Thursday, December 27, 2007

A December Afternoon - Emily Dickinson





There’s a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons,
That oppresses, like the weight
Of cathedral tunes.

Heavenly hurt it gives us;
We can find no scar,
But internal difference
Where the meanings are.

None may teach it anything,
’T is the seal, despair,
—An imperial affliction
Sent us of the air.

When it comes, the landscape listens,
Shadows hold their breath;
When it goes, ’t is like the distance
On the look of death.

Emily Dickinson

photo: grethe bachmann

Mindeparken/ Memorial Park in Århus in December 2007

Still with Autumn Colours


Mindeparken, still green and with rests of autumn shades.

Marselisborg Slot, queen Margrethe and her family's holiday and Christmas residence.


Beech hedges by the entrance to the big circular memorial monument for Danish soldiers killed in World War I.


A view to Århus Bay.

Fine red hip berries for the birds.
A birch tree's black pieces of lace upon a blue sky.

The 'Water Carrier' is in summer almost covered in vigorous long branches from the big willow tree. Maybe she longs for summer right now.
photo decbr: grethe bachmann, Mindeparken, Århus

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Mars and Moon in December 2007





Mars now appears brightest in our sky until 2016. Mars will be closest to Earth on December 18, but you can see the red planet at its brightest throughout December. Look for the full moon near Mars on December 23.
photo 2007: gb

Thursday, December 06, 2007

December 2007 - Robert Fuller Murray





That's no December sky
Surely 'tis June
Holds now her state on high
Queen of the noon.
Only the tree-tops bare
Crowning the hill
Clear-cut in perfect air,
Warn us that still
Winter, the aged chief,
Mighty in power,
Exiles the tender leaf,
Exiles the flower.

Robert Fuller Murray (1864-1894) A December Day

photo December: grethe bachmann

Poskær Stenhus, Mols, East Jutland

Stone Age




Poskær Stenhus
In the hilly landscape at Mols in East Jutland lies the dolmen 'Poskær Stenhus', one of the prettiest and most wellknown dolmens in Denmark. It was built in Stone Age about 3.300 years ago and was probably a common burial and cult place for the settlements of the area.
'Poskær Stenhus' is Denmark's largest circular dolmen. The hexagon burial chamber consists of five big supporting stones. The entrance points to the East and the burial chamber is surrounded by 23 (once 24) big granite boulders in a circle.
Investigations showed that the cover stone is a socalled 'twin stone', the half part of a huge enormous granite boulder, brought to Denmark by the ice during the last Ice Age about 15.000 years ago. The other half is placed in the dolmen 'Grovlegaardsdyssen' about 2 km north east of Poskær Stenhus.
A legend says that once a troll family lived in the dolmen. The troll's wife offered for free to spin yarn for the wife in the nearby farm if she could guess her name. One evening the farmer's wife heard the troll's wife sing to her child, using the name 'Hottetejlil', but when she the next day called the troll's wife by her name the co work stopped.
A typical reflection on such big stone plans is that they were established in poportion to the stars and their movements. In similar plans in England , Scotland and Ireland the sun shines by winter solstice directly into the burial chamber by sunrise.
Winter SolsticeWinter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as "Christmas." Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots.
Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.
Most of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with "Christmas" actually are linked to Winter Solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures. While Christian mythology is interwoven with contemporary observances of this holiday time, its Pagan nature is still strong and apparent. Pagans today can readily re-Paganize Christmastime and the secular New Year by giving a Pagan spiritual focus to existing holiday customs and by creating new traditions that draw on ancient ways.

Poskær Stenhus
photo december 2007: grethe bachmann