Honeywheats - "On All Levels Except Physical, I Am A Hobbit."

Waterfall from rain created in the cave by the Forty Steps <3

Glögg: an ancient drink!🍷

✒️Hello everyone! Today I bring you a bit of European history and gastronomy, focusing on an ancient Scandinavian drink called "Glögg", which I had the pleasure to taste last night. Sources can be find at the end in APA formar!

What is Glögg?

Glögg or glogg (Danish: gløgg, Norwegian: gløgg, Swedish: glögg, Icelandic: glögg, Faroese: gløgg, Finnish: glögi, Estonian: glögi) is a spiced, usually alcoholic, mulled wine or spirit. It is a traditional Nordic drink that has been drunk since ancient times during the cold winters, and later, to celebrate Christmas.

Nowadays many people drink this drink at "Christmas", the Christian celebration, however, we know very well that it was an appropriation of pagan festivities.

In the Nordic countries, drinking mulled wine is a tradition that dates back to the 16th century. It was drunk especially by messengers and postmen who travelled on horseback or skis in cold weather.

How the Nordic countries gave us Christmas:

Long before Christianity had come to the Nordic regions, the pagans and other ancient Germanic peoples would celebrate the winter solstice each December, the time of year when the days were the shortest and the night's the longest. Friends and relatives would get together and enjoy food and drink in a festival known as Yule.

As Christianity swept across Germanic Europe centuries ago, many Yuletide traditions were adopted and absorbed into the Christian faith, mixing together to create the modern Christmas we celebrate today.

Source: UK History blog.

Traditional Swedish Glögg recipe:

You can find the recipe right here!🍷🍂

Sources:

How the Vikings gave us Christmas. (n.d.). Sky HISTORY TV Channel. Retrieved September 2, 2021, from https://www.history.co.uk/articles/how-the-vikings-gave-us-christmasWikipedia contributors. (2021, July 31). Glögg.

Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gl%C3%B6gg

This honestly looks like something out of a story book

Cedar

Recently I found myself drawn to the magical power of the cedar tree. By recently, I mean for the past 3 years. Something about cedar just spoke to me and I didn't understand why, but I new that it was my protector and mentor.

It wasn't until today that I remembered that I was introduced to the cedar tree in elementary school. Going to a school called Cedarmere, named after the surrounding trees. It was probably the first tree I learned about outside of the pine tree. I remember getting to know the trees and thinking it was so cool how big they were. I can't believe I forgot about these small moments of connection with this tree. It kinda explains this need to reconnect. I'm sure there is more ancestral reasons to love this tree, but today, I will remember our past friendship.

Cedar properties

Protection

Cleansing

Healing

Mind-opening

Communication

It can be used to cleanse your space as well as protect from negative energies. It has a multitude of healing properties for the body. It can help with spiritual healing and will as communication magic. Great plant to get to know.

Cedar magic tea

2 Cedar tips

1 tsp chaga

3 black peppercorns

A sprinkle of Cinnamon

1 orange slice

1 tbsp maple syrup

Steep for 10-15 mins in 1 cup of hot water and enjoy.

If you have any specific questions about cedar feel free to ask. I love you're questions.

SO. MANY. FRENCH. KNOTS. by a_warm_garlic_yurt

Of Hurin and Huor and their coming to Gondolin Personal take of Gondolin (3/??)

What is your favourite small, painfully human gesture?

and also if we can just:

Catalpa blossoms falling and floating while a chipmunk poses on the stream bank this morning. Woodpecker hammering a tree somewhere nearby.

absolutely nobody:

me: this is literally lord of the rings