#midwinter's night

[naturistgirl]

HAPPY NATURIST MIDWINTER

I write on the Eve of the year's longest night. This is the turning point of the natural year, one when nature seems to all but stand still. In the Wild Wood near our home, all seems quiet bare and still. It is as though the earth holds its breath while gathering strength. Still there are signs of strong and vibrant life. The holly trees are green, glossy and magnificent right now; the females laden with scarlet berries. Ivy glows in its shiny glory, its flowers giving way to the slowly ripening berries. By January they will turn glossy black. The Yew trees stand guard, wearing a darker green. There are blue tits twittering in the thickets as they hunt for food. High winds are forecast this weekend and the strong breeze will naturally trim the branches above us.

Now is a time when the ancient Celts mourned the loss of sunlight and looked forward to nature's rebirth. At this time of year, people have always headed into the abundant woodland to forage. Clothing was certainly optional. So it is for us too. I might wear a coat if it is near freezing but little else. People gather those fallen branches to fuel their winter hearths and keep warm. They gather green branches too to cheer their homes. All is at should be and we wander naked among the trees, enjoying the little light there is right now.

I am a person of faith, though not a Christian. I am a mother and appreciate that for some, this is a time to welcome a baby's birth. I brought my own first born into this beautiful world in cold January, not long after this time. New birth always brings joy to everyone, and for a new young Mum as I was, contentment. Your baby rests on your belly in full view where before she nestled inside you. Her little mouth searches for your breast and she imbibes life. All this is done naturally. You are naked, she is too. You will wrap her to keep her warm later but for now you are both as the creator intended you to be: No shame, no worry about clothing, just you and her.

For me and my faith, this is a time to recollect when our liberty was threatened, when the right to be who we are was denied. On the night of the 25th, we light one candle and celebrate our freedom; freedom to be who we are. Each night will see a new candle as others join in that celebration. We eat the produce of the earth; frying potato pancakes, and drink the fruit of the vine. As a naturist I am all too aware of threats to liberty and the right to express who I am. Like the turning of the year when we reject the idea of death and affirm life, I reject those who project shame onto me for being naked. For a woman, it can be tough. Men can tend to see your naked body as their property. They see your nakedness as flaunting something which is theirs by right. There is a tendency to sexualise you and see you as a loose woman. I am my own and my body belongs to me. I belong to my husband as much as he belongs to me. The union of naked female and male is a perfect balance of forces. We lean back and our partner supports us. In a great relationship, that balance is effortless and strong. My body then is without shame, perfect and wonderful. There is no need to cover anything. Certainly not my breasts or my vulva. Why would I want to cover or be ashamed of something that brought my precious and beautiful daughter into the world and why would I want to cover the means by which I fed her?

With my husband, we decorate the house for Christmas in a Dickensian fashion. Our house was brand new when it welcomed Christmas in the 1862. Just 19 years before, a 31 year old Charles Dickens published 'A Christmas Carol'. It captured the public's imagination with its depiction of Scrooge and the spirit of the season. Though I don't keep Christmas personally, I support my husband by celebrating this joyful time. Likewise, my husband joins in my celebration of Chag Urim: The Festival of Lights. We will celebrate life, being naked and the joy of being free. Everyone gets one gift for eight nights. This year our two festivals coincide; the first time since 2005. However and whatever you celebrate: The Solstice, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, Christmas, anything else, or just The Season to be Jolly; we wish you the best of times and the most wonderful of holidays.

Since you have read this far, you are almost certainly a naturist or at least naturally inclined. You don't need to read further. Happy Holidays! Please like and repost with our blessing. Do remember however that the text and images remain our copyright. While you go and do that, I have words of warning below the next picture, for others who aren't like us.

For those of you who didn't bother to read or were simply captivated by my naked body, not naturism, I have a new message. I am getting weary of seeing my posts shared on your sexualised blogs. By doing this, you totally misunderstand naturism. Naturism celebrates the naked lifestyle and not just sex. I absolutely adore sex but It is just one beautiful aspect of being naked, not its sole purpose! So from this point onwards, if you have a weird and empty blog with a name like 'hardon1969' or similar; if you just repost naked girls; other naturist's creative work and don't post your own - I may just have to block you, sorry. You will certainly also be blocked if you send sexualised messages and images of one tiny part of you! (you know what I mean) Do me a favour. Get naked in 2025. Post affirmative images of yourself on your blog. Better still, write something inspirational about naturism too. Make sure you also post an avatar that is actually you and not an icon. Be brave, be yourself and enjoy a Bright Nude Year!

