Velvet Snowflakes by Barbara Briggs Ward - Review

As she has done with her previous books, the author has once again captured the magic of Christmas and family traditions...and with reindeer in the mix, of course. In Velvet Snowflakes, we also get to experience the glamour of velvet wedding gowns, and the interesting life of Ivy Nolan. 

As always, what I liked best was the reindeer. In this case, the dear Walter. His story is touchingly told and it illustrates the precious bond between humans and their pets. 

What I also liked was the focus on mentors and their importance in the shaping of the lives of young people. Ivy credits three such people for her determination and success, and it's her gratitude toward these individuals that starts the whole story off. 

Once again, Briggs Ward writes a heartwarming holiday story that focuses on the importance of having cherished family and friends in our lives. 

Read my reviews of her previous novels...The Reindeer Keeper, The Snowman Maker, The Candle Giver, and The Tin Cookie Cutter.

About the book

Home remains in one’s heart forever...

Stopping in front of a house that was once her family’s home, Ivy Nolan recalls a particular Christmas Eve, sitting in the dark on the edge of her bed, looking out her window at the neighbor’s place where tree lights were glowing and family gathering. There was no celebrating at Ivy’s. Her parents had divorced. It was their last Christmas in their house on the lane.

That was over twenty years ago.

Recently awarded the coveted title, “Wedding Gown Designer of the Year,” her exquisitely detailed velvet gown wowing the judges, Ivy has returned to her hometown to thank three individuals who had influence in her life, especially her childhood neighbor. That neighbor was a veterinarian with a barn behind his home where he cared for the animals.

Walking down the lane once again, Ivy sees reindeer in a fenced-in area alongside the barn. She is not surprised. She always considered that neighbor to be Santa Claus. Will she find her old friend still at work in his barn? She never thought otherwise.

So many memories. So many loose ends that need tending. Some lead Ivy to unexpected places—and people.

Christmas is near.​

About the author
Barbara Briggs Ward is a writer living in Ogdensburg, New York. She is the author of a Christmas trilogy for adults featuring The Reindeer Keeper, released in 2010 and selected by both Yahoo’s Christmas Book Club and the Riverfront Library Book Club in Yonkers as their December, 2012 featured Book of the Month. Barbara completed the trilogy with the release of The Snowman Maker in 2013 and The Candle Giver in 2015. In 2017, her first work of Amish fiction, A Robin’s Snow, was released.

Her articles and short stories have appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, Christmas Magic and Family Caregivers, plus Ladies’ Home Journal, Highlights for Children and The Saturday Evening Post online.

In 2018, Barbara’s work of fiction, a short story titled, “Sleigh Bells Ring Again,” earned first place in Watertown, New York’s Jefferson Community College Writing Center’s annual Writing Festival. She has been a featured writer on Mountain Lake PBS in Plattsburgh, New York and at Target Book Festivals in Boston and New York.

Barbara invites you to visit her website at www.barbarabriggsward.com. She is on Facebook under The Reindeer Keeper.


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St. Nicholas Day and A Festive Yuletide

A bit late to the party, but better late than never. Right? Hope you are enjoying the holiday season!

Today is St. Nicholas Day so I thought I would share a little about the tradition and the legend.

Saint Nicholas Day: The Feast of Sinterklaas

At the beginning of the Advent season is St. Nicholas Day (December 6—or December 19 on the Julian calendar).

St. Nicholas was a bishop who was known for his good deeds, especially for the needy and children. He often gave generously and anonymously (without anyone knowing the gifts were from him). Nicholas was officially recognized as a saint in the 800s and in the 1200s Catholics in France began celebrating Bishop Nicholas Day on December 6.

Many countries in Europe celebrate the Feast of Sinterklaas—also known as St. Nicholas—starting on the 5th of December, the eve of the day, by sharing candies, chocolate letters, small gifts, and riddles. Children put out their shoes with carrots and hay for the saint’s horse the evening prior, hoping St. Nicholas will exchange them for small gifts. (Sound familiar?)

In Belgium and the Netherlands, a fellow dressed as St. Nicholas would arrive by ship on December 6 and ride a white horse (or a donkey) through the towns, handing out gifts. It was the Dutch pronunciation of his name—Sinterklaas—as well as Dutch traditions that made their way to America. These led the way to the name Santa Claus and the tradition of gift-giving.

For many European countries, this simple gift-giving day in early Advent helps preserve a Christmas Day focus on the meaning of Christmas itself.

