#medieval holiday cards

[vooruitmariek]

New set of medieval-inspired holiday cards available in my Etsy shop ✨

[proteidaes]

Hello, Mutuals! I have my holiday card form open if anyone would like a print from me this year ✨✨✨

Star berry ✨

--

photoshop

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

A purrfect Christmas

Written for day 16 of the @steddieholidaydrabbles, and the 12 Days of Christmas bonus card of the @steddiebingo

Prompt: Tree (for both)

Rated: G

Tags: Established relationship; Domestic fluff; Cat dads Steddie; Christmas

Notes: Set in the same universe as this one

Steve chucks off his muddy boots in front of the apartment, groaning when his grocery bags almost slip from his hands in his attempt to unlock the door. 

“I’m home,” he calls, swiftly kicking the door shut again. Alfie has a tendency to escape, and if there’s one thing he doesn’t feel like doing tonight, it’s chasing an adventurous kitten all through the apartment building. “Just so you know, I’m not setting foot into another store before the holidays are over, it’s madness out there.” 

The only answer he gets is a delighted mrrrrp. That, and the feeling of a small, furry body rubbing against his calves. 

“Hey Gus,” Steve says. “Where’s your brother and dad?” 

“Meowr,” says Gus helpfully, weaving between Steve’s legs as he makes his way into the apartment. 

“Yeah yeah, I bought you food,” Steve grouses. “At least let me walk into the kitchen? I swear to God, one of us is going to break all the bones in his body if- Jesus Christ!” 

One of the bags lands on the floor as Steve clutches the living room door for support. The ornament he just slipped on rolls off into the shadows and Gus gives chase with a delighted mewl.

“What the hell?” Steve mutters, bending down to retrieve his fallen bag. There’s two more ornaments lying a few feet off, and another one behind those. An entire trail of them, leading all the way into the living room, right up to … 

The second bag thunks to the floor. 

“Eddie?” Steve calls, voice weak and shaky. “Eddie, why is the tree upside down?” 

“Oh, you’re home!” Eddie pops his head out of the kitchen. “Do you like it?” 

“Do I- what?” Steve stammers. The grocery bags are left abandoned in the hallway as he wanders further into the living room, eyes glued to the sight in front of him. “Why- … It was normal when I left, why did you-” 

“Pffff, define normal.” Eddie walks into the room, Gus trailing by his heels, tail raised in a high, excited arch. Alfie is perched on his shoulder, eyeing the hanging tree with shivering whiskers and a twitching tail. “Did you know that the tradition of hanging fir trees from the ceiling actually dates back to all the way to medieval Germany? Lore has it that it was invented by Saint Boniface in an attempt to remind his fellow citizens-” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Steve interrupts him. Eddie snaps his mouth shut but doesn’t stop grinning. “Thanks for the history lesson, but- … I don’t see why … What’s Saint What’s His Face got to do with our Christmas tree?” 

Eddie watches him gesture helplessly at the inverted tree and shrugs.  

“Excellent question, honey. Legend says it was a symbol for the Holy Trinity, but my personal assumption is that the good man must’ve been a cat dad.” 

Steve stares at him. Eddie grins proudly. On his shoulder, Alfie starts to purr, like he knows they’re talking about him. 

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Steve says at long length. “Tell me why the dead German dude had cats.” 

“Well, it’s obvious,” Eddie claims. He throws out a hand to point at the hanging tree. Alfie makes an indignant sound as he sways on his shoulder. Gus stares up at him with the adoring look of a younger sibling wishing they could be half as cool as their older brother. “You know how our two charming little rascals here have been wreaking havoc on the tree? Well, you can’t climb and tip over something you can’t reach, can you, boys?” 

Gus lets out a pathetic little mewl, like a child deprived of their favorite toy. Alfie tilts his head like he's hoping it will magically turn the tree back around. Steve, who spent the better part of yesterday putting the tree back up and gathering scattered ornaments and snapped branches off the living room floor, shuts his mouth and wrinkles his brow.

“That's… actually a good idea.” 

Eddie's chest puffs out. “I know, right? Took me the better part of the day to set up, and I still need to find a way to keep the ornaments from falling off, but it might be worth the effort if- Alfie, no!” 

Steve is just on time to see Alfie crouch, ears pressed flat against his head, ass wiggling in the air as he takes aim. Then he jumps. He hits the tree like a tiny, furry projectile, sending it swaying with the force of his impact, and immediately starts swatting at the nearest ornament. On the ground, Gus mewls his adoration. 

The ceiling creaks. 

“Okay,” Eddie breathes, deliberately calm, holding out his hands and approaching Alfie one inch at a time. “Okay, lesson learned. Nobody’s using me as a climbing post for the next four weeks. Now come back down and everything-” 

Gus jumps, grabbing the tip of the tree with all four paws. For a moment, he hangs there, smug satisfaction written all over his face. 

Then the tree comes down. 

A rain of pine needles and mortar and ornaments descends on the living room. Two shrieking blurs of fur shoot over Steve’s feet and out of the door, claws leaving marks in the carpet.

“Gandalf and Radagast Harrington-Munson!” Eddie hollers. “Come back here and- Why are you laughing?” 

“Y’know, this is on us, really,” Steve says, wiping the tears from his eyes and reaching out to pick a twig out of Eddie’s hair. “Maybe we should wait until they’re older before we try putting up a tree again.”

Eddie scowls, so he leans in to kiss it off his lips. 

“I thought this was a good idea,” Eddie whines when they pull apart. “And now look at this. It’ll take forever to clean up.” 

Steve shrugs, pecking his cheek and grabbing his hand to pull him from the room. “Leave it for tomorrow. For now, we have two traumatized kittens to check on.” 

More holiday drabbles

More Steddie Bingo

[whencyclopedia]

How Christmas Was Shaped by 19th-Century Literature

How we celebrate Christmas today is largely shaped by a small group of authors who recorded festive traditions in the 19th century. These authors include Washington Irving (1783-1859), Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863), and Charles Dickens (1812-1870). By capturing in popular print festive traditions, many of which dated back to medieval times, these authors caused something of a Christmas revival.

19th-century literature, sometimes expressly concentrating on Christmas and at other times merely using the holiday as a jovial setting for a fictional story, captured what were, in many cases, fast-disappearing traditions, which future generations would return to and update. Thus, such activities as carol singing and masque balls returned to fashion. In addition, writers of Christmas stories, which were often serialised in hugely popular weekly magazines, helped spread newer ways to celebrate such as the sending of Christmas cards and the decorating of a Christmas tree. In this article, we present through selected extracts just how some of these 19th-century authors managed to capture the spirit of Christmas for posterity.

