Download images for Saint Patrick's Day

Another new download pack! This collection will help you celebrate "the wearing o' the green" on St. Patrick's Day.

Yes, I know some of us have only recently taken down the Christmas tree, and maybe at the moment your thoughts are filled with red and pink, hearts and flowers, for Valentines Day... but crafters are always one holiday ahead!

Create cards and crafts with these vintage St. Patricks images featuring Victorian ladies, Clapsaddle children, Irish flags, plenty of shamrocks and plenty of green. Download today at Lunagirl.com.

Coming soon: downloads for Easter!

St. Patrick's Day Facts and Lore

March 17 is the feast day of Saint Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland (along with Brigid of Kildare and Columba). Patrick was a Roman British-born missionary, probably in the fifth century, said to have converted Ireland to Christianity. Historians think most of his converts were among the aristocracy, and it's not clear that the common people changed over from their ancient paganism until later, but he gets the credit in legend at least!

The little shamrock is not the official symbol of Ireland (that honor goes to the Celtic harp), but around the world a green clover or shamrock is associated with Eire. Legend has it that St. Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to teach the pre-Christian people of Ireland about the Trinity. There is no evidence in his writings that St. Patrick actually did this, but he did incorporate ancient pagan Celtic symbols and practices which made Christianity more easily accepted by the people of the land. He is also said to have approached the Irish as an equal rather than a superior, which made his Irish audience more receptive to his message.

The color green is of course a sacred color for pagans, and a symbol of life (appropriate on March 17, when spring is imminent!) The "wearing o'the green" originally referred to wearing a shamrock on one's clothing to show solidarity or identity with Ireland -- or the Irish independence movement. During the reign of Queen Victoria (when Ireland was actively fighting English rule) this practice was actually outlawed.

St. Patrick's Day came to America with early Irish immigrants. St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in America before the United States was even a nation! The first St. Patrick's Day in the colonies was in Boston in 1737, and New York City's parade dates to 1762.

Little facts about Ireland:
The name Ireland is the anglicized version of Eire, from the name of the Celtic goddess Eire or Eriu (Ireland = Eire's Land).
Ireland was never completely conquered by the Roman Empire.
Even during the Dark Ages, when ignorance engulfed Europe, learning and literature survived in Irish monasteries.
Poetry in Irish represents the oldest non-Latin poetry in Europe.
Over 12% of the U.S. population reports Irish ancestry.
Halloween came to America in the 1840s with Irish immigrants.
Legend says Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland but... Ireland never did have any snakes.

New Blog Challenge: SHABBY GREEN

MARCH 10-23

In honor of springtime's green and of course Saint Patrick's Day, for the current blog challenge I've chosen the theme SHABBY GREEN.

Your project doesn't have to be for St. Pat's, just Green! (and a bit Shabby or Vintage too!)

This challenge (#23) will end at Noon (Central Time) on March 23, and here are the guidelines:
Any craft or medium is OK,
No more than 3 entries from one person in each challenge,
Vintage style is encouraged but not required, and
Please link to my blog and Lunagirl.com on your site if you have one.

The winner will be selected randomly to win a $10 coupon for Lunagirl.com! Of course I love if you use at least one Lunagirl product, and I hope you'll go take a look at my collection... but that's not a requirement!  However, if you use a Lunagirl image in your creation, you will be entered TWICE in the drawing! I want to welcome everyone and every style but also give a little something extra to my wonderful customers!

Enjoy the lovely samples from the Moonbeams Design Team below, and please come link up your own creations.  

An InLinkz Link-up

LUNAGIRL MOONBEAMS DESIGN TEAM

The DT will be working with images from my Lunagirl Shabby Green collage sheet, plus a Lunagirl green background and Saint Patrick's Day shamrock angel.  I hope they inspire your own creations -- can't wait to see what you link up!  And click here to learn more about my fabulous DT members and visit their blogs!

