people gathered in the room around the little fir tree. They sang and told stories. They placed gifts at his feet. And the fir tree, trembling with joy, listened to the stories they told.
"I wonder what will happen tomorrow?" he thought. He longed for the next day to come.
The people returned the next day. This time they removed the popcorn and the candles and the dolls and the angels from the little fir tree's limbs. Then they lifted him up in the air and carried him up a flight of steps, into a dark, airless room.

And there in the attic is left forsaken, withered in the darkness until one day it's taken outside, and the fresh air reminds it of the forest, but then it's chopped and burnt...

Did I mention this was a traumatic fairy tale for me as a child? This was likely the origin of my conviction. LOL You are warned... if you are curious it's just a short read and as it's Public Domain it's available at Project Gutenberg Online Library at this link:

• https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1597/1597-h/1597-h.htm#link2H_4_0005

My Christmas Decorations

So here a snippet of my usual Christmas Decorations that will go up of course with Fufunchis. It's just a small faux tree, something symbolic and humble.

The Power of Christmas / Yule Spirit transcends our beliefs

I confess I'm not religious but spiritual, and also I'm not pagan but I celebrate Yule, The Closing of the Year. For me it represents the Wheel of the Year coming to an end, also Winter's solstice is the shortest day, but also the day light starts to return, days will become longer as Winter reigns... such contradiction and quandary... that the "dark season" is precisely the bringer of light.
And wether you are religious or not, whatever your beliefs are, this is a season to reconsider what we've done during the year, to build new resolutions and determinations... The year closes and it's always a time to think thoroughly of what it has yielded... To start afresh with new dreams and resolutions, to fix whatever we did wrong... It's a time of new hopes and new chances... As weather turns cold outside and we spend more time indoors it is a time to organize, to enjoy our family and friends along with a hot mug of chocolate. It provides a reason to gather, to go home, to hug our beloved, to be giving...

So if you ask me if I believe in Christmas Spirit, as an excuse to bring us together and remember the power of kindness, yes I believe in its power.

I wrote in my own song Grow

As seasons flow,
once more it all
turns bare and cold
but save green in your heart

And that's all the green I need in Winter

So let me think of Christmas trees like this

>

All pictures taken by me or in collaboration with Héctor Corcín.
PD. My collar is faux fur. I don't wear real fur.

Priscilla Hernandez
singer-songwriter & illustrator
http://yidneth.com

Nature can transform everything... even an industrial munition factory into a fantasy scenery... A little imagination can wipe out the ugliness and transform it into an enchanted location.

As I mentioned in my recent article, I have a fondness for ruins and abandoned places. I find them very eerie but melancholic and romantic... I think places are haunted by desolation and disuse but in some cases they are transformed into something magical when overgrown Nature claims them back and this is the case of Orbaizeta.

Above: Orbaizeta archs. My photo entry to the contest. Archs over Irati River (Navarre, Spain)

Orbaizeta is a village located in Aezkoa Valley (Navarre, North of Spain) about 5 Km away from the French Border where you can find the remains of the XVIII century Royal Factory of Arms and Munitions of Orbaizeta
It was in fact built over a XV century old forge located over Irati river.
The whole place is now abandoned and taken over by Nature. It is located over Irati River and by Irati forest, one of the largest beech woods in Europe. The factory was precisely built here to use its wood and water after the older Royal Munition factory (Eugi, also located in Navarre) run out of resources due to over exploitation.

For almost a hundred years it provided munition and supplies to the army, iron and lead and even canyon balls, but it felt into disuse after the death of the Spanish king Carlos III . As it was very close to the border the site was frequently pillaged and caught fire many times to finally be shut down and abandoned in 1873. The ruins have since been covered by moss, lichens and vines. The main structure still stands and has been declared Site of Cultural Interest.

The place was overrun with trees and has become shelter for small animals. The archs that remain mostly intact over the river look now the remnants of an ancient Elven Fortress out of the pages of a Tolkien's book.

