Graveland at Eternal Hate Fest
Graveland at Eternal Hate Fest
3,393 words
In Europe there are very few black metal festivals that are genuinely free of censorship. In the Czech Republic there is one such festival, which is held in an attractive and dark natural location: Eternal Hate Fest, organized by Daniel Beherit Bílý. I always go to this festival even if it is far away from my home, as it is always worth it. (more…)
Arno Breker, “Orpheus and Eurydice”
Arno Breker, “Orpheus and Eurydice”
475 words
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Whether you’re passing out flowers and chocolate, writing a card to your mom (call her!), or loving on your gal pals, celebrating St. Valentine’s Day can be inspiring. The most popular account of St. Valentine’s life is that he was martyred for secretly marrying Christians during their persecution under the Roman Emperor Claudius II. (more…)
1,960 words
When I was a child, Thanksgiving was little more than midway point between Halloween and Christmas, lacking the magic of either. I didn’t much like the food (except pumpkin pie), I hated football (and still do), and I found my great-grandfather’s extreme old age somewhat disquieting. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate this late autumn feast, to the point that it is now one of my favorite days of the year.
In retrospect, I fondly recall making the drive to my grandparents’ country home on a cold and rainy day — that is how I always remember it — where my extended family had assembled and the scent of roasting turkey and sweet potatoes pervaded the house. (more…)
Pieter Breugel, the Elder, “The Peasant Wedding”
Pieter Breugel, the Elder, “The Peasant Wedding”
1,196 words
Thanksgiving Day is America’s incarnation of the traditional harvest festival, a celebration of the end of the summer harvest, often marked by lavish feasts. (more…)
1,370 words
I have always cherished the pretense of Halloween. Regardless of its pagan origins in Europe as a harvest celebration, the event I have always known presents an exciting chance for children to dress up and pretend, and for adults to play along. The candy and trick-or-treating is important, of course, but secondary, in my opinion, to the spectacle of it all. As a child, deciding what I would be for Halloween each year took a great deal of thought and preparation (for several years, my mother had insisted we make our own costumes from scratch — a fun and productive exercise). (more…)
4,626 words
Throughout the North, the ground still lies beneath a blanket of snow, and springtime seems a distant memory. Yet now, at the midway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, signs of nature’s rebirth are starting to appear: cold mornings give way to sunny, warm afternoons, grasses and blossoms begin to emerge, and the sound of birdsong once again fills the forest. The time of snow and ice is not yet past and the Earth still lies dormant — but she is starting to awaken.
The first weeks of February were of special significance to our European ancestors, and a number of holy days, now largely forgotten, took place at this time: (more…)
Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory
Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory
1,446 words
More than one person I’ve spoken to, both offline and online, has commented on how the passage of time seems to have changed very little in the past two years. (more…)
7,940 words
Peter Gatien
The Club King: My Rise, Reign, and Fall in New York Nightlife
Seattle: Little A, 2020
Driving with my father one day, we passed an imposing building, the Cornwall headquarters of the Orange Lodge, the Grand Order of British North America. “What’s that, papa?” I asked.
“It’s like a club,” he answered dismissively. (more…)
William Powell Frith (1819-1909), A May Day Celebration (private collection)
William Powell Frith (1819-1909), A May Day Celebration (private collection)
6,740 words
Throughout Europe and the United States, the chill mornings and blossoming trees of spring are giving way to summer’s warmth and abundance. As the midway point between spring and summer, the month of May has historically been a season of great importance to the peoples of Europe, a joyful time of sowing, revelry, feasting, and courtship. (more…)
6,101 words
6,101 words
Come out, ’tis now September, the hunters’ moon’s begun,
And through the wheaten stubble we hear the frequent gun;
The leaves are turning yellow, and fading into red,
While the ripe and bearded barley is hanging down its head.
— “All Among the Barley,” British folk song (more…)