Category: Celebrations (Page 5 of 5)

Winter and Christmas in Edinburgh

20/12/2022 / jemmalidgard / 0 Comments

Glossary:

Dreich – tedious; damp and wet (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-50476008)

Hogmanay – New Year’s Eve (in Scotland)

If it’s your first Winter in Edinburgh: you’re in for a treat! Edinburgh tends to get crisp and cold between December and February (ok, sometimes wet, and dreich too…) but there’s plenty going on and our city is buzzing over Christmas and the New Year.

Winter Walks

If you’re willing to wrap up warm, why not take a walk around Arthur’s seat? Arthur’s seat is an extinct volcano in the centre of Edinburgh, near to coffee shops on the Royal Mile if you need a gingerbread latte to warm up afterwards.

Another lovely place to go in the frost or snow is Dalkeith country park – there are festive events on too! There are many trails to walk in this beautiful park, set over 1,000 acres. The park has a rich history, having been in the Buccleuch family for over 300 years. The site dates back to the Roman times.

Another option is to head up Calton hill for a panoramic view of the city lit up in full Christmas mode – it’s not a difficult walk up the steps. You can also see the National Monument and Nelson monument. This is a popular spot on Hogmanay to take in the fireworks too.

Calton Hill in the snow

Picture Credit: Pixabay

A little further afield but worth a trip is the lovely Roslin Glen. You can see the ruin of what was once Scotland’s largest gunpowder mill. You can also see the impressive and partly ruined Roslin Castle. A short walk through the glen takes you to the famous Rosslyn Chapel, founded in 1446 by Sir William St Clair. In the New Year, you might see the snowdrops starting to come out in the Glen.

Finally, another bracing walk in the wintertime is a walk along the promenade at Cramond. If you so desire, you can walk from Silverknowes along to Cramond and if you’re feeling adventurous and have checked the tide times , you can walk over to Cramond island. According to the Cramond Association, Cramond is the oldest known site of human habitation in Scotland.

Christmas Lights

If you’re looking to soak up some festive illuminations, there are a number of options in Edinburgh!

In the city centre, the Christmas Market lights up Princes Street Gardens with an Ice rink, big wheel and Christmas tree maze – https://showcatcher.com/edwinterfest/christmas.

At the west end of Princes Street garden, you’ll find Santaland, with a festive family funfair.

George Street also boasts Christmas lights and an enormous Christmas tree which can be seen at the top of the mound – apparently this tree has a history, and is a gift from Norway each year. This tradition dates back to WW2.

Looking for more lights? The Botanic Gardens hosts a light trail each year, which is pretty spectacular, and you couldn’t ask for a nicer backdrop. Have a look at Christmas at the Botanics for more information.

Another light spectacular to take in this winter is Edinburgh Castle’s ‘Castle of Light’. This involves projecting light onto the castle’s walls and ramparts and a historical walking tour.

Last but not least, Edinburgh is well known for its Hogmanay celebrations, and in 2022 Edinburgh will host its giant street party once again. For the uninitiated, Hogmanay is the Scottish word for New Year’s Eve.

The celebrations also include live music and a huge fireworks display at midnight. Lots of kissing, hugging, and dancing ensues!

Looking for something quieter?

If you’re looking for a cosy corner to curl up in when it’s cold and snowy, come to one of our campus libraries. You can check our festive opening hours here.

You can borrow Library items from Friday 9 December 2022, and you won’t need to return them before Monday 16 January 2023. Full details can be found here.

Remember, we’re always here online too – you can continue to access ebooks, ejournals and databases using  LibrarySearch, even if physical libraries are closed.

By Judy Wheeler

Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)

31/10/2022 / jemmalidgard / 0 Comments

Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)

The Mexican Day of the Dead known as Día de los Muertos is a two-day holiday celebrated from the 31^st of October to the 2^nd of November to honour and reunite the living and dead together. It is a reunion where the spirits of children join on October the 31^st and the spirits of adults join on November the 2^nd.

Image of person in a flowered veil and face painting of a skull.

Day of the Dead face paint

The ritual originates from the Aztec and Nahua people who saw death as an eternal part of life. The Nahua rituals were held in August where food and water were to aid the deceased in the journey to the Land of the Dead and therefore contributed to the traditions of today.

It is a very colourful celebration and altars are decorated with marigolds, and photos of their loved ones, and food and drinks are consumed. The Marigolds are golden pathways to guide and attract the spirits. Families gather either at home or in the cemeteries at night to light candles and play music. There is no crying or grieving but to enjoy and appreciate all human associations and comforts on a spiritual journey.

Printmaker and cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada used the skeletal figures to mock politicians. La Calavera Catrina is the most iconic work that features a female skeleton in ornate clothing. Sugar skulls known as Calaveras are decorative skulls made from sugar or clay to symbolise that death is not all that bad. They are often embellished with jewels and face painting. In contemporary Day of the Dead, skulls masks are worn, and treats are consumed. Pan de Muerto is a simple sweet bread that is consumed all year round!

