DECEMBER was called "Aerra Geola," because the sun then "turns his glorious course;" and after the introduction of Christianity, "Heilig-monath," or holy-month. December was, among the English, above all things, a month of festivity. Before the introduction of Christianity, Christmas was the feast of Thor, and the wassail bowl circulated as briskly in honour of the heathen god as it has done since at the Christian festival. The figures in the woodcut are engaged in threshing the corn, winnowing it with a fan, and carrying it away.
Caption

DECEMBER was called "Aerra Geola," because the sun then "turns his glorious course;" and after the introduction of Christianity, "Heilig-monath," or holy-month. December was, among the English, above all things, a month of festivity. Before the introduction of Christianity, Christmas was the feast of Thor, and the wassail bowl circulated as briskly in honour of the heathen god as it has done since at the Christian festival. The figures in the woodcut are engaged in threshing the corn, winnowing it with a fan, and carrying it away.

Date

Sep 27, 2012

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection/Quint Lox Limited

Reference

LZT13A21_299

License type

Rights managed

Available size

28,5Mb (1,1Mb) / 19,5in x 5,7in / 5844 x 1703 (300dpi)

Keywords

December Aerra Geola sun Christianity Heilig-monath holy-month English month festivity Christianity Christmas feast Thor wassail bowl honour heathen god Christian festival figures woodcut threshing corn winnowing fan nineteenth century engraving

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