Christmas Literature

Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA)

Irving's Christmas

Washington Irving was an American author who travelled through England in 1818. In his Sketch Book, Irving devoted five chapters to recording how Christmas was celebrated in rural England.

Travelling any great distance in the 19th century often involved a long, tiresome, and uncomfortable journey in a stagecoach. Nevertheless, the certainty of seeing friends and family again, revelling in home comforts, and feasting on festive fare made the journey one of high anticipation. Irving describes the joys of travelling home for Christmas:

In the course of a December tour in Yorkshire, I rode for a long distance in one of the public coaches, on the day preceding Christmas. The coach was crowded, both inside and out, with passengers, who, by their talk, seemed principally bound to the mansions of relations or friends, to eat the Christmas dinner. It was loaded also with hampers of game, and baskets and boxes of delicacies; and hares hung dangling by their long ears about the coachman's box, presents from distant friends for the impending feast. I had three fine rosy-cheeked schoolboys for my fellow-passengers inside

…I could not but notice the more than ordinary air of bustle and importance of the coachman, who wore his hat a little on one side, and had a large bunch of Christmas greens stuck in the button-hole of his coat.

…Perhaps the impending holiday might have given a more than usual animation to the country, for it seemed to me as if everybody was in good looks and good spirits. Game, poultry, and other luxuries of the table, were in brisk circulation in the villages; the grocers', butchers', and fruiterers' shops were thronged with customers. The housewives were stirring briskly about, putting their dwellings in order; and the glossy branches of holly, with their bright red berries, began to appear at windows.

My little travelling companions had been looking out of the coach windows for the last few miles, recognizing every tree and cottage as they approached home… (The Stage-Coach, 94-9)

19th-Century Coach Caught in Snow

Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA)

Irving finally arrives at the old English hall where he has been invited to spend Christmas. Still Christmas Eve, he describes the decorated interior:

The grate had been removed from the wide overwhelming fireplace, to make way for a fire of wood, in the midst of which was an enormous log glowing and blazing and sending forth a vast volume of light and heat; this I understood was the Yule log, which the squire was particular in having brought in and illumined on a Christmas Eve, according to ancient custom.

…Supper was announced shortly after our arrival. It was served up in a spacious oaken chamber, the panels of which shone with wax, and around which were several family portraits decorated with holly and ivy. Besides the accustomed lights, two great wax tapers, called Christmas candles, wreathed with greens, were placed on a highly-polished buffet among the family plate. The table was spread with substantial fare; but the squire made his supper of frumenty, a dish made of wheat cakes boiled in milk, with rich spices, being a standing dish in old times for Christmas Eve. (Christmas Eve, 110-11)

Irving goes on to describe the traditional activities of Christmas morning.

When I woke the next morning, it seemed as if all the events of the preceding evening had been a dream…While I lay musing on my pillow, I heard the sound of little feet pattering outside the door, and a whispering consultation. Presently a choir of small voices chanted forth an old Christmas carol, the burden of which was

Rejoice, our Saviour he was born On Christmas Day in the morning

…the morning was extremely frosty; the light vapour of the preceding evening had been precipitated by the cold, and covered all the trees and every blade of grass with its fine crystallizations. The rays of a bright morning sun had a dazzling effect among the glittering foliage. A robin, perched upon the top of a mountain ash that hung its clusters of red berries just before my window, was basking himself in the sunshine… (Christmas Day, 117-18)

Christmas Eve by Hoover

Library of Congress (Public Domain)

After attending the family prayers, Irving has a hearty breakfast before walking to the local church for the traditional morning service.

Our breakfast consisted of what the squire denominated true old English fare…there was a brave display of cold meats, wine, and ale on the sideboard.

…On reaching the church porch, we found the parson rebuking the grey-headed sexton for having used mistletoe among the greens with which the church was decorated. It was, he observed, an unholy plant, profaned by having been used by the Druids in their mystic ceremonies…

turned over the leaves of a folio prayer-book with something of a flourish; possibly to show off an enormous seal-ring which enriched one of his fingers, and which had the look of a family relic…

The orchestra was in a small gallery, and presented a most whimsical grouping of heads…There were two or three pretty faces among the female singers, to which the keen air of a frosty morning had given a bright rosy tint; but the gentleman choristers had evidently been chosen, like old Cremona fiddles, more for tone than looks…

…The parson gave us a most erudite sermon on the rites and ceremonies of Christmas, and the propriety of observing it not merely as a day of thanksgiving, but of rejoicing…and concluded by urging his hearers, in the most solemn and affecting manner, to stand to the traditional customs of their fathers, and feast and make merry on this joyful anniversary of the Church…I have seldom known a sermon attended apparently with more immediate effects… (Christmas Day, 119-126)

Going to Church on Christmas Day

Library of Congress (Public Domain)

Irving returned to the hall, and as he dressed for the triumph of the day, the Christmas dinner, the local poor were given meat and ale in return for their contribution to the general air of merriment with their dancing, singing, and making of music.

The old squire kept up old customs in kitchen as well as hall; and the rolling-pin struck upon the dresser by the cook, summoned the service to carry in the meats.

The dinner was served up in the great hall, where the squire always held his Christmas banquet…The Butler entered the hall with some degree of bustle: he was attended by a servant on each side with a large wax-light, and bore a silver dish, on which was an enormous pig's head, decorated with rosemary, with a lemon in its mouth, which was placed at the head of the table.

The table was literally loaded with good cheer, and presented an epitome of country abundance, in this season of overflowing larders. A distinguished post was allotted to 'ancient sirloin'…There were several dishes quaintly decorated…a pie, magnificently decorated with peacock's feathers, in imitation of the tail of that bird, which overshadowed a considerable tract of the table…I found the tide of wine fast gaining on the dry land of sober judgment. The company grew merrier and louder as their jokes grew duller.

After the dinner table was removed, the hall was given up to the younger members of the family, who…played at romping games…Blind-man's-buff… a burlesque imitation of an antique mask…which, from its medley of costumes, seemed as though the old family portraits had skipped down from their frames to join in the sport…and as the old manor-house almost reeled with mirth and wassail, it seemed echoing back the joviality of long departed years. (Christmas Dinner, 132-44)

Santa Claus by William Holbrook Beard

William Holbrook Beard (Public Domain)

Continue reading...

[vigilskeep]

How do you think the Thedas holidays are celebrated in the circles?

because they’re andrastian holidays and circles are an andrastian institution, i would be very surprised if they weren’t celebrated! but a little differently, due to the circumstances. more sermons than getting out and celebrating, i fear. nevertheless, good plentiful food and a break from work are the typical markers of a medieval-ish holiday. i would certainly expect a day off from studies and a feast in the great hall for circle mages! perhaps performances and displays of their work... here’s a great canon letter from a retired knight-commander to his knight-templar grandson that gives us some insight:

“My Dear Boy,

Your pious outrage might earn you some approval with your knight-lieutenant, but I beg you to join the rest of us in the real world, lad. Do you have any idea just how wealthy the Circle of Magi can be? The amount of gold the nobility pays for enchanted goods would overflow a well. Many mages—particularly Lucrosians—are from good families, used to entertainments and the finer things in life... and Maker knows they can afford them. So why shouldn’t they indulge a little?

