#lost traditions

[theburnedhand]

Celebrating the First Harvest: The History and Differences Between Lughnasadh and Lammas

As the summer sun reaches its zenith and the days begin to slowly wane, two ancient festivals mark the beginning of the harvest season: Lughnasadh and Lammas. Both celebrations, rich in history and tradition, offer a glimpse into the agrarian past of our ancestors and their deep connection to the cycles of nature. While often intertwined and celebrated similarly today, Lughnasadh and Lammas have…

[brasideios]

I’ve been thinking about how, when I was a kid in primary school, back in the late 80s and early 90s in a tiny town in rural Western Australia, we used to play a game called Country.

I have no idea where this game came from - it was just something we always knew how to play. If I had to guess, I suppose it must’ve passed down to us via someone’s older siblings. I know they don’t play it at my primary school anymore, and I would imagine that means it’s a dead local tradition.

That’s a weird thought. So. For posterity.

The game called Country

It was basically an advanced form of chasey (tag). We played it out on the school oval, which was made from compacted yellow sand - rock solid beneath a loose layer of sand on top. Treacherous for the unwary. (So many skinned knees.)

It began by drawing a large circle, using a cone scraped across the surface. I can still hear that sound *so* vividly in my mind. The circle was something like six, seven metres across. It was never precise, but as a kid, it seemed big, and it was then divided into equal segments - one for each player, usually 8 or 9 of us. That segment was your country, hence the name.

We used to name them, but I vaguely recall we might’ve just used brand names? Maybe? I don’t know. But we’d mark them with a logo that we drew with our foot.

The basic premise was that each person took a turn to stand at the centre point, while everyone else scattered; then you chased after them, trying to tag them before they could get back to the safety of their country.

This was made more difficult for the chaser because you were only allowed to tread on your own country to exit the circle. Misstep onto someone else’s land and you lost your turn.

If you succeeded at catching someone, you won the right to lay claim to as much of their land as could be traced using a method that’s difficult to describe, but I’ll try.

You put one foot on the border where you wanted to make your claim - you weren’t allowed to move this first foot from that spot - then shuffled the other foot across the ground, delineating an arc which could be as large as your abilty to extend your legs into a split allowed, basically.

You weren’t allowed to touch the ground with your hands while doing this, you had to balance, and if you did fall, you lost the right to claim the land, so you never wanted to get greedy by over-extending. Being tall was a genuine advantage, as much as being a fast runner.

The whole process of claiming land was taken as seriously as any action in an elite sport - everyone watched with hawk eyes that the rules were honoured. That first foot could not shift along the border. Your hand could not touch the ground. When you tagged someone - was their foot in the line of their country or not?

There were arguments.

You always claimed land that would help you get out of the centre faster in multiple directions, so as far from your own country as you could; and you always started with land on the outer ring of the circle, reducing the other person’s access to their own land, making them easier to catch.

Usually the game lasted over recess and lunch for a couple of days, the lines needing to be redrawn from time to time, especially if it’d been windy.

The winner was the person with the most land when everyone got bored with it, usually once it got down to just a few people who still held land.

That’s it - that’s the game.

It’s really fascinating to think how something so complete could just appear amongst us then disappear again. It makes me think about the Roman board game that we don’t know the rules for; and how many other games like this - ones that leave no material trace - must have come and gone along with it.

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

Hentai lookin ass Bill.

A couple more "suggestive" drawings under the cut:

I hesitated on posting these last two so much when I was drawing them, but that was like two weeks ago, and now I'm just numb to it. WHO CARES JUST TAKE THIS!!

I alluded to drawing more "suggestive" billford stuff a while back, and ironically, THIS ISN'T EVEN WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT SKJDFGDSH I was talking about something else I was planning on drawing. This just sorta happened.

I hope you like these!! Let me know if you want more.

oh, and the first drawing was originally rotated on its side, but I decided I liked it flipped around. That's why his coat is up like that. That's gravity babey!!!!

[salt-baby]

yes, doctors suck, but also "the medical ethics and patient interaction training doctors receive reinforces ableism" and "the hyper competitive medical school application process roots out the poor, the disabled, and those who would diversify the field" and "anti-establishment sentiment gets applications rejected and promotions requests denied, weeding out the doctors on our side" and "the gruesome nature of the job and the complete lack of mental health support for medical practitioners breeds apathy towards patients" and "insurance companies often define treatment solely on a cost-analysis basis" and "doctors take on such overwhelming student loan debt they have no choice but to pursue high paying jobs at the expense of their morals" are all also true

none of this absolves doctors of the truly horrendous things they say and do to patients, but it's important to acknowledge that rather than every doctor being coincidentally a bad person, there is something specific about this field and career path that gives rise to such high prevalence of ableist attitudes

and I WILL elaborate happily

[atanerrum]

this than got 113k likes on instagram last year and i'm still in shock to this day. all i did is draw one boobie

[i-guess-it-rains]

not the type to walk into a dream

[professionalidiot32]

aw look she’s learning metronome :D

SHIT

[mudgemill]

More Blue, I don’t think I’ll ever be over her

[potato-lord-but-not]

what do you pray to?

or alternatively: Oscar sees John for the person he is and John gets to be forgiven

[eggnoodlesoop]

slay the princess is a very serious and existential game

[ancient-art-of-craft]

Quilter's Dilemma

A phenomenon I made up where you have a talent that takes so much time to produce something, that you can't sell it anymore. There's a market for handmade quilts, obviously, they're beautiful and warm and wonderful, but no one would be willing to pay the amount of money that is required to properly compensate the artist.

I don't quilt, but the raw materials to make a couple of pairs of mittens is $70 for some nice wool. But the hours required to make them is roughly two seasons of Criminal Minds, and some Doctor Who episodes with my family. Those are 45 minute episodes. Minimum wage in my state is around $11.

No one is willing to pay several hundred dollars for a couple of pairs of mittens, no matter how warm and detailed they are. Especially if I'm not a master knitter, which I'm not, and they're bound to have mistakes in them.

So we loop back around to giving them as gifts, and instead ask nothing in return.

If someone gives you something they handmade this Christmas, cherish it.

[theburnedhand]

Samhain: Origins, Traditions, and Symbols of the Ancient Celtic Festival

Samhain (pronounced “sow-win”) is a Celtic festival marking the transition from the light of summer to the dark of winter. Rooted in traditions dating back over two millennia, Samhain is considered one of the four major Celtic seasonal festivals, alongside Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh. This holiday, celebrated on October 31st, laid the foundation for modern Halloween with its rich tapestry of…

[bluegiragi]

monster!au sketchdump #2

1-2: monster swap!! purely indulgent, since if they were actually these monsters from the start, they'd all have turned out different.

3: price in his prime! he was a real tank, but he grew out of his destructive phase.

4: preening time with gaz <3

early access + nsfw on patreon

[indrosphere]

Akitu Feast | A Celebration of New Beginnings in Ancient Mesopotamia

The Akitu feast was one of the most important religious festivals in ancient Mesopotamia. It marked the beginning of the new year. It also reaffirmed the bond between the king, the gods, and the people, who shared a common destiny and fate.

Today I want to talk about one of the most fascinating festivals of the ancient Mesopotamians: The Akitu Feast. The Akitu feast was a spring festival and New Year’s celebration held on the first day of first month of the year that is in March/April. The new year celebration is one of the oldest and most universal festivals in human history. Different cultures and religions have marked the…

[ryllen]

when everything is confusing, and then u see a familiar face

[sonyshock]

Making thank you notes has become my morning routine apparently~