Below: Me in these damp mossy ruins... I love when Nature claims abandoned places back. Despite its not very romantic origins and industrial function the actual ruins have been strikingly transformed by Nature into fantasy Elven Halls... A magic portal to a fantasy realm... This is what they are NOW for me.

Enigmatic and now almost mystical looking, it stirs with new life... as birds perch on the scattered trees, lizards lay on its stone seeking the warmth of sun and little voles hide in the bushes. A recovery process is now under way but somehow I think there is a romantic vibe of the place engulfed by overgrown vegetation. Some years ago when Héctor and me visited this location you could access and walk it entirely but after a few accidents due to the decay of the structures the place has very limited public access now until being restored.

Black Legends about Orbaizeta

Its otherworldly eerie aspect reminds me to a distant past or maybe even a dystopian greenpunk future. It's not strange many claim it is haunted. A common target in several wars (as a factory of guns close to France) it was sacked and burnt out several times... And that violent imprint stayed in the minds of many tainted its memory. The place has a mysterious aura and it has inspired several local novels, mostly modern thrillers and mystery like "The Factory of the Shadows" by Ibon Martín which begins with a girl hanging from the archs on a misty night and the research of the case. Curiously after being chosen as background of these murder the skull of a missing hiker was found in its surroundings causing great stir on the national press. All of these has impregnated the place with darker tones but the truth is that it's rather peaceful and the way the light is filtered through the plants and is cast over the river is really entrancing.

Eugi, an even older munition factory in the same province

There is another old munitions factory, very similar but older and smaller in size even closer to me called Eugi, it features the same structure, with archs over a river. But I will cover it in another article, there I have made too countless photo shoots and even filmed part of my music video Off the Lane. The Eugi factory when active exhausted the forest around it and that is why the Orbaizeta was built.

Above: One picture from last Summer taken in Eugi Factory, a smaller (and older) "replica" of Orbaizeta but located in Quinto Real Forest and over Arga River. I only post this picture so you can see the similar structure though humbler in size. I will cover Eugi in another article in the near future.

Conclusion: One with Nature

As a Nature Lover I am glad to see the woods around both factories now recovered, both rivers now hyaline and crystalline and its ugly original purpose of Royal Munition factories long time gone... Their structures are engulfed and becoming one in the forest... It reminds me to the movie "The Princess Mononoke" by Hayao Miyazaki, that tells precisely the story of a munitions factory destroying the forest and finally claimed back by its guardian. The outcome is almost the same. Though there are now some programs for the preservation of the ruins they lay now in perfect harmony with the environment. They are places full of peace now surrounded by slender beech trees and gurgling creeks.

All pictures (c) to Priscilla Hernandez

First of all.... HAPPY NEW YEAR, dear friends and followers :) How did you spend the closing of the year? How are you dealing with your New Year´s resolutions? Wishing you all the very best, this is an excellent time to rescue old projects and build new dreams :) Among my many resolutions one is rescue activity in our youtube channel, remember we added a little wintry greeting that you watch here WINTER NIGHT 

So as you know Héctor and I enjoy going outdoors to Nature. For me, overall, last year it was a year to reconnect with Nature, and heal with it in so many ways, so what a better way for us to spend the FIRST day of 2007 in an absolutely enchanted place. It was freezing cold but we stumbled upon a forest covered with soft rime, and then I remembered I had a lovely white mask and dress in the boot of the car... so I had to go for it... We had hot tea and a good predisposition, :) so we went for it, and here is the result of our photoshoot :) Yay, I survived!

