Celebrating the Seasons
with
Alegria on the Alley

Winter Solstice

In Winter, soils rest and next year's crops are planned.

Dates: around December 21
Colors: red, green, white
Items: mistletoe, evergreen wreath, lights, gifts, holly, Yule log, Yule tree
Rituals: personal renewal, world peace, honoring family & friends
Customs: wreaths, lights, gift-giving, resolutions

At the time of the suns lowest ebb, the shortest day, the dying sun sets for the last time lighting up the snow clad landscape.  This is the time that our resident Snow Queen shires with her full glory!

Join the English Cave Community Garden for our annual "Alegria on the Alley", celebrating 12th Nights with Wassailing the Apple trees and bid Christmas farewell and welcome Carnival!

A wonderful time was had by all. There were over 50 people in attendance with a couple of dozen children romping around frolicking.

Sandy had created a cornucopia of food. Her Jambalaya was praised by all who tasted it and she had a number of king cakes.
 

(The King and Queen of 12th night)
(they found the crowns in the king cakes)

Spirit of the garden

We were then entertained by a spirit of the English Cave Garden. He created a dazzling display of colors and sparks by placing carefully crafted pine wreathes on the fire.

                   
1st display       2nd display       3 display
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After the display, people read poem and prose of different nature.  Once their were read, the reader placed the paper into the fire to seal it's fate.

The LaRouche's had a wonderful fire pit in the back yard.  It was excellent to roast marshmallows, hotdogs and warms your hands!

Morris Dancers

Then came the Morris Dancers!  A morris dance is a form of English folk dance from as far back as 1448. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks and handkerchiefs were wielded by the dancers.
 

The audience was memorized by their spell.  Sorry that some of the photos and the video is so dark but, its was dark out.  Good sound though...

            
1st dance            2nd dance
2MB / 2 Minutes     3MB / 3 Minutes

Wintertime Wassail

Wassail is a centuries old English ceremonial cider used as an apple tree spirit offering during the Yuletide season to bless orchards and increase their yields. The word Wassail is from the Saxon for "Good Health" and a traditional toast is to hold high a cup of Wassail while exclaiming "Waes Heal!"

Here is our troop making thier way down to the garden.

Here is our newly planted apple tree that was the recipient of the wassailing.

Apple tree
1MB / 1 Minute

We ended the night  blessing the Christmas tree, little prose reading  and bided farewell to the end of long nights.

First Night is the Snow Queen's last

The Snow Queen reigned over the chilly streets of midtown Monday night, welcoming the new year with glitter and glamour.

Sandy LaRouche, dressed as Polera (aka Her Seldom Serene and Most Frigid Majesty The Snow Queen), tossed snowflakes made from shredded recycled bottles and passed out candy canes to her adoring subjects, including Jamera Taylor, 6.

"I saw the ice princess with the horsey," Jamera said between sips of hot chocolate.

The First Night party at Grand Center brought hundreds of friends and families together to celebrate an art-filled, alcohol-free New Year's Eve. Joyce Adams said she brought Jamera and her two other children from Madison to the party for a safe and new experience. LaRouche, a regular at the First Night celebrations, said this would be her last appearance as Polera.

"I'm too old and too fat," joked LaRouche, 68, of St. Louis.

The Snow Queen starred in a parade along Grand Boulevard in a horse-drawn carriage with her six youngest grandchildren, ages 4 to 12.

First Night celebrations started in Boston in 1976 as safe-outing alternatives that emphasize performing arts. The festivities were held Monday in more than 130 cities in Canada, New Zealand and the U.S., including Godfrey.

Crowds here gathered around street performers — magicians, jugglers and stilt-walkers. Dancers performed on two stages. The night's lineup also included two sets of fireworks, including an early show for the young and the vestless (as in the insulated type).

Freezing wind kept many revelers in the indoor venues. Third Baptist Church was packed for jazz singer Mae Wheeler's performance. Other performers included a hypnotist, flamenco dancers and storytellers. The Harris-Stowe State University Drum Line wowed the crowd with its precision moves in the parade and outside the Fox Theatre.

Micki Canfield of O'Fallon, Ill., watched the parade from inside a temporary coffeehouse set up at Grand and Washington boulevards. Her sons Jared, 9, and Josh, 6, stood outside on the parade route with dad Whit, a pilot stationed at Scott Air Force Base.

The boys had their resolutions for the night — Jared wanted to get in front of the television cameras, and Josh tried to get his new kazoo to work.

For Canfield, it was most important for the family to celebrate New Year's Eve in a special way, because Whit expects to be deployed to Iraq this summer. "We're trying to do all family stuff together in anticipation of his going away." she said.


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Last updated: Friday, November 14, 2008