I have a good friend, for whom the sight of a robin is a reminder of her much-loved and much-missed mother. Seeing a robin flit by is always a welcome sight for her. A reassurance. A tiny living prayer.
It made me wonder why certain birds and animals have acquired a particular significance. Harbingers of good – or bad – luck. It could be a black cat crossing your path. Rabbits and their feet. Magpies with ‘One for sorrow, two for joy…’ And there are many more. Today robins have a strong association with Christmas and even a cursory glance at a pile of Christmas cards will reveal many picturing bright little robins. What brought this about?
One story I read tells of the very first Christmas when a robin was bravely fanning the dying embers of the fire in the stable where the infant Jesus lay sleeping. If the fire went out the child would be chilled. The robin didn’t give up, but gathered twigs to keep the fire alight. A hot spark leapt from the fire and the little robin’s breast was burnt red. When Mary returned she blessed the robin for his care of her baby son, and for his bravery. From then on all robins carried a redbreast, a proud reminder of their generous act. And thus began their close association with Christmas.
Another legend tells of a robin trying to ease Jesus’ pain at the crucifixion by removing one of the vicious barbs from the crown of thorns. Some of Christ’s blood splashed onto the robin’s breast, again to become a permanent marker of the little bird’s bravery and compassion.
More mundane perhaps, is the story that Victorian postmen, clad in their bright red jackets, became known as ‘robin redbreasts’ and before long a robin appeared on an early Christmas card. Christmas cards were a new idea in the mid-19th century and rapidly became very popular. The robin has had pride of place there ever since!
One curious fact I discovered: look closely and you’ll see that a robin’s breast is orange, rather than red. It seems that the colour we know as orange today – named from the fruit – didn’t exist in the English language until the 16th century and wasn’t used as a distinct colour name until much later. ‘Robin Orangebreast’ doesn’t sound quite the same, though, and definitely lacks alliterative appeal!
But however their name, or their connection with Christmas, really came about, they are bright-eyed, intelligent, engaging little birds. Gardeners know that as soon as you turn the soil a robin will be there watching you closely, following your movements on the lookout for food in the disturbed earth. I find it a great pleasure to see these delightful creatures in my garden, or wherever I am outdoors. And the notion of their being a tiny living prayer is one I’m more than happy to go along with. Especially at Christmas.
As holidays became more common, and for longer periods, people sought the fresh, clean air of the countryside. For families with children camping coaches held a greater appeal than spending your holiday under canvas. In the railway coach you had a proper roof over your head and more space, but were still away from home. They were also usually set beside beautiful remote rural and coastal areas of Britain. Cheaper too than a guest house. Private cars were not common, so being able to take the train right to your holiday doorstep was an additional bonus.
The camping coach at Plockton may be long gone, but today the station building itself is available for holidays. And in a few places the camping coach is making a come-back. So if you have fond memories from your childhood, or have children who revel in Thomas the Tank Engine, then one of today’s new camping coaches might just be the place for you! It certainly was a brilliant ‘Camping Coach of Adventure’ for us !
With such sacred associations the island became home to a 12th century chapel dedicated to St Kentigerna’s memory, with a later parish church and burial ground used by people living in the small scattered communities around the shores of Loch Lomond. Islands were often favoured spots for graveyards as they were safe from scavenging wolves and other wild animals that might be on the lookout for fresh bones! So far, the earliest gravestone discovered dates back to the 13th century.
When the Teutonic Knights began their Northern Crusade and swept through the Baltic States in the 12th century, they would have found it hard to imagine that their once mighty fortresses would end up nothing more than heaps of rubble. But we know that empires rise and then fall. Ruling dynasties weaken and fade away. Powerful elites come and go. And if there’s one thing that history teaches us, it’s that change is the only constant throughout.
The Teutonic Knights used the excuse of the ‘Christianisation’ of the pagan peoples of Old Prussia and the Baltics to raid, slaughter and then rule the lands they brutally conquered. In time they turned to attacking neighbouring Christian states as their desire for power and wealth grew. Greed, not faith, lay at the heart of their actions.
