Pagan Roots

Todays blip was inspired by the Winter Solstice which occurs tomorrow (21st December). In the Northern Hemisphere we experience our shortest day and longest night of the year. The Winter Solstice was celebrated in pagan times and was thought of as a time of death and rebirth when Nature’s powers and our own souls are renewed. The Feast of Juul was a festival observed in Scandinavia when fires were lit to symbolise the heat, light and life-giving properties of the returning Sun. According to Farmers' Almanac "A Yule—or Juul—log was brought in and burned on the hearth in honor of the Scandinavian god, Thor. It was Thor’s job to bring the Sun’s warmth back to the people". For my blip photo I discovered this tree today at Maristowe, by the River Tavy in Devon. It's twisted and contorted branches seemed to give it an air of mystery and age.