Imbolc Time
21 December

Imbolc is a pagan festival which takes place today, the shortest day of the year.

The pagan symbolism includes a fight between the Oak King and the Holly King; the Oak King wins and so the sun begins to return and the days get longer.

The other pagan name for the festival of Imbolc is Yule and it was this festival which was appropriated by the early Christian church for use as Christmas so that the festival of the returning of the light could be linked to the idea of the birth of Christ and the coming of the Light into the world.

One of the ways in which both cultures celebrate these ideas is through the use of candles and lighted trees. Yesterday, Ross and I decorated our ninth tree together, our fourth in this house.

We've also been making inroads into the final preparations for the family feast on Saturday - another tradition which Christians borrowed from earlier cultures. One of Ross's particular triumphs has been the cake. We began preparations for this back in September and today completed the marzipan decorations and final display.

My personal triumph has been the completion of the decoration of the spare bedroom in time for Grace and Albert's Christmas visit.

It certainly looks a great deal better than it has done from the time that Ross and I moved into this house.

We've also done a little seasonal entertainment - but it wasn't a pantomime. All together now - Oh, yes it was; Oh, no it wasn't.

No, instead, we went over to the Lowry to see a stage presentation of the scripts of one of my favourite radio programmes of yesteryear, Round the Horne. The idea behind the evening was that the audience are attending a recording session as though it were the mid-60s. All in all, it was quite hilarious and a good evening's entertainment. Three stars for sure.