Saint Nicholas Traditions

You may find it interesting that some of our Santa Claus traditions truly came from St. Nicholas Day. If your children are confused about Santa Claus, perhaps tell them the story of St. Nicholas who was a real saint who bestowed gifts onto others to demonstrate his faith.

Leaving out Shoes

The most common way to celebrate St. Nicholas Day is to leave shoes out for St. Nicholas to place small gifts in. Socks are fine, too.

Traditionally, the gifts are simply small candies or coins—little items that bring a lot of joy for children. If you wish to celebrate this tradition, leave shoes or wooden clogs by the door on the evening of December 5.

In the morning, the shoes will be filled with small delights (candy canes, spare change, foreign coins).

The Candy Cane

The candy cane is also a symbol of St. Nicholas, representing his staff. Add small candy canes to the shoes or decorate your tree! We won’t tell if you eat a few candies on the way!

Sinterklaas Cookies

A traditional treat on St. Nicholas Day is Spicy Sinterklaas Cake, also known as Speculaas. These are spicy, ginger cookies, often baked in a mold the shake of St. Nicholas!

Other traditions equate St. Nicholas with Santa Claus, which means that St. Nicholas comes on the night of December 24, leaving presents for children to open on December 25. 

St. Nicholas History: Who Was the Real St. Nicholas?

In the 3rd century, in the village of Patara in Turkey (part of Greece in those days), a wealthy couple gave birth to a boy they named Nicholas. Tragically, while Nicholas was young, an epidemic took the lives of both of his parents.

Having been raised as a Christian, he dedicated his life to service, sold all of his belongings, and used his inheritance to help the poor and infirm. Eventually, Nicholas became a bishop, and his reputation for helping children, sailors, and other people in need spread far and wide. For this, the Roman emperor Diocletian persecuted and imprisoned him (and other religious men)—but only until the Romans realized that they had so filled their prisons with clergy that they had no place to put the thieves and murderers. So the Romans let the religious men go free.

Upon his release, Nicholas continued his charity work until he died on December 6, A.D. 343. It was said that a liquid that formed in his grave had healing powers. This and other legends about Nicholas fostered devotion to him and inspired traditions still practiced today.
Is St. Nicholas Really Santa Claus?

There are a few legends of St. Nicholas which relate to the story of Santa Claus—one about gift-giving and the other about children.

In one tale, a poor man had three daughters and no dowry for any of them, thus eliminating their chance at marriage and risking their being sold into slavery instead. Mysteriously, as each girl came of marriageable age, a bag of gold (or, in some versions, a ball of gold or an orange) was lobbed through a window and landed in a sock or shoe near the hearth. The unknown gift-giver was presumed to have been Nicholas, and the situation inspired the placement by the fireplace of stockings or shoes, into which gifts were placed.

Another legend dates from long after Nicholas’s passing. In his home village, during a celebration on the anniversary of Nicholas’s death, a young boy was kidnapped to become a slave to a neighboring region’s emir. The family grieved for a year, and on the anniversary of the boy’s disappearance, they refused to leave their home. Good thing: As the story goes, Nicholas appeared, spirited the boy away from his captors, and deposited him in his house—with the gold cup from which he was serving the emir still in his hand. This once again established Nicholas as a patron and protector of children.

Nicholas was celebrated as a saint within a century of his death and today is venerated as the patron not only of children but also of sailors, captives, travelers, marriageable maidens, laborers—even thieves and murderers. He is the patron of many cities and regions, and thousands of churches are named for him around the world.

(reblogged from Almanac)

A Festive Yuletide...join me in celebrating the season. As usual, I will be sharing Weekend Baking, Weekend Lit, Weekend Crafting...maybe even Friday Baking and Movies. Also, book reviews and other bookish posts...and Christmas Around the World posts. Gift ideas. Just all around festive cheer for one of my favorite times of year!

With my late start this year, it's obvious I won't be sharing as much, but I will try to share as much as I can. 

Stay tuned for my review of Velvet Snowflakes by Barbara Briggs Ward, author of The Reindeer Keeper, The Snowman Maker, The Candle Giver, and The Tin Cookie Cutter.

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2022 Yuletide Spirit Reading Challenge and Readathon - Festive reading time!

It's officially November 21st (in the Eastern time zone) and so it begins!

Remember...

Dates: November 21, 2022 through January 6, 2023

Three ways to participate:

Challenge - Pick a level
Readathon - read as much (or as little) as you want
Participate in both!

Everything else you need to know can be found in the sign-up post here.

