The Holly and the Radish - Midwinter Notes
It is almost midwinter and I feel as if I’m on a rollercoaster with its brakes on heading slowly but inexorably towards the bottom of a long, steep slope where, momentarily, we will pause before starting our slow journey towards the spring which is waiting at the top of the next hill.
Midwinter has always been a time of festivities. We celebrate the solstice and the promise of longer days to come. As gardeners we know that light is important to plant growth and therefore to the production of food, so it is no wonder that midwinter celebrations the world over feature light and food.
Saturn was a Roman god associated with agriculture, abundance and renewal. The Roman Empire’s midwinter festival, known as Saturnalia, was held in his name. Festivities are said to have lasted a week with eating, drinking, partying, exchanging of gifts and slaughtering of fattened animal stock being the order of the day. If this sounds similar to how we celebrate Christmas today you may not be surprised to learn that Saturnalia metamorphosised into Christmas as the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its preferred religion.
Another tradition that dates back to the Roman era and beyond is decorating the home with evergreen foliage. Holly wreaths were given as gifts during Saturnalia. Druids revered holly, ivy and other evergreens for their ability to bring beauty through the dark days of winter when most plants are bare and lifeless. The prickly holly was claimed to ward off evil sprits too.
Candles and bonfires were also prominent in Saturnalia and other pagan festivities. Their flames forcing out the darkness, bringing warmth and cheer to revellers and encouraging the return of the sun. Candles were even placed in living trees. These traditions can also be seen to have been incorporated into Christian celebrations.
A less well known, but equally fascinating midwinter custom is La Noche de los Rabanos or The Night of the Radishes, which is celebrated in Oaxaca in Mexico. This tradition goes back about a hundred years and is said to have started when the town, renown for its woodcarving, had a bumper harvest of giant radishes. The innovative tradesmen began carving intricate figures and scenes from the radishes and displayed them at their premises to attract custom from people passing by, often on their way to or from Christmas church services. The best scenes were snapped up to become Christmas decorations, so it might be said that this tradition has come out of Christianity rather being taken into it. Today the radish carving tradition has become a competition with people visiting the spectacle from all over the world.
Here are some brilliant pictures from The Night of the Radishes.
In the allotment it is traditional to plant shallots on the solstice. In on the shortest day, out on the longest day the saying goes, but often our gardens are either frozen or saturated at this time of year so if you want to do this it might be worth starting them in pots in a sheltered position for planting out in early spring.
So the rollercoaster continues to trundle towards midwinter and, as is often the case, it looks like we will be plunged into a puddle rather than a snowdrift at the bottom of the slope. When we get there, as I don’t have any radishes to carve you might find me in the greenhouse sowing a few more hardy broad beans or potting on some early cauliflowers I sowed a few weeks ago perhaps. As the light begins to fade I might cut a few sprigs of holly and ivy for the mantlepiece, light a candle or two and get a nice fire going to drive the darkness away and hunker down to see the winter out.
Now, what did I do with the mistletoe…