Besides, a few musicians and dancers and an elaborate dinner is nothing. There are a dozen acting troupes in Val Royeaux and Halamshiral who specialise in bringing plays and stories into Circle Towers. A little collapsible scenery, the right costumes, a sprinkle of artfully chosen scent, and they can transform a workshop into an enchanted forest, a cold courtyard into a war tent on the eve of battle, or a dining hall into a darkspawn lair.

It does the mages good, too. When you see the same dreary walls day after day, a change to the familiar is a taste of freedom.

When mages entertain themselves, now, that’s a sight. No mere “tricks” there. I’ve seen ones who could juggle fire into ice or breathe a word into one hand and release a song from the other. I once saw a mage build a cathedral out of playing cards, upside down, yet it was impossible to knock it over! Even a game of battledore and shuttlecock takes on a new dimension when the players can move objects with their minds.

It isn’t all idle entertainment, either; most mages I know are eager to put their hands to useful work. Those gorgeous wooden panels in the teyrn’s castle at Ostwick? The ones that show the Qunari Wars on the Waking Sea? All carved by an enchanter at the city’s Circle, over the ten years he spent there. More than a few palaces have benefited from the artistry of mages: tapestries, stained glass, anything that takes time and patience.

In some day, some knight-captains frowned on mages spending their time and magical power for “frivolous ends.” Frivolous? Any mage with enough fine control to keep an audience enthralled, or to build a mosaic of Andraste, has better mastery of their magic than one who only uses it to destroy. Leave the moralising to the revered mothers, my boy. It’s not for us to say how a person should stay occupied in their own home.”

as for the more specific festival traditions, i wouldn’t be surprised if city-based circle mages were asked to send talent to perform magic for some festivals. the fires on funalis, perhaps. and i wonder if the most lenient circles ever have some kind of templar mage role swap for the day on satinalia lmao. or at the very least have a little apprentice be first enchanter for the day. i wouldn’t imagine they have much of a coming of age for summerday because maturity is much more marked by your harrowing

[ashleywool]

health update/diatribe/infodump BUT THERE'S A CAT VIDEO AT THE END

Dearest reader: This should be a simple health update, but instead, it's an obnoxiously detailed info-dump written by the kind of person who knows more than most people about American health insurance but is still surprised at how it continues to find new and innovative ways to suck. If this is not the type of thing your brain or nervous system wants to wrap itself around, I don't blame you one bit, but if it is, I hope you'll at least walk away having learned something or being at least mildly entertained. If not, feel free to

SCROLL TO THE END FOR A HTDIO-ADJACENT CAT VIDEO!

When last we left our third-or-fourth-favorite mildly niche-famous T-list Broadway person, she was finally on the brink of getting a brain and pituitary MRI. This was supposed to happen on Friday.

But I wasn't allowed to get the MRI on Friday because Cigna's pre-authorization was still pending and there was nothing my doctor could do to escalate its urgency, nor could they withdraw the order. They couldn't do anything at all until the third-party organization that approves the pre-authorizations signed off on its medical necessity.

Look, I get it. This is an expensive and labor-intensive procedure, so they have to be thorough. I mean, sure, my doctor said it was medically necessary, and sure, they sent the additional clinical information to confirm its medically necessity, and sure, every order at every stage was marked as urgently medically necessary, and it was sent for processing on Monday, but how can they REALLY be sure it's medically necessary until my case is also reviewed by doctors who have NEVER seen me, and don't work weekends or holidays, and will get around to reviewing it at their own leisure? The folks at the radiology clinic rescheduled me in their next available spot and maintained that they'd contact me as soon as possible to fill any upcoming cancellation spots.

A ridiculous mildly annoying setback was that their next available appointment wasn't until July 26. They couldn't attempt to book me at any of the other dozens of clinics affiliated with this hospital network, because the pre-authorization is site-specific, which is like buying someone a gift card from the Starbucks on my block only to find out that they won't honor it at the Starbucks two blocks down perfectly reasonable, because I'm sure every site has differences that can't be perceived from a patient perspective.

Oh, and the existence of a pending pre-authorization prevented them from doing the MRI that day even if I'd had $8K in cash to pay out of pocket for the procedure. Which is perfectly reasonable, because why shouldn't American healthcare policy punish rich people too? I'm sure it's many flavors of unethical for one doctor to do something without the approval of another doctor even though the doctor whose approval it hangs on has NEVER SEEN ME.

One fellow in particular--I'll call him Quincy--gave me some insider info on how to prepare for the types of advocacy he's had to do in the past with this particular pre-authorization team, and which numbers to call and questions to ask. He isn't technically supposed to know this stuff and also isn't technically supposed to share it, but says he does it all the time anyway--hence why I'm keeping him anonymous. Quincy isn't his real name, but Quincy is a real one, and I took in his information like a medieval warrior selecting the choicest armor to prepare for battle the informed and fully compliant patient I strive to be.

Anyway, a few persistent phone calls later, a Cigna rep informed me that the middlemen would approve the pre-authorization for the MRI on the condition that I get the procedure done at a standalone radiology facility instead of a hospital-affiliated facility. Which is like buying someone a gift card that could only be honored at Starbucks kiosks located inside Target stores, but not at a standalone Starbucks or anywhere else in Target perfectly reasonable, I know the insurance companies don't wanna have to spend hospital prices any more than I do. So I spent a great deal of time yesterday looking up non-hospital-affiliated radiology clinics that were in-network.

I made an appointment with one clinic for Thursday. But I also made an appointment request at a different clinic for Monday morning, just in case they could see me sooner--because I knew this clinic didn't accept Medicare or Medicaid, and were therefore exempt from the requirement of third-party pre-authorization. (Pro-tip: even if you do have Medicare or Medicaid, always try to bypass pre-authorization for diagnostic procedures, especially if you have a particularly high in-network deductible--it's entirely possible that paying out of pocket for a service at an out-of-network provider could cost less than the amount you'd have to pay towards your deductible at at in-network facility. American math.)

THIS MORNING, I woke up at 8am to a phone call from the latter clinic, saying that if I sent them the doctor's prescription, they could pre-authorize the procedure and see me tomorrow. So that's what I did...and then I got an email saying that they couldn't accept a prescription for an MRI with and without contrast because they don't have contrast at that facility. Which is like finally securing a coveted reservation at an elite steakhouse only to find out they don't season their steak or even have steak sauce perfectly reasonable, because not everyone needs contrast, but I do, so that place was out.