MANDY CHILVERS

PETRA BERENDSEN:
"These images are wonderful and really have such a lovely Spring mood. I made a little card using images from the Shabby Green collage sheet embellishing is with some Stickles around the edges, some ric-rac ribbon aand a tiny resin flower."

VICKI ROMAINE:
"I placed the LG image on a solid green mat so it will pop from the green background.  Beige lace trims the side while flowers in the image are repeated with some in the corner of the card.  The sentiment was also printed in green from my computer."

Vintage Images for St Patrick's Day Crafts

Coming up in only one month: St. Patrick's Day! We offer a nice selection of cards and images featuring children, pretty women & girls, shamrocks, Irish flags, and other images to celebrate Erin and the Wearing o'the Green on March 17.

Perfect for card making, ornaments & decorations, gift tags, scrapbooking, and other paper crafts ~ even fabric crafts and jewelry making. You'll find 70 St. Pat's images on our Victorian Holidays Volume Two CD, available here: http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/Lunagirl-holidays-volumetwo.htm

For commercial use: http://www.lunagirl-images.com/gallery.php?gid=58

Between the Worlds: Part Three

Jack-o-Lanterns & Halloween Pranks

There is an Irish story explaining the origin of jack-o-lanterns:  It seems a man named Jack was barred from heaven because he was so stingy and forbidden to enter hell because of his practical jokes on the devil. The devil, angered by Jack's practical jokes, threw a live coal at him.  It landed in a half-eaten turnip in Jack's hand, creating the first jack-o-lantern.  (Early jack-o-lanterns were turnips as well as pumpkins and other gourds.)  He is condemned to walk the earth with his lantern until Judgment Day!   Closed out of hell as well as heaven, Jack is suspended between life and death, and thus his jack-o-lantern is particularly appropriate to Halloween.

As a child in the southern U.S. I was told (teasingly) that the grinning pumpkin face in the window helped frighten evil spirits away from the house.  Although this may keep away the spirits of the dead, it seems to have little effect on the pranksters -- young people who become demons for a night and roam the neighborhoods making mischief.  Halloween provides an irresistible opportunity for the practical joker.  If the farmer's outhouse ends up in the creek, or your trees end up full of toilet paper, it was the evil spirits who did it -- once a perfect alibi for the real culprits.  Again, the limits placed on day-to-day behavior were weakened for a night.  today, most of it is of course harmless, although I do wish people wouldn't smash jack-o-lanterns!

Some once-common Halloween pranks, such as window-tapping, gathering vegetables to bombard house fronts and drop down chimneys, and removing carts and other belongings to faraway fields, were practiced in altered form in the United States when I was growing up (with the variation, of course, that we took things from the garage and left them in other neighbors' yards).  Soaping windows (especially car windows), stealing jack-o-lanterns, and "rolling" yards (adorning the trees and shrubs in toilet paper) were also popular.

Halloween Bonfires

Halloween bonfires are direct descendants of Samhain/All Hallow's fires of the Celts, lit in honor of the weakening sun at summer's end.  

The fires helped ward off the growing power of darkness and cold.  Perhaps they were meant to strengthen the fire of the sun by means of sympathetic magic.  They were also a means of purification.  Even in recent times the ashes of the Halloween (and New Years) bonfires were scattered throughout the community to protect against evil powers and fertilize the fields. Every hearth fire was first lit for the new year from the Samhain or new years bonfire.  In ancient times it was considered an act of great impiety to kindle winter fires from any other source.

In parts of England, a large bunch of wood was gathered, dressed as a person, then burned under the name Le Vieux Bout de l'An, "the old end of the year."  Here again we see a similarity to Yule customs -- the traditional Yule log that burnt all night was originally also dressed as a person.  

In Scotland we find the custom called "Burning the Witch," which involved burning an effigy and continued well into modern times.  Guy Fawkes Day, named for a rebel who tried to blow up Parliament around the turn of the seventeenth century and celebrated in England on November 5, also involves the burning of a human effigy and is sometimes combined with the Halloween celebration.

