Heidi O’Donnell Eastman
25 Days of Moody and Atmospheric: Day 3
Horn Head Summer Storm, Dunfanaghy, County Donegal
Oil on Canvas
Heidi O’Donnell Eastman
25 Days of Moody and Atmospheric: Day 2
Fogged In, North Yorkshire
Heidi O’Donnell Eastman
25 Days of Moody and Atmospheric: Day 1
Sunrise, Yorkshire Coast
Heidi O’Donnell Eastman
Winter Solstice
By Kaila Howard
Winter Festivities
Winter is upon us in the northern hemisphere and people of many cultures are getting ready for the holiday festivities. Some of the most interesting celebrations happen around this time of year, during the Winter Solstice when we experience the shortest day and longest night of the year. This happens due to the earth’s poles being at the maximum tilt away from the sun. It happens in December in the northern hemisphere and in June in the southern hemisphere. People of all different cultures and religions celebrate during this time of year and we’re going to take a look at a few of these festivities that take place from port to port.
Yule
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Celebrated primarily by Germanic and Celtic Pagans, Yule (or Yuletide) is an ancient sabbat that dates back even before Christmas. It celebrated different things depending on the group of people, but the idea of the sun’s rebirth after the longest night of the year was a common theme. Today, neopagans and Wiccans celebrate Yule by getting together and burning a yule log, sharing sweets, lighting candles, singing, and leaving offerings of different plants and stones as gifts to the gods and goddesses. The time in which this sabbat is celebrated varies each year, but this year it will be observed from December 22nd to January 1st.
Hanukkah
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Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that lasts eight days. It celebrates the victory of the Jews in the Maccabean Revolt when they reclaimed a holy temple in Jerusalem from the invading Greeks. When they went to go light the Menorah in the temple, they found that there was not much oil. They lit it anyway, not expecting a long-lasting flame, but by a miracle, the Menorah stayed aflame for eight days. Today, Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah by lighting a menorah each of the eight nights of the celebration, as well as exchange gifts, eat fried foods, sing songs, and say special prayers.
Soyal
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Soyal is a Solstice celebration observed by the Pueblo, Zuni, and Hopi Native American tribes, also known as the Great Feast of the Winter Solstice. During this festival, those celebrating say special prayers, have a feast, and the celebrations are concluded with a Kachina dance. These traditions and rituals are meant to bring the sun back out from its hibernation. It marks the beginning of the change in season and brings hopes of the warmer weather to come.
Kwanzaa
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Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrated by African-Americans, honoring their roots and celebrating family and faith. It was actually created rather recently in 1966 as a response to the growing commercialization of Christmas, meant to be a special holiday for African-American people. The holiday lasts seven days, each day representing a different principle, those being: Unity, Self-determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith. Like the Menorah, Kwanzaa has a special candelabra as well, with seven candle holders for each of the principles. Some Kwanzaa traditions include gift-giving, having a large meal made up of different African recipes, and having a day of meditation on the final day of Kwanzaa.
Dōngzhì
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The Chinese holiday Dōngzhì (冬至) translates to “the arrival of winter” and is similar to some of the other holidays that celebrate the winter solstice. It is mainly celebrated in China but also similarly observed by some other Asian cultures. It is a time for many people to visit the tombs of their ancestors and give offerings to them. Families also gather together for a large meal, including a traditional recipe of glutinous rice balls, known as tang yuan. The name translates to “family reunion”. It is clear that this, and many of the other celebrations are very family-oriented and so many different cultures have similar values
Whatever it is you celebrated or are celebrating this year, we hope you enjoy and wish you a happy holiday!
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Bram Stoker, Halloween, and the History of Vampires
By Kaila Howard
It’s almost Halloween, which means now is the perfect time for candy, costumes, and scary movies. One of the most iconic monsters both praised and feared during this time of year are vampires. Whether you like Dracula or are more of a Twilight fan, everyone has been exposed to these famed (and fanged) bloodsuckers in one way or another.
© xiaoma - stock.adobe.com.
In the middle ages, vampires were the answer to many mysteries that had yet to be solved. Often, people suffering from medical conditions that hadn’t been discovered were accused of being vampires. Even as medical knowledge advanced, there were a good number of people who still believed that the undead were after them.