But as far as I've been told, Thursday's appointment should go off without a hitch as long as I call EviCore (the pre-authorization middlemen) tomorrow morning to tell them all about the not-hospital that will be giving me a not-hospital-priced MRI, so that they can grant the pre-authorization at long last.

Perhaps if I plead my case and bat my eyes at them real cute-like through the phone, they'll give me some other reason why it's actually not medically necessary for me to know definitively whether or not I have a literal brain tumor I can get seen even sooner than Thursday.

FUNNY STORY THOUGH...

A couple weeks ago I was talking to a friend from church who was going through a lot of the same stuff as I was, and I was like "idk, maybe get your cortisol checked?" and lo and behold, he messaged me back a few days ago saying that he'd found a new doctor and asked him to do just that, and WITHIN A DAY his doctor ordered ALL the labs I'd fought for (serum blood cortisol, low-dose dexamethasone suppression test, 24-hour urine, saliva, etc.) AND an MRI for suspected Cushing's.

And he completed ALL OF THAT within a week.

Although he did have to suffer for quite a while before I floated the possibility of Cushing's, just like my friend Alan had to suffer for years before his own endocrinologists floated the possibility of Cushing's. Still, they both got that MRI the second it WAS floated, without a fight, and I'm genuinely happy for them.

But I can't help wondering how much quicker and easier this whole process would have been for me if I were a man. Or if I was neurotypical. Or if I still had a choice about whether or not to disclose being autistic. But mostly if I were a man.

THIS IS THE END! HERE IS THE HTDIO-ADJACENT CAT VIDEO YOU WERE PROMISED!

I'm fostering my friends' exquisite tuxedo princessfloof for a few weeks. Chevy and Tex are being very accommodating foster siblings, but she's much younger and is used to being the only pet, so naturally it took her a while to acclimate.

But there was one thing she took to immediately: the How to Dance in Ohio fidget spinner.

[d34dpulse]

Official BakuDeku content because the brain rot is rotting

This is 4 silly funsies btw so if u don't ship bakudeku plz don't jump me :(

Official Ship Art

One of Horikoshi's assistants Noguchi (@/nstime23) posts A LOT of bakudeku art on their twt which, since she publicly works on the manga and Horikoshi follows her account, he definitely knows she makes this.

In BNHA Smash, an official spin-off of BNHA that's approved by Horikoshi and made by another one of his assistants, Hirofumi Neda, there's a running joke that Deku is a yandere who stalks Katsuki and is obsessed with him "noticing him", even blushing when Katsuki praises him.

To promote the new movie, Horikoshi drew Katsuki dressed as Godzilla and Izuku dressed as Mothra. In the Godzilla series, Godzilla and Mothra are a couple and are referred to as the king and queen of monsters.

Katsuki calls himself Kacchan before killing himself for him... Speaks for itself.

When Tomura kills Katsuki, he specifically said that he did it because of Izuku's "sheer fury" when he nearly killed him, funny since Tomura not only hurt but killed other people Izuku was close to.

In a set of official licensed poker cards for the series. Izuku represents the Ace of Hearts, Katsuki represents the Ace of Diamonds and together, they represent the King of Hearts.

Medieval AU

In the outro song for the second season of the anime (Datte Atashi no Hero), the songwriter Risa Oribe said that the lyrics are Izuku’s true feelings for Katsuki and with lyrics like “If you're facing a monumental effort, one that comes once in a lifetime, I want to be there to see it” and “No matter how many fools there are in this world, I'll always be by your foolish side” it sorta speaks for itself lol.

Also, in the cover page of Chapter 214, it shows that All Mights buster sword from the original fantasy spread has been split in two, and that Katsuki and Izuku are each wielding the two halves.

Steampunk AU

In the mobile game, they celebrated the 3rd anniversary of the game by having a plot with Izuku convincing Katsuki to celebrate their anniversary. Doing this event would give you a bunch of heart balloons and flowers with a number 3 balloon.

For the 2020 Steampunk-themed popularity poll art (the cover of Chapter 293), Izuku and Katsuki seem to be wearing each other's shoes for some reason.

Sakura Season Stuff 🌸

For the first image, there's a superstition in Japan that if you catch three sakura petals while they're falling, your wish for love will come true, but you need to be with your crush at the time for it to work.

For the second image, cherry blossoms generally represent new beginnings which makes perfect sense with these two, because after years of rivalry, they're now friends and deeply care for each other, especially since this came out around the same time as chapter 424, where the war they fought together in is now officially over and they're starting their second year of UA together.

White Day

For anyone like me who has never heard of this, White Day is a holiday in Japan that takes place on the day after Valentine's Day, where you're supposed to give someone you love gifts to repay them for giving you gifts on Valentine's Day. Now, with this context, look at their matching white day cards where one has a bag of cookies and the other has a tray of them.

[yiddishknights]

Please allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite Renaissance manuscripts, BnF Hébreu 586. It's a Yiddish Sefer minhagim, or book of religious customs, created in Italy in the early 16th century. The book describes the customs and traditions associated with various Jewish holidays. Although such Yiddish-language books were not uncommon in the medieval and Renaissance periods, this one is unique for its illustrations, which were clearly done by an amateur artist and cover 94 of the manuscript's 120 folios. While many 19th and 20th century scholars were dismissive of the artwork, which they described as ugly or crude, I think they give the manuscript a lot of its charm.

Art historian Diane Wolfthal notes that, while many of the illustrations depict the actions described in the text, this is not always the case. Sometimes, as with the card game pictured above, the illustrations are not directly related to the text. It seems that the scribe/illustrator chose to focus on the most joyous and vibrant aspects of Jewish ritual. As Wolfthal writes, the illustrations "envision Jewish customs from the scribe’s viewpoint and construct an idyllic vision of Jewish society."

A Hebrew list of names and important dates at the back of the book suggests that it was probably privately owned and passed down through generations of a family. The scribe/illustrator may have been a member of the family and produced it for personal use.

Above is a selection of a few of my favorite illustrations which have clearly legible captions. These read, from top to bottom:

fol. 1r: "דיא שפילן קרטן אם ראש חדש" ["They play cards on Rosh Chodesh."]

fol. 4r: "דיא געבן סדר" ["They are giving a seder."]

fol. 8r: "דיא לײאן אין דער ספר תורה" ["They are reading the Torah."]

fol. 22r: "דיא מכן הבדלה" ["They are making havdalah."]

fol. 73r: "דער אישט אין דער סוכה" ["He is in the sukkah."]