Pan de Muerto and Marigolds

You can find lots of articles on the Mexican Day of the Dead in our LibrarySearch

Other resources

https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/day-of-the-dead

https://dayofthedead.holiday/

Black History Month

11/10/2022 / julietkinsey / 0 Comments

Black History Month

October marks Black History Month in the United Kingdom.

Known as the ‘Father of Black History, Carter Godwin Woodson brought forward the celebration of Black History in 1926 in the United States. Initially, it was the second week of February, as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass celebrated their birthdays. But in February 1969, at Kent State University, it was proposed that it should be a whole month and the first Black History Month was celebrated at Kent State a year later. President Gerald Ford became the first President to recognise Black History Month in 1976.

Black History Month in the United Kingdom

Black History Month was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in October 1987. That year marked the 150^th anniversary of Caribbean emancipation, the centenary birth of Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey and the 25^th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity. October also coincides with the start of the Academic year. It was seen as an opportunity to bring in mainstream education. As organiser Akyaaba Abdai-Sebo recalled

‘I was stirred up in the mid-1980s by the identity crisis that Black children faced. A crisis of identity faced us squarely despite the Race Awareness campaigns of the Greater London Council and the Inner London Education Authority. More had to be done and so I conceived an annual celebration of the contributions of Africa, Africans, and people of African descent to world civilisation’ Source Link

At first, there was a focus on Black American History, but the emphasis shifted to ‘recognise the contributions and achievements of those with African or Caribbean heritage in the UK (BBC)

Decolonising our Collections

Here at the Library, all our Librarians are working hard to decolonise and improve the diversity of our Library collections. We realise the importance and significance of the work we need to do here at the Library. Not just when celebrating Black History Month but all year round to make our Library inclusive to all.

You can see some newly added books on our BIPOC virtual bookshelf.

More Information

Remember to check out our library/book displays at each campus site.

You can find out more including details on all the events that are taking place across the country at:

https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/

Also, check out our Library catalogue for more information on Black history and to see new titles we have added.

By Maya Green

Refugee Week 2022

20/06/2022 / julietkinsey / 0 Comments

Refugee Week : 20^th-26^th June 2022

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word refugee originates from two Latin words: “fugere” meaning to flee and “refugium” – a place to flee back to. But specifically, the word refugee was first noted in 1685. It referred to the 50,000 Huguenots, French Protestants who fled religious intolerance in their home country.

There are no identifiable Huguenots today, but that’s the point about refugees – as local, national and global circumstances change, so do the movement of people and the labels we attach to them. Wherever there is war, famine, natural disasters or a clampdown on human rights, there will be refugees.

So, there have been refugees since there have been established human communities around the world, but it wasn’t until 1951 that there was an international standard on how to treat them. The Refugee Convention defined a refugee as someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted.

A refugee’s journey can be long, dangerous and highly publicised, but in fact, most refugees don’t travel far. Most stay in neighbouring countries until it’s safe enough for them to return home. Those who travel the furthest often feel the most alienated and are often least welcome in their host countries. With this in mind, Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival that celebrates the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.

Refugee Week 2022 this year

This year’s festival runs from 22^th-26^th June. Its theme is healing – a celebration of community, mutual care and the human ability to start again. It will promote a programme of arts, cultural, sports and educational events alongside media and creative campaigns.

Here at Edinburgh Napier University, we have an amazing project designing refugee housing by Lara Alshawawreh. Check it out here.

In addition, if you want to get involved, please see here: https://refugeeweek.org.uk/

For more local information, get in touch with

https://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/

https://www.rst.org.uk

https://www.bikesforrefugees.scot

https://www.scottishactionforrefugees.org

In addition for information available in the library why not use librarysearch.napier.ac.uk

Need help using Librarysearch? Check out our article here.

By Lesley McRobb

Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash

Celebrating Pride Month

01/06/2022 / julietkinsey / 0 Comments

Celebrating Pride Month

The start of June is upon us which means the start of Pride month. After all, June is the month of pride. Why June you may ask? Well…

The History of Pride 🏳‍🌈🌈🏳‍🌈

Celebrating Pride month in June is to commemorate the Stonewall riots that happened on the 28^th of June 1969. New York Police raided the Stonewall inn which was a prominent gay club in Greenwich Village in the early hours of the morning. As police turned violent, and a build up of social discrimination and continuous police harassment grew, the raid became a riot and a protest. Led by Marsha P. Johnson, it lasted for 6 days. It saw large media coverage and spilt out to the streets of Greenwich. This was the ‘catalyst for gay rights and activism in the United States and the world’ (Source)

Known as ‘Mother of Pride’, it was Brenda Howard who organised the first pride march to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Stonewall riots. This became America’s first ever Pride parade. It was not until the 1990s however that Pride Month became more popular (Source). Bill Clinton became the first President to acknowledge June as Pride Month.

Pride Month is not necessarily recognised internationally. However, it is increasingly becoming more recognised outside the United States.

