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CELEBRATIONS—
This month we begin to shake off the lethargy of the cold and dark days of winter and throw open windows. Time to give our homes and our souls a Spring clean. Life is full of the promise of lighter warmer days. It is a time to dream and be reborn. March is full of activity in the animal kingdom. If you are very lucky you may see a March hare. We have chosen the annual Cheltenham Festival, St Patrick’s Day, Spring and The Vernal Equinox as things to celebrate this month. Get outside, do some gardening, welcome the wildlife into your life, see friends and enjoy the wonder of the change in the season.
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SPRING— On Wednesday the 20th of March, the Vernal Equinox will officially mark the beginning of Spring at 1916 Greenwich MeanTime. Some of us will celebrate it before then with a roar of jubilation from the crowd as the first race of the Cheltenham Festival begins. The jewel in the crown of the Festival is the Cheltenham Gold Cup run on the last day. This year it falls on St Patrick’s Day and the Irish celebrations will be huge if, like last year, the cup goes home to Ireland. |
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THE VERNAL EQUINOX There is some controversy about exactly when Spring does begin. The Met Office, along with many other organisations, say that 1st March marks the beginning of spring. But technically it is later. On that day the sun will rise directly in the east and set directly in the west. Everywhere on the Earth will experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. |
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Few things in life are sure. But Nature turns the Seasons with her hand with a regularity that none of us can halt. If we are lucky we live to see each new season and rejoice. Spring is especially a time of joy with the promise of new life. But just prior to that, for those who spend them at Prestbury Park, Gloucestershire, the cold of winter is brightened by four days in the second week of March. The highlight of National Hunt racing, the Cheltenham Festival is the glorious herald that long awaited Spring is on her way. As such a harbinger of rebirth and hope The Cheltenham Festival has suitable credentials. It is often referred to as ‘The Field of Dreams’. Many have been won and lost there and the place, in the hearts of those who attend, is a sacred one. Since the inauguration in 1934 of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the blue riband for that warrior like breed of racehorse, the steeplechasers, Cheltenham has been the place where the quest ends and begins for National Hunt’s Holy Grail. The Grand National is undoubtedly the best chasing handicap in the world, it is the people’s race, but it does not have the same religious connotations as the Gold Cup which is a Championship race at level weights. Only the best wins, many great horses have been stopped by the hill or the tricky third last fence.
1989 and Desert Orchid takes the Holy Grail for England The race voted the greatest race by thousands of British and Irish racegoers was of course a Cheltenham Gold Cup, won in 1989 by the front running, high leaping fearless grey Desert Orchid. The pilgrimage to the Festival is made each year by the loyal followers from near and far, and by the coach and plane load from Ireland. The battles commence with a mighty roar from the crowd as the first race opens. The atmosphere cannot be conveyed by film, the presence is there, you must attend to know it. There is no better way to celebrate the beginning of Spring. This year the Gold Cup will be run on St Patrick’s Day and the usual competition between the English and the Irish for the most festival races won will be even more poignant because of this. May the weather smile kindly on us and may all of the runners and riders come home safe. When the last race is over and people shuffle out a silence descends on the course strewn with torn up betting slips, and dreams. Memories of years gone by mingle with the ghosts of the great ones, Golden Miller, Arkle, Dawn Run and Best Mate. Horses whinny as tired stable staff load their winners and losers onto lorries for the return journey home. Celebrations for those who conquered, consolation for those who did not. Trainers and Owners plot next years assault over a few beers or a bottle of wine. Nevermind. Spring is just around the corner now and next year, God willing, we will all be back.
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The Cheltenham Festival |
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Ireland’s Arkle winner of 3 Gold Cups |
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Remembering St Patrick Maewyn, who later became St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland was born in Wales in about AD 385. Before he converted to Christianity he considered himself a pagan. A strange twist of fate put him in touch with God when at the age of 16 he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders who raided his village. While in captivity he began to think about God. After six years he escaped and went to Gaul for 12 years where he studied in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre. It was at this time he became aware that his calling in life was to convert the pagans to Christianity. He wanted to go back to Ireland to preach to the native pagans. But instead his superiors appointed St. Palladius. Then 2 years later, Palladius moved to Scotland. By then calling himself Patrick, he was appointed as second bishop to Ireland. Patrick loved his work and converted many of the folk upsetting the Celtic Druids who arrested him several times but he always escaped. He travelled throughout Ireland to establish monasteries. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion of the Irish to Christianity. His mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years. After that time, Patrick retired to County Down but then journeyed to England to Glastonbury. He is believed to have died there at age 111, on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since. There is a belief that Patrick raised people from the dead. He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland, and some people think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday. The shamrock that traditional icon of the day stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. In his sermons he said that it represented how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day. The St. Patrick's Day custom came to America in 1737. That was the first year St. Patrick's Day was publicly celebrated in Boston. Today, people celebrate the day and honour St Patrick with parades, wearing of the green, and drinking beer. One reason St. Patrick's Day might have become so popular is that it takes place just a few days before the first day of spring. One might say it has become the first green of spring. There will be many wearing shamrocks at Cheltenham, including some equine hopefuls who will have them tucked into their bridles for luck. |
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Sacred Mount Croach Patrick near Westport in County Mayo where, according to legend, in AD 441 St Patrick spent 40 days and 40 nights banishing the dragons and the serpents. |
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“Timeless” painted by Joanna May |
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WEBSITES TO LOOK AT FOR SPRING —
1) 3 hares, a fantastic project to trace the beautiful 3 hares symbol found throughout Europe, the Far East and the Middle East http://www.chrischapmanphotography.com/hares/ 2) Hare paintings by the English artist Joanna May 3) Cheltenham Racecourse—read the history and plan to attend next year! 4) The British Broadcasting Corporation produce excellent programs on wildlife, weather and the Earth. Their website has Spring watch which helps British gardeners to recognize and welcome the wildlife in their gardens. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/wildbritain/springwatch/ 5) British wildlife receive no funding for relief of illness and injury and there is no government rescue service for them. They are as much our heritage as old buildings and monuments and we must preserve them and their habitat. This charity was set up to do that and struggle each month to pay the bills from helping hundreds of injured and sick animals who would otherwise suffer agonizing and slow deaths. Give generously.
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INTEGRATED NUTRITION & HEALTH Broken-Wing |
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Contact at leeann@broken-wing.co.uk
© 2005-2008. Nothing may be re-produced in any form without the prior permission of the author.
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March Meet, by Munnings Painting of Cheltenham Festival with Cleeve Hill in the background |
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To get the most out of your life you must actively participate. The world is full of magic, if we believe in it we will find it. Savour and celebrate each day of your life. This page brings you current reasons to celebrate, from near and far. Tell us about some of your favorites for future issues.
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