There are so many more interesting illustrations in this book that I could not include, so I highly recommend flipping through it yourself!

Sources

Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Héb. 586

Diane Wolfthal, Picturing Yiddish: Gender, Identity, and Memory in the Illustrated Yiddish Books of Renaissance Italy, Brill, 2004.

[scarfacemarston]

I went No Contact from my birth family a loooong time ago and we live pretty distantly from the most conservative in-laws so I'm personally doing fine this particular holiday weekend, but I saw your post and I'm *trying* to interact more with folks when I'm free and have the spoons, and I'd love to help distract if you're stuck with unpleasant company--I remember how holidays with toxic family are. You are not alone!

So for asks... I remembered those traditional "anniversary gift" themes recently and I think they would have been a thing in the early 1900s in America if I understand the history correctly? (I am not a historian so apologies if I am way off base.) Either way, I was wondering if you think Abigail and John would like to partake in those sort of things, whatever was established tradition, or do you think they'd prefer to have less-traditional celebrations or gifts?

I'm so sorry you've had family struggles. It sounds like you're doing better now, but that doesn't erase the pain of it happening in the first place. Thank you for reaching out. It's so appreciated. <3 As for your question:

It took a while for me to look this up because there is so little information on the topic! I even went academic and went through sites like JSTOR. (It's a vast database.)

So we have a problem to start with. This is a question about social history, which is essentially any history that is not about a rich, white, Christian man. They were written about in "traditional history." The problem is that social history is difficult to study as the "other" (that's the legitimate term) does not leave as many records. Suppose you want to write about another race, gender, working class, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. In that case, you have to be prepared to research outside of the box and go against the grain, as historians call it. Therefore, researching anything about the RDR gang can be super challenging. Abigail and John are from the "Wild West" and were working class, so there isn't much information on people like them. However, we do have shopping trends from middle-class people to give us clues.

Anniversaries, as we know them, didn't seem to be widely celebrated until around 1910. Hallmark, a really popular card company, helped boost anniversaries with their cards. They opened up in the 1920s. The jewelry boom of the 1940s also encouraged people to buy jewelry for people's anniversaries.

That is not to say that no one ever celebrated anniversaries. Multiple sites mention Medieval people celebrating it, but it does not appear as prevalent an event until very late in the Victorian era/early Edwardian era. Abigail and John were on the cusp of that timeline, with John dying in 1911.

Now, Valentine's Day seemed to be a far larger ordeal. Many Valentine's Day cards and ads for Valentine's Day gifts exist. That has a long history and was celebrated at that time. I'd be shocked if John and Arthur didn't see Bessie and Hosea celebrate it. (They could have also celebrated their anniversary, who knows.) Same with Dutch if he was super serious with Anabelle. I think Jake and Sadie could have celebrated something similar; it just seems to be in Jake's personality. I think it's possible that Arthur celebrated Valentine's Day with Mary and later John with Abigail. (Of course, Dutch with Anabelle or Molly, Bessie and Hosea, and Jake and Sadie.)

I know that may not be the answer you were looking for, but it was what I could find. Let me know if you want links to my sources. They're nothing fancy.

[vooruitmariek]

Holiday card designs In love with the medieval manuscript creatures (need to draw more of them)

[grimvestige]

Mixed Grab Bag of OC Asks!

Let's do this!! Send a number + an OC to my ask box and I'll answer!

I'll tag a few of my OCs I want to talk about, but you can ask about any of mine!

If you're going to reblog an ask meme be nice and send one or two to the person you reblogged it from <3

---

What is their gender/sexuality/pronouns? How did that come about for them?

What event has shaped their present view of the world the most?

What is their most important personal value/ethos? (I.e. do they value strength, determination, etc etc)

If they're not aro, how do/did they fall in love? Quickly? In and out? Drawn to a specific trait?

What are their flaws and do you want to see them work through them?

Share a song from their playlist and talk about how it reminds you of them/interpret the lyrics/etc! Drop the whole playlist link too if you're comfy >:]

Who is the most important person in the world to them?

What are your character's pet peeves?

What kind of clothing are they most comfortable in?

What does your OC do to relax or take care of themselves?

What can lead/tempt them to making poor decisions?

Gamer AU time! What do they play? How are they at it?

Modern/Medieval AU time! (Take the opposite of whatever they currently are) What is their job? How are they living?

Which deadly sin are they most guilty of? (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth)

Which virtue do they demonstrate the most? (chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility)

Assign them a tarot or other divination card! Talk about why!

What is your character's go to meal on a busy day?

Do they like/dislike the holidays? Why?

What do they like to read? If they don't like to read, what do they prefer and why?

What's one wrong assumption people make about this character a lot? Either IRL or in their world.

[a-world-of-whimsy-5]

And that's a wrap! From the 27th to the 30h of December I have a set of Dead Dove fics and taboo relationship fics lined up for posting. Enjoy your holidays, and have a virtual hug from me if it's not turning out the way you hoped it would be. Cheers!

Minors DNI/🔞

Christmas fic requests:

12th December – Aegon the Conqueror x Fem. Reader: Gift giving/part 1

13th December – Aemon the Dragonknight x Fem. Reader: The first snowfall

14th December – Balerion (the deity) x Fem. Reader: Gift giving/part 2

15th December – Modern! Beleg x Fem. Reader: Christmas morning breakfast

16th December – Modern! Celebrimbor x Reader: Secret Santa

17th December – Elrond x Fem. Reader: Snowball fight

18th December – Modern! Eönwë x Modern! Tulkas: Mistletoe

19th December – Fëanor x Fem. Reader : Twas the night before Christmas

20th December – Modern! Fingon x Reader: Hot chocolate and marshmallows

21st December – Glorfindel x Ecthelion: Winter Solstice

22ndDecember – Modern! Mairon x Fem. Reader: Baking

23rd December – Modern! Thranduil x Reader: Snowman

Winter Prompts for the @ainursecretsanta side event, and inspired by these prompts created by @cilil

12th December – Candles and light: Varda x Uinen

13th December – Decorating: Tevildo x Thû

14th December – Gift giving: Makar x Meássë

15th December – Hope: Estë x Elrond | Elrond x Celebrian

16th December – Letters and cards: Eönwë x Arien

17th December – Memories: Medieval! Melkor x Medieval! Manwë

18th December – Mistletoe: Aulë x Yavanna

19th December – Regrets and resolutions: Maedhros x Tulkas

20th December – Reindeer and sleighs: Vána x Nessa

21st December – Songs and carols: Gothmog and the Balrogs

23rd December – Ugly sweaters: Modern! Námo x Modern! Vairë

Whimsy's Christmas pick-a-gift special

[griled-chese]

top 5 sandwiches as a fellow sandwich fan? i’d also like your top five magic arts but i’m giving the sandwich question preference due to your url

okay okay yayyyyy! sandwiches are so divine to me thank you for the question.