Avoiding Tokenism

Here at the Library, we love to celebrate Pride month, but we acknowledge that working towards equality is something that needs to happen all year round. We are working hard to promote and diversify our collections to be inclusive of all people, and to redress the imbalances we find in our collections to become more representative of everyone.

Library Resources

The Library has a wealth of books and articles on the subject. From the history of LGBTQ+ rights to current Legal information to keep you informed. Use LibrarySearch to find what you are looking for, or contact us for help with any of your research needs.

Here are some items available through the Library to get you started:

Same-sex, different politics: success and failure in the struggles over gay rights

Lgbt Activism and the Making of Europe A Rainbow Europe

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people (LGBT) and the criminal justice system

University Support

If you are an LGBTQ+ student you can join Edinburgh Napier’s LGBTQ+ Society or find out more about the student LGBTQ+ community on the Queer Napier site. Staff can join the University’s thriving LGBTQ+ Network or visit our web pages to learn more about becoming an ally.

More Resources here on the Blog

Check out our Diversity Bookshelves to see some of the books we have available.

Or read more articles on Pride, LGBT+ History Month and Alan Turin.

By Maya Green

National Biscuit Day

29/05/2022 / julietkinsey / 0 Comments

Today is the day: National Biscuit Day

Since 2014, we have been honouring May 29^th as National Biscuit day

Biscuits can be dated back as long as there were baked goods, dating all the way back to Ancient Egypt but perhaps they would have been seen as more dried breads. The sugar trade in the eighteenth century changed and by the nineteenth century, we were seeing McVities, Crawford and Carr began setting up (daysoftheyear.com)

In Britain, we consumed the most biscuits of any other country (ScotsmanFoodandDrink). In fact, Brits eat roughly 52 biscuits per second! Now that’s a lot of biscuits. And now we all want to know what biscuit reigns supreme, the to go, the absolute fave. Well, it’s of course the humble yet delicious chocolate digestive. A third of the British population rank chocolate digestives as their favourites (ScotsmanFoodandDrink). This is followed by the chocolate hobnob then the Jammie Dodger, fourth favourite is the custard crème and in finishing off the top five is shortbread. Do you agree with the top five biscuit list or disagree, what’s your favourite biscuit. And most controversial is a Jaffa Cake a biscuit or a cake? So many questions to ponder about this national biscuit, mull them over with your favourite biscuit.

Read more about biscuits through Librarysearch.napier.ac.uk

By Maya Green

May Day The Beginning of Spring

01/05/2022 / julietkinsey / 0 Comments

Springtime

Is there anything that gladdens the heart of the city-dweller more than the glorious pink of cherry- and the wondrous white of apple blossom lining the grimy streets? Personally, I feel my spirits soar every time I wander along an avenue of blossom and turn up my face to the delicate petals raining down like confetti. Laburnum, too, delights with its brief but brilliant burst of yellow. (Okay, so it’s poisonous, but nobody was planning to eat it!) May really must be the most beautiful and optimistic month, as the light stretches and the air starts to warm up after those nippy April mornings.

The History of May Day

Maybe it’s this abundance of light, colour and new growth that inspired our pagan ancestors to celebrate the beginning of the month. They’d elect a May Queen and a Jack-in-the-Green to lead the festivities which included dancing around the maypole (every village had one), painting faces green and dressing up a local person in a caricature of a horse. The fun continued after the Christian church was established until those killjoy C16th Puritans banned maypole dancing as a heathen activity of drunken wickedness (which to be fair, it probably was).

Recent Times

In recent times, May 1^st has become synonymous with something much less frivolous and decidedly more serious: work. Labour movements across the world have inspired action since the earliest days of industrialisation, but official commemoration of May 1^st as International Workers’ Day began in Chicago when, in 1886, the American Federation of Labor implemented an 8-hour working day as a new standard of fair practice. In 1904 it was adopted around the world, and now May 1^st is recognised by many as a workers’ holiday.

Scotland

Closer to home, Beltane is a Gaelic festival of fire that is traditionally celebrated on May 1^st to mark the beginning of, um, summer. In Edinburgh, revellers usually make their way up Calton Hill before celebrating en masse. If you want to take part in the organised event, you’ll have to set off the night before. See https://beltane.org/

You may be familiar with the old proverb “ne’er cast a cloot til the May be oot.” You’d be forgiven for believing that the May in this case refers to the month, but in fact, it specifically refers to the May tree, an old name for hawthorn, that beloved staple of hedgerows across the land that produces a gorgeous white blossom in May. Hawthorn is the only plant in UK vernacular to be named after the month in which it blooms.

We hope you enjoy this Mayday, whether you’re working, strolling through a garden of cherry blossom, dancing around a maypole or warming yourself against a roaring communal fire. Bring on the summer!

By Lesley McRobb

Read more articles on celebrations here on our blog:

St Patricks Day

Chinese New Year

Scottish traditions

Category: Celebrations (Page 5 of 5)

Winter and Christmas in Edinburgh

Like this:

Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)

Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)

Like this:

Black History Month

Black History Month

Black History Month in the United Kingdom