These mock sacrifices represented the death of the old year.  Probably such sacrifices were intended to appease the spirits of the dead, for it was believed that the spirits might continue to disrupt human affairs throughout the year if not properly honored.  People often left food out on the table for the returning dead on Halloween.  (Another ancestor of our trick-or-treating custom.)

Halloween Superstitions & Divination Customs

As it is the beginning of the new year and a time when the everyday and the supernatural were believed to be in such close contact....Halloween was considered the perfect time for divining the future.

The divination traditions associated with Halloween are numerous and fascinating!

There were many superstitions involving mirrors. 

Some believed that if a young woman looked into a mirror at midnight on Halloween, she would see the face of her future husband or true love.  A smooth pond surface or wishing well reflection would also work!  There were similar beliefs about looking into a pond or well at dawn on May Day (Beltane).  Others might gaze into the mirror at midnight on Halloween and see their future revealed.

Mirrors and reflections were long considered magical and mysterious, because the reflection was associated with the soul of the person reflected; a mirror could capture or reveal one's soul.  Some of us are still a little superstitious about breaking a mirror.

APPLES Halloween divination usually involved apples, nuts, grain, or other agricultural products, combining the harvest aspect of the holiday with its magical nature.   Apples were particularly popular, and the apple rites seem to be the customs most often found in the United States.   (To the Celts, a perfect apple was the charm by which one might be admitted to the Otherworld and gain "second sight.")

Many customs involve apple peels.  For example, people would peel apples trying to keep the peel all in one piece; whoever had the longest peel would have the longest life.   Young girls would peel an apple and then throw the long peel over their left shoulder, believing that it would form the initial of their future husband's name!   When bobbing for apples, some believed that the first person to get an apple would be the first to marry.

PUMPKINS Pumpkins are of course another agricultural product always associated with Halloween.  Like apples, they are plentiful in October.  Also like apples, they were sometimes used for divination.  Some ladies reportedly put pumpkins on their heads at midnight on Halloween, to see their future husbands!

TO BE CONTINUED...

© 1983, 2005, all rights reserved. 
This article is an original work of authorship protected under copyright law, and it may not be copied in whole or in part without permission of the author and copyright holder.

Watch for the last installment of our article on the origins of Halloween and its customs -- part four features witches and black cats!

Between the Worlds Part Two

The Celts experienced the natural and supernatural as existing in very close proximity to each other, and it can be said that on the eve of Samhain -- a potent juncture or break in normal time -- they existed within each other.  Indeed, it was long believed that a child born on this night will have "double sight"; that is, he or she will be able to perceive and communicate with the Otherworld.  It was believed that at each transitional festival the Otherworld was temporarily upset.  As the juncture between the old and new year, Halloween brought a complete upheaval, and all the inhabitants of the other world were free for the night to work weal or woe on any humans they encountered.

This was the night when the usual boundaries between the dead and the living, the dark and the light, the spiritual realm and the natural world, were transcended.  As Christianity moved into the British Isles and Ireland it continued its time-honored policy of incorporating pagan holidays into the Christian calendar, and Samhain, the "festival of the dead," was redesignated All Saint's Day, in memory of the blessed dead.  Although filtered through Christianity, the traditional customs and beliefs survived in the celebration of All Hallow's Eve, or Hallowe'en.  (The word "hallow" derives from the Middle English halve, meaning "saint.")

The celebration of Halloween was not widespread in the United States until the 1840s, when great waves of Irish immigrants arrived...    bringing the ancient Halloween traditions with them.

The beliefs and customs that surround Halloween today, and the images associated with it in our minds, have their roots in the old Irish/Scottish Celtic festival. 