#5. tomato and mayo.

real simple to start off, but sometimes simplicity is the key. the scant ingredients make each flavor all the more clear, playing in beautiful harmony. makes summer time bearable.

#4. PP&J+

still in the realm of simplicity, but with an added twist I learned from my father. a couple of dill pickles, which lend both a saltiness and slight sourness which honest to god perfectly compliments both the fruity sweetness of the jelly and the nuttiness of the peanut butter. I don't have PB&Js often, but when I do they're bepickled through and through.

#3. breakfast sandwich

I'm talking egg and chicken fillet type thing on a toasted bagel. the details don't really matter, long as it has breakfast flavors, as breakfast is the most hedonistic meal of the day and sandwiches are objects of pure hedonism for me. I like to put a lil ranch on em too.

#2. the thanksgiving leftovers sandwich

as mentioned before I love a good hedonistic meal, and as such thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday. the family aspect I could take or leave, but the feasting? makes me feel like a medieval king. but the true feast comes not on thanksgiving day but the day after the day after, when my stomach's empty and the leftovers are starting to get just a little delectably stale. I reheat all the leftovers I can find and shove them on the two biggest slices of bread. a true indulgence of mankind's deepest gluttony, this sammy should ideally leave you immobile.

#1. grilled cheese sandwich

it was obvious, there is no other sane choice in my mind, frankly there is little else in my mind except the perfection of the grilled cheese. the grilled cheese has a simplicity to its base form but with that comes an unrivaled versatility, it comes to us in one thousand forms each aligned perfectly with every single cell in my body. there's the simple white bread american cheese, best when paired with a simple soda of some kind. or a barebones approach served with warm soup, a combination that is so good it's literally yuri. you can use different breads, sourdoughs being a certain favorite of mine. you can use mayo instead of butter, but be careful with porous breads lest ye end up with little mayo pockets. there's a veritable menagerie of additions you can add, my favorite being hummus and tomatoes. hell even in just the cheese there's infinite possibilities. every grilled cheese is beautiful and every grilled cheese may sing to us in angelic voices in the few moments of savoring them after every bite, if we allow them to.

god I love sandwiches, thank you for letting me be a sandwich freak for all too long. it was admittedly a bit of a hard list to make since most of the sammies I make don't really fit into rigid categories and are more just whatever I have on hand that I feel like adding in the moment. anyway I'm going to go eat a sandwich and then after I'll do too 5 magic card arts.

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog - Lübeck & Travemünde (15.-17. December 2023)

Last little weekend vacation before the holidays. It was mainly a trip to attend the last concert for the year and we went on the plenty of christmas markets in Lübeck and briefly visited Travemünde on our way back on sunday.

Mainly some cozy traveling, some rants, lots of foods and impressions here.

Friday - 15. December

After avoiding the demonstration of the farmers against the newest political discourse we arrived in Lübeck, Mom had another figth with the navigation system as she was like "I knew the place" but in the end I basically had to tell her to FORGET what she think she knows and just trust me as navigator. We eventually arrived at our hotel.

In before I had a bit of a trouble with the booking process... we had booked another hotel but the service contacted me in June that we can't go there we had to change the hotel. It was a back and forth with the customer service as the callcenter agents can't access the e-mail customer service and vice versa and both sides tried to contact me and told me over and over again I have to change everything. As stuff was settled the old hotel contacted me a month later that I HAVE TO CHANGE THE HOTEL. It was super stressfull.

Well as we arrived Mom went in to check in as my anxious ass hates that and I needed to calm down after the little discourse about the route. Then she came and said "They don't accept me you have to as you booked the hotel", fine. We were able to check in but then... Mom's card was declined. First I thought it was just because it's her EC and not her CC. ... her EC got declined. Because she thought it was smart to keep her invalid one while she got a newer one (AND ALREADY USED THAT) and ... in the end I had to pay for the super expensive hotel she wanted as the old one got canceled OTL what a way to start the weekend. She luckily transfered me the money back but being her piggy bank for cash the whole weekend truly got on my nerves.

Anyways I needed comfort food, we headed out to Café Niederegger and enjoyed some cake, shopped a bit at their store and then went to the christmas markets.

Lübeck has several markets and while I am not a christmas person I somehow love the markets there, they have a certain vibe. The main market is in the historical centre, then you have a medieval themed one, some booths around the shopping district, a fairytale themed one, international, little elf houses, a martime one and one at the harbour along some more.

We also went to a few stores as I wanted to get some ornaments for my christmas tree as I want to decorate it rather traditional this time with more natural material, candy and just things that have a memorial value for me.

And I finally got my crepe filled with Kinderschokolade and the waffle as plate, I love that idea still. Here you can see the tiny elf village and the ferris wheel of the maritime market. Last year I took photos with Allen here but I decided against bringing Red along this day as I was quite done and didn't want to stress myself with doll photos.

We had dinner at a burger place (I had one with oat based patty, fig chutney and walnuts), we decided to have dinner at a restaurant for friday and then just snack on stuff the next one. It was quite dark as we went back. Oh and I had a chocolate covered apple for dessert as I somehow wanted something fresh but that was .. as fresh as it got. You can see my little haul from that day on the last photo.

Saturday - 16. December

The day started early for me, I'm an early bird. I went out for photos with Red, but was a bit miffed as this year they turned off the lights in the morning, the last years they still had them on for quite a while. I took a little walk with Red but the lightning was really awful... and I lost the reflector, went back the whole way, and back again and then finally found it.

I have to say Mom is truly not trying to compromise with some things, I was super hangry as she finally got up (I was awake for over 3 hours by then and usually I have breakfast 1 1/2 hours after I get up the LATEST), and pissed at the world and the overpriced buffet but it was food at least.

We then headed out again but the markets were still closed, we took a turn through the city to check some of the smaller streets and met a man who told us a bit about the street he lives in.

We went on a little shopping spree but the stores were badly ventilated I felt the overstimulation coming with a terrible headache, as Mom wanted to go into H&M I just told her 'nope' and waited outside.

Funny enough she said the store was super horrible and we continued to sightsee the other markets like the fairytale themed one and the handcrafter market (that one was inside a church and you had to pay a small fee), the stuff there was amazing but also super expensive, we didn't buy anything there but it was interesting to see.

Weirdly I still had a super hard headache going on .... until I noticed it was 12 already my body was like "hey gimme food", I'm so into my eating routine its horrible. Anyways I got a Baumstriezel with nuts, which resulted in Mom not wanting any as she was like "I want cinnamon&sugar!" but my brain was like "NUTS"... way to keep her off my food, lol.