Hashtag across social media: #YuletideSpirit

  
THE PRIZE: The first person to post a review (must be from a book started on or after November 21) in the review linky (I'll have it posted later on today) will win a $15 charitable donation to human rights organization of their choice, such as the Ukraine Relief, ACLU, Boys and Girls Club, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, Amnesty International, It Gets Better, Planned Parenthood, or another human rights organization of your choice (food banks, homeless shelters would also apply), perhaps your local chapter or a local organization. This giveaway is open internationally. Note: I will not donate to any organization that does not believe that all are equal, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation.

So far there are no other prizes, but I'll let you know if I receive any donations. If so, there will either be a prize page, or I will share the prize(s) on the mid-event check-in.

HAVE FUN!!!

The linky below is the same one as the sign up linky. If you do a starting line/goal post, just add your link again, but be sure to put "goal post" beside your name, i.e. Michelle/True Book Addict (goal post). Note: If you're just signing up, you can do it here on this post. It's the same linky.

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2022 Yuletide Spirit Reading Challenge and Readathon

The holidays are upon us again! Time to sign up for the Yuletide Spirit Reading Challenge and Readathon co-event! (Yes, the site, and event, title have had a minor makeover)

Dates: November 21, 2022 through January 6, 2023

Three ways to participate:

1. Challenge - Pick a level
2. Readathon - read as much (or as little) as you want
3. Participate in both!

Regarding the reading of Christmas books, for the readathon, you do not have to read only Christmas books. I am always reading regular genres along with Christmas books during the season. Please do try to read at least one though. 🎄

For the reading challenge, these must be Christmas novels, books about Christmas lore, a book of Christmas short stories or poems, books about Christmas crafts, children's books (we even have a level for them!), etc.

Reading Challenge Levels:
--Candy Cane: read 1 book
--Mistletoe: read 2-4 books
--Christmas Tree: read 5 or 6 books, or more (this is the fanatic level!)

Additional levels:

--Fa La La La Films: watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!
--Visions of Sugar Plums: read books with your children this season and share what you read

*the additional levels are optional, you still must complete one of the main reading levels above

I will have a review linky posted here on Yuletide Spirit the day the challenge starts. You will find it in the menu at the top of the blog.

Sign up in the linky below. This linky will be the same one on this site and over at Seasons of Reading. No need to sign up both places (though you can leave a comment here and over there if you are indeed participating in both). For this readathon in particular, we will do a wrap-up linky, in keeping with the regular process for the reading challenge.

THE PRIZE: The first person to post a review (must be from a book started on or after November 21) in the review linky will win a $15 charitable donation to human rights organization of their choice, such as a Ukraine relief charity, ACLU, Boys and Girls Club, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, Amnesty International, It Gets Better, Planned Parenthood, or another human rights organization of your choice (food banks, homeless shelters would also apply), perhaps your local chapter or a local organization. Animal rights or rescue organizations are another option. This giveaway is open internationally. Note: I will not donate to any organization that does not believe that all are equal, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation.

Final notes: 

You can participate even if you don't have a blog. Just link up with your Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (and just post your updates from whichever venue you choose) AND don't forget our Facebook group, Facebook Page, our Goodreads group, and our Instagram...and our Discord.

New event hashtag: #YuletideSpirit  You can also use #readathon and/or #readingchallenge

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It's Halloween! Guising, the origin of trick-or-treating

Guising

Of the remaining traditions of Samhain (SOW-in or SAH-win), the most famous has to be Guising. The meaning of which suddenly becomes clear when you know that the origins of guising lie in dressing up children (and adults) to disguise them from the returning dead who might seek to exact revenge on anyone who had wronged them in their life.

Disguised children could wander among the spirits of the dead visiting the feasting houses on Halloween, where they would receive an offering of nuts or fruit to ward off evil. Now, Halloween guising is still a common practice, although fruit and nuts would be less popular among the youth of today. Guising in Scotland consists of kids dressing up and singing to willing doors in exchange for sweets and money.

Source

Scots Tablet, or Fudge

Most Scottish households keep supplies of fudge, often homemade, for the guisers who come knocking at the door on Halloween night. This is a foolproof recipe:

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups/2 lb/900 g sugar

1 cup/8 fl oz/225 ml milk

1/4 cup/2 oz/55 g butter

2/3 cup/7 oz/200 g sweetened, condensed milk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Method

• Put the sugar, milk, and butter in a large, saucepan and stir over a very low heat until the sugar is completely melted. There should be no scratching sound as you stir.
• Bring to a boil and add the condensed milk carefully. Keep stirring all the time and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Take the pan off the heat and test the fudge. Drop a teaspoonful into a glass of cold water and wait for it to cool, then feel the consistency. If it forms a soft ball, the fudge is ready. If it does not, return the pan to the heat and simmer for an additional 5 minutes: test again. Don't overcook.
• When the soft ball stage is reached, take the pan off the heat, then stir in a few drops of vanilla extract and pour the fudge into a shallow buttered pan. While it is still slightly warm, mark it into squares with a knife and leave it to cool.
• This produces about 3 lb (1.3 kg) of fudge, which is usually all eaten by the end of the day. Scots Tablet is extremely versatile and you can add different flavorings, including chocolate powder, raisins, or liquor (such as dark rum) to make your own variation.

