91热爆

It`s nearly Jul. This word`s said like Yule, for you non heathen lot. :-D
In times gone past, beasts would have been slaughtered this month or last, and salted down in barrels for winter meat, or hung and air or smoke dried.
Fish would be pickled or salted down too. Any wild foods would have been gathered in and somehow, preserved.
No shops then, you see.
And firewood would have to be stocked and stored and kept dry and seasoned for the winter fires.
No central heating, you see.
And the beasts that would be slaughtered might have been the weakly ones, the old ones, the ones folks didn`t think would last the winter, or that didn`t justify the cost of winter fodder.
No costly vets, you see...mind you, was that a bad thing I ask myself?
But sometimes, the very best beast was picked out, and slaughtered, and a portion of it given to old and wild gods who were very much more bloodthirsty then, who demanded the blood price for the safety of the clan throughout winter.
Bit different now, yes?
Because for all poverty still exists, it`s been a long time since we hunkered down cheek by jowl with kin and beasts for warmth, when to go outside would most likely mean death from cold or beast with sharper teeth than we owned.
And it`s been a long time since we had to grow, gather, or hunt and kill and prepare every scrap of food, every mouthful, each precious bite, to see us and our loved ones through lean times when if the harvests had been bad, you`d be watching your children grow thin and hungry, lean and hollow-eyed with want.

Now, though, it`s different. Now the tv is full of ads giving the illusion of plenty...buy this, buy that, get your kids stuff to make them happy, to make them love you more.
Yes, it`s different...not necessarily better, in my view...

When I was a wee lassie, every year my gran would knit me a doll. They were always made from odd scraps of wool, but she knitted them big as I was, so they grew each year. They had woollen braids that I loved to play with, take out and replait. She sewed pretty clothes for them so I always had a change for her.
Out of all the presents, as a child, I got over the years, I loved and looked forward to those dolls most of all. None of the plastic toys or gadgets I got bought from shops could surpass the dolls made my the hands of my own granny.
Things are different now though, and kids place more value on the up to the minute-ness of their gadgetry or the expense of it, or the label on it.
No real value in the gift. And when the next best thing comes out, it gets discarded like trash.

I don`t think there`s many of us would like to return to the days when we had to fight for every winter mouthful, or when gifts came in the form of food or drink or warm clothing, things which would help prolong and enhance life itself.

But I can stand and watch the winter sun, low and pale in the sky, and think that maybe times have gone too far the other way. And that a little hardship might be a good thing for some folks too used to plenty, even if they don`t see what they have as plentiful.
The whole spirit of Jul is an act of defiance agains the things in nature that would rob us of life...cold, hunger, poverty and illness.
A fire lit against the dark springs to life on the darkest day, the solstice, and tables will groan under plenty, and seats are put out for any welcome traveller, and no-one is refused hospitality.
And in the darkest months of the year, humans learn again how to be the brightest things there are.
And the low pale winter sun looks on in approval.