As told in before Saturday was to be snack day and we had a lot of snacks while going back and forth the markets, we visited some other Marzipan stores and had some relax time at the hotel before fetching more food. And I got new tree ornaments at the tourists information store and my first ever Cinnamonroll! It was a gingerbread one and I am not sure if I like them, maybe a normal cinnamon roll will more my thing but I have to say it was .. too much cinnamon in the centre for me.

After cooling down a bit we got dinner-ish which was .. a lot. But as we walked around almost the whole day I felt I needed just more. And I got more, a flammkuchen (the toppings weren't much, so little mushrooms T_T), Mutzen (a fried pastry) and a falafel wrap. Back to the hotel we went for sitting down a bit before heading out for the concert.

To our surprise we ... walked into the christmas farmer's parade. It's not a usual thing here, and I researched it they do this for the children in the hospitals in Lübeck, to bring them something joyful during this time, I think that's really cute.

For the concert I can tell it was a blast, I had a super nice talk with some of the regulars there and the whole band was so thankful for everyone being there, it was like coming home. I just adore this band and I am glad I already have two tickets to see them next year again :)

I will post more pics from the concert in a seperate entry later on!

Sunday 17 December

Sunday started early for me as well, but as I had little sleep after the concert and my left ear being half deaf I was really done for. Mom decided to sleep even longer, she had promised me to get to breakfast earlier but... it didn't happen. I went on a little walk to let the time pass and she was still asleep as I got back ... sigh. Took the time and took some pics of the stuff I bought the day prior.

I was quite pissed and even was miffed at everything in the hotel at this point, don't mess with me when I lack sleep and am hungry.

As we checked out we went to Travemünde where I took some photos with Nachti & Red.

Then we went onto the small christmas market there. It truly is just a small one but cute anways. Lunch was at the Café Niederegger where I had waffles and ice cream, I bought some more smoll things to bring with me for christmas and then we headed home. The drive back home was long but no happenings this time, that was .. nice for a change.

After dinner (I had Udon soup, noms) and unpacking a bit we went to see our local christmas parade. The parade was more a demonstration against... yep, the current political discourse. The whole thing was created during the pandemic to bring some light into the dark while everything was cancelled but now it all has a different meaning. The kids in the village enjoyed it though.

For me the trip was overall positive but I got an ear infection from not wearing a beanie on saturday (that's why my ear acted up) and I needed some time to regain. I'm working through my todolist but am trying to not to do everything at once. There is a lot I have to edit and put into the queue still, but I aim to have it all done soon that I can start on new things.

[jargonautical]

Domesday

MANOR HILL HOTEL and Day Spa sits up past Alfriscombe’s headland, a decorative shell formed gradually over the centuries around the core of the original medieval manor house. For centuries this was the family home of the Vernons, able to trace their noble line back to the Norman conquest and beyond, but a combination of expensive tastes, a series of disastrous investments and a few unlucky runs at cards forced them to sell up and retreat long ago.

It still has the air of a grand house, if you can overlook the Michelin star plaques screwed to the stonework beside the main entrance and the ‘[NO] Vacancies’ sign creaking on its gibbet down by the main road. The sweeping carriage drive still follows the curve of the manor’s boundary wall, taking new arrivals past well-kept gardens and grand views over the bay before dropping them at the front door. The frontage is all late Regency, clean and white in the spring sunshine with row upon row of identically sized sash windows, while newer extensions at the rear house guest bedrooms overlooking the back lawn, neatly clipped evergreens, and beyond that ancient woodland with the crown of Fairy Hill rising up out of the trees in the distance. In short, picturesque as all hell from every possible angle. Little wonder the first Baron Vernon chose this spot to cement his triumphant land grab post-Conquest.

The grand ballroom jutting off the south-east side is a Victorian addition from the family that owned it briefly until their only son was lost in the Great War. One of the bedrooms is still preserved as a shrine to his memory, the life’s work of his grieving parents, even his uniform laid out as if ready for him to return and don it before he heads off to victory. Mainder struggles to remember that family’s name, to his occasional shame. Not Vernon, certainly, and he had nothing to do with their misfortunes, but still. Maybe he’ll drop by the display later and remind himself. It feels like the right thing to do.

The only visible remnant of the medieval hall in these modern times is a wide Gothic arch just inside the front door. The old lord’s motto just manages to assert its presence if not its meaning, shallow scratches in the fragile sandstone barely legible now; HABEMVS TENEMVS, it used to say. A brief smirk ghosts across his face as he passes under the inscription and wipes his muddy feet thoroughly on the logo woven into the doormat. Initially dismayed when the hotel decided to adopt the Vernon coat of arms as part of their branding, between the threat of lawsuits and the enthusiasm of the fancy graphic designer they hired it ended up almost unrecognisable, with details like the lion passant the Vernons were once so peacock-proud of replaced by nothing more than a stylised scribble beneath the shield. The absolute cherry on the cake is knowing that it appears not just on doormats, not just printed on restaurant menus and crockery and the tiny guest soaps in the rooms, it’s even embossed on the luxury quilted toilet paper. Odds are that someone at that very moment is wiping their arse on the Vernon crest, and he couldn’t have devised a more fitting use for it if he’d tried.

This early in the year it’s sparse business, with the Valentine’s Day offers over and done with and the Spring Bank Holiday trade yet to materialise, but those guests who do make the trip tend to be heavily susceptible to impulse buys from the trinkets displayed at the treatment centre desk. He stops to admire, as he always does, the sheer artistry at work in arranging the showcase, each shelf in the display containing precisely the correct number of tempting items, not too crowded and not too sparse, all angled to sparkle just so under the cabinet lights.

Looking more closely though there are a few gaps. “You managed to shift that geode.”, he remarks, reaching into his coat pocket and flipping open his notebook. “Want me to send up another? Anything else you’re out of?”.

He’s left hanging when the young woman at the desk holds up a ‘wait’ finger and darts into the tiny office behind the desk. “All of the rose quartz.”, her voice echoes back to him. “Most of the pendants …”. She reappears with a handwritten list which she pushes across the desk for him to review. “Pretty much all of the fossils. Here you go. We had a big rush on over Valentine’s Day.”.

He raises his eyebrows, scribbling swift notes as he works his way down the extensive list. “No kidding. Who says romance is dead?”.

“Certainly not me!”.

The cheeky smile she shoots at him doesn’t go unnoticed, but he lets her flirting pass without comment. Gratifying as it was when he overheard that the young ladies at the spa reception desk ‘totally would’ even if he is ‘like, really old’, the days are long gone that he’d consider taking them up on it.