Everyone knows that Halloween is the night when ghosts and skeletons and all sorts of mischievous spirits and terrifying creatures come out to roam freely for a night in the world of humans!   The ancient Celts, and probably some of our not-so-ancient Victorian ancestors, believed that on Halloween the spirits of the dead roamed the land of the living.  The prehistoric burial mounds, the sidhs in Ireland, opened up and their inhabitants tried to lure the living to join them.  According to some accounts, the spirits came out of the Cave of Cruachan in Connaught, called the gate of hell, accompanied by copper-colored birds who killed farm animals and stole babies and brides.

The Little Folk

This was also the night on which the faeries were most powerful.  In Irish folktales Halloween seems to be by far the most popular time for the abduction and bewitching of humans by these "little people."   Those who had been taken away to fairyland could be rescued on the next Halloween by reciting a special spell or prayer as the fairies made their procession.   Sir Walter Scott reported the belief that if a person circles a fairy hill nine times, counterclockwise, alone on Halloween, a door will open by which he can enter the fairy's abode. The Victorian vision of fairies was a bit darker than ours tends to be, and they were often associated with Halloween.  In addition to sweet flower fairies, the Victorian Faeries or Fae included mischievous, impish creatures as well.

Trick-or-Treating

The most popular way of celebrating Halloween in the United States seems to be playing the part of the supernatural beings supposed to walk the earth on this night -- by dressing as spooks who go from house to house demanding sacrificial treats, and by playing pranks!   There are numerous explanations as to how "trick-or-treating" originated.  The Druids (priests of the Celts) wore masks at their Samhain rituals to represent the spirits of the dead.   Masks and costumes today are sometimes interpreted as a means of avoiding recognition by the spirits rather than a means of imitating them.  In Scotland, some "guisers," as they were called, blackened their faces instead of wearing masks.  This recalls the customs of blackening one's face with the ashes of the All Hallow's fires for protection and good fortune.

Masks are part of sacred and magical rituals the world over.
Psychologically, masks and disguises can lessen inhibitions and give the wearer a sense of freedom and relaxation from usual social restrictions -- often a healthy and harmless break from our day-to-day lives.   

Perhaps wearing costumes serves the purpose of letting us defy temporarily the boundaries of our everyday lives and "be someone else," perhaps act out parts of ourselves that we normally keep hidden. And so normally mild-mannered moms dress as exotic gypsy girls and ethereal mermaids and sexy witches -- or scary ones -- and children for a night are princesses and superheroes. Why then do some of us dress as werewolves and vampires and big scary monsters?  One wonders what Freud would say.......... but it's probably all in fun!

Some say the original purpose of trick-or-treating was to gather food and money for the All Hallow's feast.  It has also been linked with "mumming," a custom practiced on other seasonal holidays as well, especially Yule (later Christmas), another ancient new year's celebration.

"Mumming" was a seasonal tradition in England and other parts of Europe, in which men donned masks and went from house to house demanding or begging for food.  Although often fun and humorous, it was surrounded by a mystical and magical air, and performed a seasonal holidays such as Yuletide.

Yule

Yule, the Winter Solstice and longest night of the year, is the new year festival of another seasonal calendar, based on the solar equinoxes and solstices.  The two calendars were eventually combined, and it is easy to see how some Yule customs could have become associated also with Halloween.

An interesting account from West Virginia reports that trick-or-treating began as "Belsnickling," a Christmas custom brought to the area by Pennsylvania Germans in the 1700s.  On Christmas Eve groups went about in disguise from house to house.  They knocked on the door, and when asked, "Who is it?" the leader replied, "Old Belsnickle."  After being invited in, anyone correctly identified behind their disguise had to do a "trick" -- sing a song, perform a dance, etc.  If no one was identified, the whole bunch was treated with food and drink.  (Of course, they were all treated anyway, no matter what happened!)  This custom is most probably a survival of mumming.  According to this account, Belsnickling was later adapted to Halloween and soon spread all over the country; the meaning of the world "trick," however, came to be a prank rather than some clever act.  (source: Witches, Ghosts, and Signs: Folklore of the Southern Appalachians, by Patrick W. Gainer, Seneca Books)

TO BE CONTINUED...