Source: The Real Halloween: Ritual and Magic for Kids and Adults by Sheena Morgan

HAPPY HALLOWEEN...BLESSED SAMHAIN!!!

Our Jack-o'-lantern

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Two Days 'til Halloween - Old World Samhain Recipes

Fuarag, or Hidden Charms

Fuarag was originally made in the north of Scotland and was a cooling drink of oatmeal mixed with water. Over time, it evolved into a dish of whipped cream and oatmeal, in which was hidden a ring, a button, a wishbone, and a coin. At Samhain, a large idsh of fuarag was made and everyone present ate communally from one large bowl. The finder of the ring would marry and whoever found the coin would become rich. Finding the wishbone meant that hopes for the future would come true, but the button meant poverty. 

While Fuarag is rarely eaten in Scotland today, it is still eaten in Eastern Nova Scotia at Halloween. There are numerous recipes for fuarag, but this one includes whiskey, honey, and toasted oats.

Ingredients

1/3 cup/2 oz/55 g oatmeal 

(as fine as you can buy)

1 1/4 cups/10 fl oz/300 ml cups fresh heavy cream

3 tbsp honey

3 tbsp Scotch whiskey

A coin, a button, a wishbone, and a ring

(The wishbone should be well cleaned and dried and, like the charms, wrapped in waxed paper)

Method

Toast the oats under a broiler for several minutes, or until they are crisp and a pale golden brown. Whip the cream until very stiff and then stir in the honey, Scotch whiskey, and the charms. Place layers of cream and toasted oatmeal in a large glass bowl, hiding the charms in different layers. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Serve the fuarag by giving everyone a spoon (traditionally wooden) and inviting them to find the treasure. *Do not assemble the Fuarag more than three hours before eating.

Har Cakes or Thor Cakes

A Yorkshire recipe that my date back to the Vikings, these cakes were originally baked in honor of Thor, Norse God of thunder and lightning. They were traditionally made around the beginning of November. This old recipe makes about 4-5 lb (1.8-2.25 kg) of cookie dough, but you can easily halve the quantities. It is interesting to note that the biscuits contain fennel and coriander seeds, both traditionally associated with good luck, long life, and protection, in this life and in the journey to the Underworld. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups/12 oz/50 g butter

2 3/4 cups/1 lb/450 g oatmeal

3 1/2 cups/1 lb/450 g all-purpose flour

2 cups/1 lb/450 g sugar

1 cup/1 lb/450 g molasses

1/2 cup/2 oz/55 g candied peel

2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt

1 tsp mixed coriander seeds and fennel seeds 

1 tsp ground ginger

Method

Rub the butter into the dry ingredients. Warm the molasses, then add and mix to a fairly stiff dough. Roll out until the dough is about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick and cut into rounds. Sprinkle with extra seeds and bake in a preheated oven, 350 degrees F (180 degrees C), for 10 minutes.

Source: The Real Halloween: Ritual and Magic for Kids and Adults by Sheena Morgan

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Three Days 'til Halloween - The Raven

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
“’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—
This it is and nothing more.”

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;—
Darkness there and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?”
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”—
Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—
’Tis the wind and nothing more!”

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door—
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door—

Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as “Nevermore.”

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—
Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before—
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”
Then the bird said “Nevermore.”

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore—
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of ‘Never—nevermore’.”

But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er,
But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
“Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—
On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore—
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting—
“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!

******

...and read by Vincent Price, Christopher Walken, James Earl Jones, and Christopher Lee

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Four Days 'til Halloween - Fairies and the story of Tam Lin

The Fairies

Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren’t go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl’s feather!

Down along the rocky shore
Some make their home,
They live on crispy pancakes
Of yellow tide-foam;
Some in the reeds
Of the black mountain-lake,
With frogs for their watchdogs,
All night awake.

High on the hill-top
The old King sits;
He is now so old and grey
He’s nigh lost his wits.
With a bridge of white mist
Columbkill he crosses,
On his stately journeys
From Slieveleague to Rosses;
Or going up with the music
On cold starry nights,
To sup with the Queen
Of the gay Northern Lights.