Back before the Closing his two chief duties were monitoring the Fold for strays and wanderers, and keeping track of the yasim, the half-bloods seeded year on year by the constant traffic between the two sides. He’d barely had to stir himself on that front in the last two centuries. Maybe there are more green eyes in Alfriscombe than you’d expect in such a small population, a bit more luck on the scratch cards or the horses. Realm blood leaves its mark. But these days there isn’t one that he could pick out of a crowd, the aura about them that says they’re someone he needs to watch over. Certainly there are none of his get. He hasn’t even had a relationship on this side for how long he can’t even remember for precisely that reason, and he’s not about to start now.

Business concluded, he ducks down the corridor in the direction of the events suite. Hotel management chose to decorate this section with a selection of tasteful prints in unfussy dark wood frames showing scenes from the history of Alfriscombe. He stops to admire what’s in his opinion the best of the lot, delicate ink lines and cross-hatching showing a view of the town from, if he remembers correctly, 1857. Yes, that’d be right; the pier hadn’t been built yet, and the old Abbey schoolhouse, one of the only victims of the fire of 1860, is still standing. Memory supplies the scene - the blaze and its aftermath, nobody hurt but the building itself reduced to smoking rubble - handwringing from the diocese and mutterings from the vicar about God’s mysterious ways. In truth God had very little to do with it, but he’s confident She would have approved of the outcome, if not the methods. No more kids being singled out at the teachers’ whim, mysterious discipline delivered behind closed doors strictly one on one leaving boys pale and tearful and resolutely silent. Not in his town. He still counts that as one of his better days’ work.

A couple of steps onward he halts again, head cocked as if listening to an unseen navigator, and apparently on impulse takes a sharp right into Hotel Staff Only territory, a service corridor providing hidden access to the function rooms and the restaurant. As such it’s an unloved, undecorated space designed for actual work to get done, safely out of sight of paying guests. Plush carpet underfoot gives way to easy-to-mop vinyl in dull blue. Utilitarian plastic skirting protects the bare plaster walls from the heavy catering trolleys, inclined to rumble on unchecked if you let go even for a moment. One such appears as he reaches the bend, and he stops close into the wall to let it go rattling past. The tiny young woman struggling to steer the beast nods breathless thanks and carries on her way.

Further down there’s the murmur of voices from an event in progress. More of the staff are in full action mode here, smartly kicking open the kitchen doors to bustle past and around him with water jugs and trays of coffee cups, but they pay him no attention beyond the occasional nod of greeting. They all know him, local kids grown up playing hopscotch or bulldog in the alley behind his shop, and for all his many faults he never could bring himself to be a dick to children. It works out nicely; they have nothing but positive associations with him, and this wouldn’t be the first time he’s taken advantage of that fact to use their domain as a shortcut.

He emerges precisely where he needs to be, the atrium at the centre of the function rooms. They're busy laying it up for the first break, and he drifts aside to keep out of the way, helpfully picking up a discarded lanyard from the floor. A sign propped on the easel by the other door proclaims that today’s series of seminars are on the subject of ‘Alfriscombe: Past, Present and Future’, and are kindly sponsored by the Warrington Institute.

He barely glances at it. There’s news to be had here today, but that isn’t it.

[thenightling]

Over the Garden Wall (Fit for three Holidays)

I am posting this as an argument in favor of Over the Garden Wall being a holiday special fit for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There will be mild spoilers. Over The Garden Wall is an animated fantasy mini-series about two boys lost in a strange forest called The Unknown. It is very similar to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz but it has a very autumnal feel to it. All the visuals are based on vintage Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas postcards. Though the story can be very surreal and spooky it is also sweet and wholesome and has a happy ending for the boys and all those they interacted with in The Unknown. Now here's why I feel Over the Garden Wall is fit for three holidays (Possibly four) despite the obvious fact that all the visuals are based on vintage Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Postcards. ___________________________________ First the Halloween content. The mini-series (which is roughly movie length) is divided into ten episodes or ten "chapters." Halloween parts: Episode 2 deals with a harvest on November 1st. Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. You don't learn that this is set on November 1st until later but the visuals are there. There skeletons dressing up in early twentieth century style Jack-o-lanterns and vegetable (mostly pumpkin) bodies to hide their bones. And they are being lead by a mysterious entity called Enoch (later shown to be a talking black cat). This is the most Halloween (or Day of the Dead) content you get until episode 9. Into the Unknown.

In episode 9 you learn that the boys' adventure actually started on Halloween night. And that it was Halloween candy Gregory had in his pockets in chapter 1. I only did not mention the candy before because in the context of the mini-series you don't learn it was Halloween candy until chapter 9.

________________________

Thanksgiving Parts: First, Over the Garden Wall originally aired in November. In fact the phases of the moon through the mini-series matched the phases of the moon through the month of November in 2014, when Over the Garden Wall first aired. In chapter 2 you see some giant turkeys just roaming around. And later pulling a pumpkin cart being driven by Enoch The Cat.

In episode 3 Greg makes up the song "Potatoes and Molasses" which is mostly about how good mashed potatoes are when topped with molasses. This seems like an odd combination but the surreal setting is partly that of imagination and this could be how thanksgiving mashed potatoes with dark gravy looked to Greg.

The song was a homage to Shirley Temple's "Animal Crackers in my Soup." And the visual of the happy animals eating came from old Thanksgiving postcards among other things. You will also notice the fine Thanksgiving style food at at the inn in Chapter 4. In this chapter most of the characters are dressed like eighteenth century American colonists with some medieval European overtones. Admittedly colonial America often seemed like medieval Europe from an historical behavior perspective. In chapter 5, the banquet Quincey Endicott has laid out for the boys very much resembles a Thanksgiving supper.

In Chapter 7, we meet Lorna and Auntie Whispers, who are dressed in Puritan woman's clothing or Pilgrim woman's clothing inspired by traditional American Thanksgiving decorations. They even speak like seventeenth century colonists.

_____________________________ Christmas: First we have the antagonist known as The Beast, singing his song "Come Wayward Souls" which (creepily) is to the melody of O' Holy Night. Chapter 8 is entirely a homage to 1930s cartoons and makes subtle references to some old holiday animated shorts. The cherubs in Gregory's dream world were directly from vintage Christmas cards. The beautiful and atmospherically cold, wintery, scenes in chapter 10 are based on vintage Christmas postcards.

The original plan for the mini-series was that the boys would return to the "real world" on Christmas, but at the last second it was changed so that it seems they woke up on what was still Halloween night. I actually think it would have been better if they had woken up at Christmas. The only tell-tale sign that it is still Halloween is their friends are still in costume. If they had changed that one detail I would say it is Christmas. ______________________________________________ There. It's for these reasons that I feel that Over The Garden Wall is fit for all three holidays, though I'd personally watch it any time of year.