Twelfth Night or What you will

Tags

distaff, spinning, Twelve days of Christmas

Happy Twelfth Night! …Or Epiphany…Or St. Distaff’s Day!

Who?? St. Distaff??

Do you listen to Christmas Carols and decide you need to look up Wassail recipes? Do you love Morris Dancing at Winter Solstice Celebrations? Do you sing all the verses of Auld Lange Syne? Then I’ve got a great old tradition for you: Spin yarn on the day after Twelfth Night – that is St. Distaff’s day!

Factoid: The “12 days of Christmas” begin on Christmas. 12 days later is January 6: “Twelfth Night”. Yes, like the Shakespeare play. Another name that Twelfth Night goes by is Epiphany. If you are up on your Church history, you will know that this is when the Three Wise Men finally got to the manger in Bethlehem to see the Baby Jesus. I mention this mainly so that if you are looking for something good to eat on Twelfth Night, look for King Cakes, which usually have a little plastic baby (standing in for Jesus) or other trinket or, in some countries, a dry bean, hidden inside. The person who gets the trinket is the “king”. Wash your cake down a Wassail drink called “lambswool”! This is a strange sort of drink made with simmered ale, spices and apples. A perfect way to celebrate St. Distaff’s day.

And here’s another name for the Twelfth Night celebrations: Roc Day. “Roc” with no “k” refers to your spindle. Some sources give it as a Scandinavian word for distaff; some claim its origin goes back to using a “rock” as the whorl on your spindle. Either way, it is a great excuse to get with your buddies and spin – either on your wheel or your spindle. It is traditionally when folk returned to their labors after partying hard during the twelve days of Christmas.

But, those of you who have been lucky enough to take time off from your labors at during the Christmas holidays, and are just returning to your work can attest to the fact that motivation can be at a low ebb. Well, the same went for women who had suspended their spinning for 12 days during the holidays. So, St. Distaff’s Day was not usually very productive. According to tradition, the men scuttled spinning efforts by burning flax bundles (!) and the women retaliated by dumping cold water on the men. Sounds like a fun time! Every source talking about St. Distaff’s Day will quote a Robert Herrick poem. Some say he actually “invented” the celebration with this poem.

Partly work and partly play
You must on St. Distaffs Day:
From the plough soon free your team;
Then cane home and fother them:
If the maids a-spinning go,
Burn the flax and fire the tow.
Bring in pails of water then,
Let the maids bewash the men.
Give St. Distaff’ all the right:
Then bid Christmas sport good night,
And next morrow every one
To his own vocation.’

So relax, gather with your friends, have one last celebratory wassail draught, eat cake, and spin yarn. And welcome in the New Year! Cheers!

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Black Friday Shopping Tip: It’s OK to be a Luddite

Tags

fair trade, luddite, textile workers

Are you a Luddite? It’s OK. It’s a good thing. It doesn’t mean that you don’t or won’t shop online. Go for it: stay inside in your PJs on Thanksgiving weekend and cyber-shop. The good part of being a Luddite is that you may be more conscious and conscientious of where you shop. Try Fair Indigo, Heifer Project International, Ten Thousand Villages, or Serrv.

So, where does that leave us? What is a Luddite?

Most of us can relate to the term “spinster,” but most women would take it as a slight, even though its original meaning was simply, “one who spins.” Similarly, “luddite” has changed through the generations to mean someone who is opposed to technology. The history behind the movement is interesting and may change your mind about what a “luddite” really is – and whether it’s OK to be one.

We may have images of the original Luddites as bands of vandals destroying all the textile factories to save cottage weavers. But the movement was much more targeted than that.

They took their name from one “Ned Ludd” (also known variously as “King Ludd”, “General Ludd”, or “Captain Ludd”). Although a “signature” of Ludd appeared on a “workers manifesto” of the time, Ludd, himself, seems to have been drawn from a local folk tale. Whoever he was, he was believed to have been responsible for destroying two large stocking frames that produced inexpensive stockings, undercutting those produced by skilled knitters.

Luddites smashing a “wide” (factory) loom

The motives were linked not to a generalized resentment of the technology itself, but to frustration with a new economic system. . “Set” prices, akin to apartment rent control was being abolished in favor or what we might call “free market” pricing.

A contemporary broadside explains in “General Ludd’s Triumph:”

The guilty may fear, but no vengeance he aims

At the honest man’s life or Estate

His wrath is entirely confined to wide frames

And to those that old prices abate

Many historical accounts tell of Luddite raids on workshops where some frames were smashed while others (whose owners were holding to the old economic practices – not cutting prices) were left untouched. One might think of them as the 19th century version of activists who put bananas in the gas tanks of construction machinery on the site of a new Wal-Mart going up in town. They were fighting for a fair wage for workers; cutting prices on goods inevitably leads to cutting wages for workers.

Are you a Luddite? If so, I’m glad. If not, consider the benefits of “smashing” the machinery of businesses that support low wages and unhealthy working conditions. Celebrate the season with joy and prosperity for all.