Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
of the role of culture in sustainable development that it was designated the European
City of Culture in 2014, the most northerly centre to receive such an award.
In social terms the most obvious example of an adaptation to mitigate the psy-
chological effect of colder climates can be seen in the creation of
ceremonies
during
winter to provide a celebration of life within the season, or one to mark its end. A
good example of the former is the traditional Swedish Festival of Light on 13th
December, approximately the date of the winter solstice in the old Julian calendar.
This was probably an older pagan festival incorporated into Christian form in which
a parade of young girls, carrying candles or wearing head-dresses symbolize the
triumph of light over darkness a few days before Christmas. Similar light festivals
on the eve of St Lucia's Day celebrate the patron saint of visions with torchlight pro-
cessions in several parts of Spain. However the end of winter is also celebrated. The
festival in Zurich, held on the third Monday in March since the end of the fourteenth
century, is another marker of a seasonal change, this time the symbolic ending of
winter. Its climax is the ceremonial burning of the Bgg, a snowman made out
of wadding. Many other cities have developed modern light festivals to banish the
gloom of winter. For example, in the five week Light Festival in Amsterdam from
early December many light sculptures and projections on buildings illuminate the
historical centre of the city and attract tourists and residents alike.
A more general winter festival, of course, is the way in which the Christian
Christmas is now celebrated, even by people without spiritual beliefs, bringing
life and excitement to one of the darkest times of the year. In the last century this
has turned from being only a religious event into a public holiday of several days,
characterised by family re-unions, the sending of greeting cards, and an orgy of
present-giving and conspicuous consumption. The period has been enhanced by
non-religious themes, such as the Victorian invention of so many practices that have
become traditions, from the mythical figures of Father Christmas delivering gifts,
to the decoration of houses with conifers, holly, ivy and even religious symbols.
Such is the size of retail purchases, mainly Christmas gifts, in the weeks leading
up to the event, that many retailers obtain a large proportion of their annual sales
in this period. In addition, the North American tradition of decorating their houses,
stores and main streets with Christmas lights and decorations to provide a sparkle
to an otherwise drab time of year has spread to other countries, and lights are often
left on for a month. Yet it must be remembered that this modern Christmas festival,
based on the assumption of a birth date for Jesus on December 25th, has spread
to non-Christian groups, and has merely taken over the celebrations of the winter
solstice found in many a pre-Christian society, usually at or near the 22 December
solstice, when the sun is at its lowest angle in the northern sky. From this time on,
the amount of daylight slowly increases in the northern hemisphere, even though
the worst climatic conditions are still to come. Historically, people assembled to
take part in these winter festivals, lighting bonfires and holding feasts to celebrate
this change in the sun's position and the period from which the sun would gradually
return. One of the most important of these examples occurred in Rome's Festival
of Saturn that lasted a week from 17th December and which included the giving of
gifts and providing a holiday for slaves.
