Winter Wonders

What is it about Winter that sets my mind wandering and wondering?

I was born in the hot humid summer of Queensland, Australia and I love that sundrenched, vast space. But when winter came, it was the frosts and the cold that always captured a little of me. Yes, health wise it would grip me in the lungs - but no worse than the humid months. Yet as I grew older, it was the middle of winter camping trips to Giraween National Park or the hiking through Tasmanian snow that kept calling to me.

Since moving to the other side of the world, I have only increased my love for the cold and all that it brings at this time of year. A traditional Christmas for me in Australia was the cold mud crab, prawns and salads, ice cream and watermelon and a day at the beach. Heaven for a child. Yet now I can’t wait to prepare the goose and veggies for a big roast dinner, while outside the temperature drops and we pray for snow and a white Christmas.

But it is the folk tales, myths and legends about winter that I love. As with any adversity, it brings out the best and the worst of characters. But it also carries many ancient traditions, customs and superstitions that make so much sense at this time of year. Stories about why we have holly, ivy and mistletoe; the significance of the yule log; why robins have red breasts and don’t fly off to warmer climates; not to mention the ‘history’ of Christmas!

However, it is the darker stories of the cold winters that call to me. I am fascinated by the tales of the Krampus - the less pleasant companion of St Nicholas, who has been forgotten or pushed aside by many as less than child friendly. There a many tales about the great solitary bears of winter who foretell danger and dark days and the Snow Queen with a heart of ice and a hatred for all things warm and loving. We mustn’t foget the winter trolls, whose greed and selfishness makes life very difficult in the festive season. Thankfully, their intelligence doesn’t equal their appetites, so the outcomes of these stories are a bit more upbeat.

But my favourite of the winter tales is the story of Morozko - King of the Frost, who creeps and crackles through the trees to greet and test the unfortunates caught out in the winter woods. I love this story despite the presence once again of a wicked stepmother and the somewhat feckless father. It appeals because the one originally portrayed as the shallow, cruel villain of winter, is shown to be a deeper character, with his own unexpected morals and respect for those he meets. I’ve delved into several versions of this story and despite the usual differences in speeches, lesser character names and minor descriptions, they all confirm the duality of the King of Frost. They all convey the stark beauty and harshness of frost as it envelops the world, but also longing and hope that if we show respect and understanding, follow the rules of winter, and do what we know in our hearts is right, then it is not all darkness.

So as the days grow shorter, the nights grow longer and the frost sits on the rose hips and holly berries here in the northern hemisphere, I will settle in with my books full of winter tales and customs, a cup of something hot and warming and a wish that your winter or summer (in the south) may be full of gentle light and your own special stories.

My current reading selection:

Solaris by Len Stanislaw.

The Memory Library by Kate Storey.

A Tudor Christmas by Alison Weir.

Christmas Explained: robins, kings and Brussel sprouts by Jonathan Green.

The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories edited by Jessica Harrison.