Jane x

[emihotaru]

I said I would post more WIP, so have a little daddy Hob with a little daddy tummy from the Sandman fanfic I'm writing with @circetovanaen ! We should publish the second chapter next week^^

[fallbabylon]

Montol Midwinter Festival- Penzance, Cornwall.

[pagan-stitches]

Midwinter/Koleda/Yule and Pork

"In Eldrhimnir Andrhrimnir cooks. Sæhrimnir's seething flesh,— The best of food . . .”

—Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows

We eat a lot of pork during the midwinter/Koleda/Yule period.

In many cultures pork was eaten on New Year’s Day because the pig “digs forward” with its snout, which symbolized progress.

In Indo-European religions, the pig is generally dedicated to the sun and associated with its birth, an example is the Roman Saturn, who during the Saturnalia was supposed to arrive in a chariot pulled by a pig with golden bristles. The golden pig is the sacred animal of Dažbog Svarožic (a Slavic sun god). Freya also owns the golden-bristled boar Hildisvín.

Carnitas: Braised, Fried and Roasted Pork

“When you knuckle down to the depths of Winter, there’s usually a pig in the story. Pigs were especially sacred to the Celts, who believed that they were given as a gift from the Otherworld.  The Welsh poet and seer Merlin left a poem behind in which he addresses his oracular sayings to a pig, while in the medieval Welsh story of the smith god, Gofannon’ Feast, we hear of a pig that is eaten but never consumed and who comes to life again so long as the bones are not eaten.  This a a common theme throughout the world and is sometimes ritually recreated.  In eighteenth-century Lapland, Danish misssionaries were told that the bones of sacrificed animals must be carefully gathered and arranged so that the god to whom they were offered could restore life to the animals, making them fatter than before.  Such rituals were performed so that the deity might provide more animals of the same kind in due course.”  —John Matthews, The Winter Solstice

In Norse mythology, Sæhrímnir is a boar that is killed and eaten by the Æsir and einherjar every night. The cook of the gods, Andhrímnir, prepares Sæhrímnir in the cauldron Eldhrímnir. After Sæhrímnir is eaten, the beast is brought back to life again to provide sustenance for the following day.

In Czech folklore it is said that if you fast all day on Christmas Eve you will be gifted with a vision of the golden pig. For in the pre-Christian past pagans were attracted by the vision of a golden pig for good luck. Gold signaled the beginning of the departure of winter, while the pig promised abundance and prosperity.

Terry Pratchett got it:

Hogfather (2006), directed by Vadim Jean and written by Vadim Jean and Terry Pratchett

It seems reasonable to end the midwinter/Koleda/Yule holiday with a pork dish.

We started off with pork tamales for Christmas Day and continued with Moravian sparrows and hubník for New Year’s Day and now for tonight and Twelfth Night I’m making carnitas.

(Our holiday cooking features most prominently Czech and Czech-American and Tex-Mex foods to honor my Nebraskan-Czech ancestry and his Anglo-Texan.)

I used Roberto Santibañez’s recipe from his cookbook Truly Mexican—one of my all time favorite cookbooks.

I also made a simple restaurant style salsa to go with it.

Read more about folk customs and pigs:

[thequeerofdelphi]

My Beloved altar on this long Winter Solstice night 2024

[rondoofdarkness]

What does BxMxC stand for? (wrong answers only)

(don't add the x's btw)

B=bring

M= Moa

C= chicken

B= baby

M= metal

C= chaos

B= blake

M= midwinter is a

C= cutie patootie

[midwintermasque]

Joie to all of our D'Angelines and guests! Thank you for joining us for our 9th Annual Longest Night Midwinter Masque! We loved celebrating Terre d'Ange and Kushiel's Legacy with all of you. We can't wait to see you back for next year's special Masque!

Photo credit: EG Photography

Keep an eye out on our website for information about next year's Masque!

[rickrobb58]

A blend of Imbolc, St. Brigid’s Day, and Groundhog Day.

[intertexts]

iss passing :]

[doriandistortion]

I can’t remember what my mom looks like and no one will tell me why there’s blood on my shoes

[emihotaru]

Here is the Dream of our fanfic A Midwinter Night's Dream I'm writing with @circetovanaen ! (Maybe I was a little wild with his hair...)

With some important details!!

Here is the link to our first chapter!

[aboutbeverages]

Our latest podcast is now up on YouTube! High West Distillery A Midwinter Night's Dram Act 12 Scene 4, Irish Brewing The Eejit Irish IPA and Castle Island Beer Hi-Def Double IPA.

[severalpossiblemusiks]

Part 2 here

[midwintermasque]

Dahlia Daydreams

The King's mistress and the Sovereign Duc meet among the dahlias. What lies before them now? How else could their story have ended?

Read the full post on The Longest Night Blog!