 

“How mist become Soft Rime”

Model, concept, stylism and edit Priscilla Hernández (http://YIDNETH.COM;https://www.instagram.com/yidneth/)
Photography: Héctor Corcín (https://www.instagram.com/hedac/)
Mask by: Vincent Cantillon (https://www.etsy.com/shop/VincentCantillon
Location:1st of January 2007 (Happy New Year),  Navarra, Spain

Some behind the scenes pictures :)

More pictures in my instagram feed instagram.com/yidneth

More pictures of the landscape alone (it was an absolutely enchanting place covered with rime and ice) at Héctor´s account at instagram.com/hedac

Hello October 15...

The leaves are turning gold, the days are becoming shorter, the twilight is now more golden and longer than ever... I welcome you and the changes you bring... I am undergoing myself a time of change and I turn the page only to dive into a new exciting chapter...

A couple of days ago I fixed my wind band (originally from tribal thunder) and went on a walk to welcome October.  A wind band  is an instrument that works like a bull-roarer a prehistoric instrument found in many cultures. It had broken and remained silent over a year so I took the first chance to climb a hill and spin it as soon as it came back to life and sound. In Britain and Ireland they were used in ceremonial thunder spell rites and it is also found in other cultures.

Héctor and I went uphill, to Guendulain, Navarra, through paths full of wild bushes and withered wildberries, into old discarded melancholic ruins.  We found some honeycombs with buzzing busy cute bees making honey that buzzed along with our musical instrument.

Above: Guendulain´s ruins (Navarre, Spain) bathed in golden light on our way. Picture by Héctor Corcín.

Above: me with my wind band already repaired, repainted and with a new rubber band. It was spun and buzzed and chanted and resonated with the wind on top of a hill against the most glorious twilight. :) It was a very spiritual experience, also some kind of soul cleansing, all bathed in golden light. :) Time for new beginnings :).

All photos and video by Héctor Corcín

And HOW DOES A WIND BAND SOUND?  So here there is a little video with a short improvisation, spinning it and chanting along, It was somehow very pre-Samhain :).   hope you like it! :)

She might be old already but she certainly knows how to enjoy fresh air and the garden. These are some delightful pictures Héctor took yesterday of my "fufunchi" in the garden. Isn't she precious?

Lurking in the wild....!  Photo by Héctor Corcín (May 2015)

Oh the fresh breeze! hmmm it smells nice!

I'm so cute... and I know how to pose!

I'm enjoying this moment so much!

All pictures by Héctor Corcín (May 2015) Model: Taika :)

And this is Taika, all happy, after nom nom nom a delicious treat!

Below some pictures of me last sunday 9th March in Irati´s forest (Navarra, Spain). It was Héctor´s birthday and we went in the forest to take some pictures. I had won a green fur vest and gauntlets from Elfic Wear (lovely fairy clothes store) and I arranged the rest of my green and brown rags in pixie-fashion :) First three pics by Héctor Corcín. Last one, sugar-coated candid self-shoot with Héctor himself :) and at the end some pics of the place (Irati´s forest). We even found a KODAMA

Above: me with my cuffs and vest from Elfic Wear. I won their give away :) so be sure to check their facebook page, they run give aways often, and it works cos I won these goodies  and it was amazing to receive them. 

Above: candid shot of me and Héctor Corcín. Happy birhtday Héctor!

Irati´s forest in winter... hauntingly beautiful

And there  in a moss cradle we found a real-life KODAMA, SO CUTEEEEE

Some listeners and fans when I had Totonika my hamster (love u still Toto, mummy misses you) sent me plush toys of little rats. At the end I had all these three, a white, a brown and a gray one. They´ve seen since then in our room. Then Fufunchis my rats found our home, a lovely white husky RITVA and a brown agouti :) TUULA. Their names are finnish and means Birch branch and Little Wind.  But then last 16th December!! (yes my birthday) a baby russian blue gray cute in my friend´s rattery (Piece of Heaven rattery) and I asked cautiously if there were gray females in the litter, they replied there were in fact three but all reserved and I thought well it was not the time... but that´s the magic about it all :) she finally was un-reserved and I got a call to ask if I wanted her... and suddently there's a third gray rat in our family :) just like the plush toys over I had...
The prophecy became true... Welcome home TAIKA (means magic, spell in finnish too)