The Strange Case of Mercy L. Brown
One of the most famous early vampire incidents happened right nearby us. In 1892, Exeter, Rhode Island had an incident that made history. Mercy Brown was a girl who died at the age of 19, to consumption (more commonly known today as tuberculosis). Prior to her death, her mother and older sister had died of the same disease. Mercy fought the sickness a bit longer, but eventually couldn’t any longer. Shortly after her death, other members of her family fell ill. Her brother, Edwin had gotten sick shortly after and moved away to get better. When he returned, however, his health was still dwindling and Mercy died within the same year. As Edwin got increasingly sick, their father, George Brown, began to hear warnings from the townspeople that Mercy was draining Edwin’s life force from beyond the grave.
© Stuart Monk - stock.adobe.com.
They arranged to have the bodies exhumed and expectedly, his wife and one of his daughters were skeletons. Mercy, however, remained surprisingly intact. This can now be credited to the cold New England winters and the fact that Mercy Brown was laid to rest in an above-ground tomb, but the people of her time insisted that it was the work of the supernatural. People had become convinced that Mercy was draining the lifeforce from her family members one by one, from beyond the grave. Others caught wind of this and feared that she would come for them next. The townspeople insisted that the only solution was to remove Mercy’s heart and liver, then burn them to keep her dead for good. George did as he was told, but didn’t stop there. He had been told that there was a cure for Edwin. He mixed the ashes from Mercy’s heart and liver up with water and fed the elixir to the sickly Edwin. Unsurprisingly, this did not stop the disease. Edwin died only two months later.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Born in 1847 in Ireland, Abraham “Bram” Stoker was a writer that is world-renowned for his novel, Dracula, which has had such a great impact on pop culture. The story follows a lawyer from England, Jonathan Harker, as he travels to Transylvania to do some real estate work with a wealthy count, who goes by the name Dracula. Upon arrival, he is warned by the local peasants to stay away from the count’s castle, but he doesn’t heed their warnings. They shout things at him that he doesn’t understand, and give him crucifixes and other charms. Harker continues on anyway and eventually makes it up to the castle. There, he meets the apparently infamous Count Dracula but is greeted warmly by him, his fears somewhat subsiding.
Bela Lugosi as Dracula, anonymous photograph from 1931, Universal Studios - Wikimedia Commons
Harker soon comes to the realization that he is being held prisoner by the count. He becomes more and more uneasy in his situation and tries to figure out what is so off about Count Dracula. He finds out that his host is actually a vampire, and suspects that he is going to kill him. Back in England, Harker’s fiancée Mina begins to experience some strange happenings regarding her friend Lucy. For those who haven’t read the novel, I’ll refrain from spoiling it, but much more supernatural drama ensues. The classic novel has gained a great amount of fame and is considered one of the most iconic stories of the gothic genre.
Whitby, Bram Stoker, and the O’Donnell Family
Recently, Heidi told me an interesting story about her having a connection to the Irish author. After researching, she was able to find out that Bram Stoker’s maternal grandmother was an O’Donnell, and Heidi was related to the famed author through her great grandfather. While in the UK this past July, Heidi decided to take a trip to Whitby, a small town in Northern Yorkshire.
This town held a lot of significance to Dracula and the author behind it. In 1890, Stoker visited Whitby while in the midst of writing his most famous novel, hoping to get some inspiration from the small, gloomy town. He was inspired by names on gravestones and included them as background characters in the novel, and even set Whitby as the setting for parts of it. The connections don’t end there though. It was in a library in Whitby that Stoker learned about Vlad III Drăculea, Prince of Wallachia. The Romanian prince earned the pseudonym “Vlad the Impaler” for the brutal way in which he murdered his enemies; by impaling them on long wooden stakes while they were still alive. He would serve as a major inspiration for Count Dracula. The most obvious parallel between the two would be their names. Drăculea is Romanian and means “the dragon”. It can also be interpreted as meaning “the devil” so it only makes sense that Stoker took inspiration from this name.
Even if vampires aren’t your thing, the history behind them is so interesting and has had such an impact on human society. Stories like Dracula are still being read and analyzed today, which just proves their relevance. It’s stories like this that bring people together. No matter how different two cultures may be, it’s the experiences and stories they share that makes them so similar.
From Rhode Island to Ireland to Whitby, so many different places have been impacted by folklore and history and they all have parallels. If Bram Stoker hadn’t been inspired to write Dracula, Heidi may never have explored Whitby or her family ancestry. History, culture, and stories do amazing things and keep people connected. From one port to another, we are all humans with stories and experiences to share.
Happy Halloween from Port to Port Connections!
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