They stole little Bridget
For seven years long;
When she came down again
Her friends were all gone.
They took her lightly back,
Between the night and morrow,
They thought that she was fast asleep,
But she was dead with sorrow.
They have kept her ever since
Deep within the lake,
On a bed of fig-leaves,
Watching till she wake.

By the craggy hillside,
Through the mosses bare,
They have planted thorn trees
For my pleasure, here and there.
Is any man so daring
As dig them up in spite,
He shall find their sharpest thorns
In his bed at night.

Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren’t go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl’s feather!

~William Allingham, 1850

Tam Lin, Carterhaugh

"O I forbid ye, maidens a',

That wear gold on your hair,

To come or gae by Carterhaugh,

For young Tam Lin is there."

In a beautiful mossy forest in the Scottish Borders, lies a little piece of folklore history, tucked away and forgotten by many but held dear by those who know the legend of Tam Lin. Most of the forest has long been cut down but part remains, together with a mossy old well hidden among the ferns, and marked with the name of 'Tamlane's Well' though it is well buried beneath the undergrowth and hidden from those who do not seek it.

The legend goes that a young man named Tam Lin or Tamlane was out hunting with this grandfather Roxbrugh when he fell from his horse and was taken away by the Queen of the Fairies herself who dwells in the green hill. She made him a knight of her elven companie and set him the task of guarding the forest of Carterheugh, where according to local townsfolk he would only let those young maidens pass who gave him a token of treasure or else their maidenhood. Despite the warnings, young Janet ventured into the forest, with her green kirtle held above her knee and her wild blonde hair braided. As she was passing the well she came across a milkwhite steed, and she took rest and picked a wild rose growing near the well, and pulled a branch from the tree. At once, Tam Lin appeared and cried:

"Why pulls thou the rose, Janet,

And why breaks thou the wand?

Or why comes thou to Carterhaugh

Withoutten my command?"

Janet is a stubborn young lady and stands her ground, telling him that Carterhaugh belongs to her, a present from her father, and that she will come and go as she pleases without asking his permission. Little is said of what happens next, and how Tam Lin charmed young Janet into giving up her maidenhood, but Janet returns to Carterhaugh and as the days pass her father discovers that she is with child. She refuses to let the blame lie with a knight of her father's company, and stubborn Janet tells her father:

"If that I gae wi child, father,

Mysel maun bear the blame,

There's neer a laird about your ha,

Shall get the bairn's name.

"If my love were an earthly knight,

As he's an elfin grey,

I wad na gie my ain true-love

for nae lord that ye hae'"

Janet returns to Carterhaugh, some say to collect herbs to cause miscarriage, and once again she finds Tam Lin's milkwhite steed stood at the well. Once again she pulls a rose, and Tam Lin appears, enquiring to know:

"Why pu's thou the rose, Janet,

Amang the groves sae green,

And a' to kill the bonny babe

That we gats us between?"

She demands that Tam Lin tell her where he comes from, and he reveals his mortal past to her, telling her that fairyland is a pleasant place but at the end of every seven years the fairy folk must pay a tiend to hell, and he fears that he has been chosen. It is the night of Halloween, when the veils between the faerie lands and mortal realm are lifted, and Tam Lin tells Janet that at the midnight hour the fairy folk will ride past Miles Cross and she may rescue her true love and win him back from the Fairy Queen. She must first let pass the black horse, and then the brown, and then quickly run to the mlkwhite steed and pull the rider to the ground, as this fairy knight shall be none other than Tam Lin. He warns her that he will be turned into all manner of beast and horror, including a newt, a snake, a bear, a lion, a red hot iron, then a burning coal or gleed when at once she must throw him in to well water, and then finally he shall turn into a naked man. At once she must cover him with her green mantle and hide him out of sight. She does exactly as told, freeing Tam Lin, much to the anger of the Fairy Queen:

"Out then spak the Queen o Fairies,

And an angry woman was she,

"Shame betide her ill-far'd face,

And an ill death may she die,

For she's taen awa the bonniest knight

In a' my companie."

"But had I kend, Tam Lin," said she,

"What now this night I see,

I wad hae taken out thy twa grey een,

And put in twa een o tree."

This final verse seems to suggest the Fairy Queen wishes that she had taken out Tam Lin's grey eyes and replaced them with wood, taking away his sight of the fairies and perhaps never allowing him to have fallen in love with Janet. Another version of the tale has the Fairy Queen wishing she had taken out his heart and replacing it instead with stone.

Read more here: The Faery Folklorist

Always in spirit...

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