And thus FUFUNCHIS are now THREE and have their "muppet plush toys clones" LOL hahaha. Though we don't discard to increase our family ;-) there´s a little gray ball now there, so tiny and so cuttttttttttte! Only two days and learning so fast, still there´s some time until we can make full presentations of the babies and adult ones as they require to get used to each other bit by bit, but so far, so good they gaze each other with curiosity :)

Here's TAIKA as a  three weeks baby (now she's five) We visited her in the rattery too :) as soon as we knew she was going to be part of the family :)

above: photo of Taika courtesy of Piece of Heaven Rattery

And now the little earthquake now in our home, her first pictures exploring :) Hope you'll have a long and happy life with us. We love you already. Welcome home TAIKA!

you can click for high resolution photo

Me and Taika (from finnish "magic", "spell"). She is grows since he came home but still sooo tiny :) Hello Taika, this is mummy!

Taika besides  The Underliving digibook so you can see how small she is still :) (yeah subliminal self-promotion, thank you sweet baby!)

I'm curious about EVERYTHING :), yep this is cool! :)

And I'm so perfectly CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE :)

Taika, just like Tuula and Ritva now their new two elder sisters, come from Piece of Heaven Rattery. And for any stumbling upon this blog because they found a cute rat pic ;-) Taika is not alone, she'll have two friends, always pick more than one rat and do it always from a breeder, you'll thank the advice and the likely long term health of your rat.

Welcome home Taika :)

and remember, if you want to send a welcome card to Taika or any correspondence to fufunchis! (or me, though I admit they get more correspondence than myself LOL)

Priscilla Hernandez attn. "Fufunchis"

Pobox 18046

08080. Barcelona. Spain

When I was a child I wanted to be a writer :) I really never played with dolls, I loved to write an paint my own stories :) That is how I ended up making drawings, illustrating my own writings. When I was eight I was gifted a typewriter, in just a few months I passed my typewriting exam. Now speed was in my hands and I used to save money to buy blank paper LOL to write my own tales and novels. When I was nine I wrote my first full book, it was called Lestar :).  The premise couldn't be more childish and naive, a winged magical horse LOL. I even made a bud of a song with my toy piano (when I was six!). I remember it had a  mix of Oz/neverending story vibe into it, but I cannot recall all details about it (still I play and remember the song though). I used to type like I was making a book bending the paper and sewing it afterwards and making even an engraved hardcover. Then from 10 to 14 I embarked in a bigger fantasy/epic sword and sorcery novel (as naive and childishly written as I was a teenager infatuated with Tolkien books). When entering high-school I made a book of short-horror tales called "Los cuentos del sendero". 

Recently I travelled to the Canary Islands, and looking for photographies of my recently deceased father I found a big black folder hidden in the wardrobe, when I opened it... surprise! and shock! It was a thick full folder full of my writings, maybe 600 or 700 pages, some poetry, tales, even great parts of those initial novels.

I picked some of the tales and writings and pages that were in front of me, they range from 8 years to 15 or years old of my age. So reading them is like going back to my head back so many years. I confess I've only re-read a bit and I was blushing all the way. But it reminds me that I should sit down and finish the novelization of "Yidneth" and maybe get back to my dream as novelist. Maybe a logical step would be releasing "Yidneth" as a comic and then the book version. Some months back I had already saved in a folder some recent short tales, hmm wonder if I should give it a try. I wonder if I should re-write some of the old writings as they are really coming from a child imagination, or if I should leave them as they were. I'll find out as I feel while  re-discovering this pieces of my own work.

Curiously enough of of the few "Cuentos del sendero" (The tales of the Path) rescued was "The Willow" that inspired in some way my own song The Willow´s lullaby.

Curious, afraid, ashamed, proud of reading this... finding myself again.