© 1983, 2005, all rights reserved. 
This article is an original work of authorship protected under copyright law, and it may not be copied in whole or in part without permission of the author and copyright holder. 

STAY TURNED FOR PART THREE -- all about jack-o-lanterns and bonfires and divination customs...

The Origins of Halloween Customs, Part One

October already? It's hard to believe, but the brisk morning air, bright blue sky, falling leaves, and squawking bluejays say that it's true.  With Halloween approaching, here is the first installment of our special article on the origins of Halloween customs...

Between the Worlds... Part One
(All text is copyrighted, please do not copy or use without permission.)

Halloween is a holiday familiar to all Americans.  Children disguised as ghosts and goblins (and superheroes and princesses) roam the streets trick-or-treating; teenagers play pranks and try to frighten themselves with trips to the graveyard and scary movies; young girls may attempt by various means of divination to learn of their future husbands; and generally everyone has a good time drinking cider (or something harder), bobbing for apples, wearing costumes, and waiting for "the witching hour."  But....

it seems few people know of the origins of Halloween and its wonderful mood of magic and fright.

Among the ancient Celtic peoples of Britain, the end of October was marked by the festival of Samhain.  Samhain (sometimes translated hesitantly as "summer's end") was one of four major yearly festivals of the Celtic calendar.  As the life of these people was embedded in and dependent upon the cycles of nature, their calendar was based on the movement of the seasons.  The festivals can be seen as recognizing and celebrating important transition point in the seasonal year.  

November1 February 2 May 1 August 1

Samhaim (All Hallow's) Celtic New Year Imbolc or Brigid (Candlemas) Beltane (May Day) Lughnasa (Lammas)

 

Ancient Holiday Festivals
The Celts measured time primarily by the moon, and these four festivals may be compared to the lunar stages.  Candlemas recognized the waxing (growth) of the year, Beltane the fullness, and Lammas the waning, while Samhain celebrated the new or dark moon, both the end and the beginning of the cycle.

In the Celtic calendar (as many other ancient calendars) a "day" began at sunset the day before, and holiday observations began on the "eve."  As a survival of this world view, we celebrate All Hallow's Eve and Christmas Eve!  Jewish holidays similarly begin at sunset.  Imbolc, later Christianized as Candlemas, celebrated the beginnings of the return of the light and warmth of the sun.  It was thought to be the best time for predicting the weather of the coming spring -- a belief that survives today in Groundhog Day.  Beltane or May Day signified the beginning of summer, a time of warmth, abundance, and fertility.  Lughnasa, later known as Lammas, was the harvest festival in these northern lands, a time of gathering in -- of enjoying the fruits of summer and beginning preparations for the long winter ahead.

Samhain (beginning at sundown on October 31) was the Celtic new year festival, and the most powerful transition of the year.   

It marked the end of one year and the beginning of another, and the entry of winter.  The waning light and warmth of the sun gives way to darkness and cold.  The harvest was completed and crops were put away for the winter.  As the time of the death of the old year, Samhain was the appropriate time to remember the dead; their spirits were believed to return to earth on this night. 
 

Samhain symbolized death -- death which is not final but rather a dark incubation necessary before rebirth in the spring.  Although it has come to us altered by time, by Christianity and eventually by modern commercialism,

the essential character and wisdom of the ancient festival is reflected in the imagery and celebrations of Halloween.




TO BE CONTINUED...

© 1983, 2005, all rights reserved. 
This article is an original work of authorship protected under copyright law, and it may not be copied in whole or in part without permission of the author and copyright holder. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Erin Go Bragh

You'll find 70 St. Pat's images on our
Victorian Holidays Volume Two CD.

For commercial use: http://www.lunagirl-images.com/gallery.php?gid=58

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from Lunagirl!

Blessings to you and yours on the Feast Day of St. Patrick.

For legends and lore see the blog entry a couple below this.

Have fun and be safe!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!