36 



NA TURE 



[November 12, 1908 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



[The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions 



expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake 



to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected 



manuscripts intended for this or any other part o/ Nature. 



The Origin of Advent, and other Three Weeks' 

 Celebrations. 



From a series ot measurements of solstitial monuments 

 in Cornwall and Wales, Sir Norman Lockyer has advanced 

 the theory that such monuments were erected, not so 

 much to mark the exact solstice, as to give ample warn- 

 ing of that phenomenon. I have suggested from evidence 

 in connection with fairs that the period of warning was 

 three weeks, and Mr. W. E. Rolston finds measurements 

 of three solstitial alignments, two at Tregaseal and one 

 at Longstone, marking sunrise three weeks before the 

 solstice. 



When we come to think of it, marking the exact solstice 

 sunrise must have been a difficult task. For three weeks 

 or so, the sun's declination at the solstice is within one 

 degree. Though the apparent stand-stillness of the sun at 

 that point must have greatly impressed people from the 

 earliest period, yet the Irish bard Amairgen could still 

 boast : — 



the spot wlic 



5t,s(bl,t I)? 



The astronomical three weeks' warning referred to 

 seems to me to be the origin of our Christian Advent and 

 Lent. What was intended as an astronomical warning of 

 the solstice became, or most likely was from the first, a 

 period of preparation for a great festival. 



As to Advent, Daniel observes : — " The name Advent 

 does not appear to have come into general use until long 

 after the setting apart of the season which it designates, 

 and the Greek Church to this day has no corresponding 

 name for it" ("The Prayer-Book, " p. 197). The season 

 seems to be at first strictly limited to three Sundays, as 

 the Bobbio Missal gives only three masses in Advcnln 

 Domini (Duchesne, " Christian Worship," p. 158). The 

 commencement of the Advent season is associated with 

 St. Andrew's Day, November 30, three weeks before the 

 solstice. 



The origin, use, and length of Lent have been similarly 

 affected by Christian usage. Duchesne says that " at 

 Rome it was the custom to observe the (Lenten) fast for 

 only the last three weeks before Easter " (p. 2-43). " There 

 were, however. Churches in which, up to the fifth century. 

 Lent consisted of only three weeks of fasting " (p. 244). 

 The inference is irresistible, that before Lent was made 

 dependent on a movable Easter, it was a period of warn- 

 ing and preparation for a great solar festival. 



But the question arises. Was the three weeks' interval 

 measured from the exact date of the festival it led up to, 

 or was it simply obtained by dividing the time between 

 a May -year festival and a solstitial or an equinoctial one? 



St. .'\ndrew's Day, November 30, is mid-way between 

 the astronomical Hallowe'en (November 8) and the winter 

 solstice. .At Llangcfui, .Anglesey, that whole period of six 

 weeks, roughly, has been observed by six weekly fairs. 

 The forty days of Lent is, of course, a similar arrange- 

 ment for celebrating the whole period between a Mav-year 

 festival and a solstitial one. 



But it is to be noted, by the early observance of both 

 Advent and Lent, that the last three'weeks were of chief 

 importance. .At Magor, Mon., three weekly fairs used 

 to be held immediately before Easter, a circumstance some- 

 what incompatible with the purpose of the Christian Lent, 

 which, however, may be regarded as a curve in the evolu- 

 tion of Lent. 



The calendar seems to be responsible for some displace- 

 ment of the original three weeks' interval. Thus there 

 are fairs held at Llanerchvmedd, Anglesev, on the 

 three first Wednesdays after "November 13, or Old All 

 H.tHows. 



To answer the question I have put, we must first ron- 

 NO. 2037, "^'OL. 79] 



sider the yearly course of the sun as divided into sixteen 

 equal parts, or rough three-weel-cs' units, as follows : — 



January 14. 

 F'ebruary 4 M. 

 February 27. 

 March 21 S. 

 April 12. 



May 6 M. 

 May 29. 

 June 22 S. 

 July ifa. 

 .August S M. 

 September i. 



September 23 S. 

 October 16. 

 November 8 M. 

 November 30. 

 December 23 S. 



M = May-year, S = Solstitial-year. 



Treating Lent as originally a warning . of the vernal 

 equinox, if not of the February festival, 1 begin with the 

 May-day warning. 1 note four fairs held on April 15, 

 exactly twenty-one days before the astronomical May-day, 

 May 6, while the dividing point of the sun's course 

 between the vernal equino.x and May 6 is April 12, so the 

 three weeks were counted as from May-day. The places 

 are Ystradgynlais, Carmarthen, Penmarlc, and Penderyn. 

 At three other places the fairs are held on April 16, namely, 

 Abcrdaw, Llangathen, and Devynnock. 



That April 15 has reference to May 6 is fairly certain, 

 because of the persistence, in spite of the calendar, of the 

 astronomical May-day as a fair-day. At ten places in 

 Wales fairs are held on May 6, namely, .Aberccnnen, 

 Laugharne, Castell Bychan, Mon., Castleton, Mon., 

 Llanfynydd, Newcastle, Pemb., Llanfair Caereinion, 

 Llangynog, Llanerchymedd, and Nantglyn. I have given 

 the names of the places because of many facts connected 

 with them which deserve further study in this connection. 

 l-'or instance, Ystradgynlais, Penderyn, and Devynnock 

 occupy different slopes of the same mountain range, the 

 Brecknock Beacons, where the May-year survives in its 

 glory. Again, in all Wales it is probable that the tradi- 

 tions of May-day have not been better preserved than in 

 the neighbourhood of Laugharne, where prehistoric monu- 

 ments are numerous. 



It may be said, then, that there was a three weeks* 

 interval depending on May-day, and reckoned from that 

 date. 



Coming to the summer solstice, I note three fairs held 

 on May 31, three weeks as reckoned from the solstice, 

 instead of May 29. The places are Llangollen, Llan- 

 brynmair, and Talgarth. The two-days' fair at Car- 

 marthen, June 3, 4, leads up to June 24. The summer 

 solstice is observed by fairs at Llandilo Fawr, Llantwit 

 Major, Emlyn, Llanerchymedd, and Ely Bridge. 



l3epending on the .August festival (August 8) are 

 intervals of three weeks both before and after that date. 

 .At Llanerchymedd, fairs are held on the three Wednes- 

 days before -August 7. That takes us back to July 17. 

 The true commencement of the preparatory interval would 

 be July 18, and not ifi, as per table given. There are 

 fairs at Haverfordwest and Llanidloes on July 18, and 

 one on July 19 at Caerphilly. It is interesting to note 

 that a ten-days' fair at Warrington, Lanes, commenced 

 on July 18. At two contiguous places, occupying different 

 slopes of the same mountain range, the three weeks* 

 interval is reckoned after the August festival. There are 

 fairs held at Rhayader, Radnorshire, on August 6 and 27, 

 and at Rhos, Cardiganshire, on August 5 and 26. 



I find only one warning interval of the autumnal 

 equinox, but it is as decisive as any. At a noted moun- 

 tain fair-place, called Waen, where the boundaries of 

 Breconshire, Monmouthshire, and Glamorganshire meet, 

 fairs are held on .September 2 and 24. 



That there was a three weeks' interval depending on 

 .All Hallows is shown in the case of Llanerchvmedd, where 

 fairs are held on the three first Wednesdays after 

 November 13, Old .AH Hallows. The commencement of 

 a preparatory three weeks' interval, leading up to 

 November 8, would be October t8, and fairs are held on 

 that date at Haverfordwest and Myddfai. The latter place 

 is famous for its wealth of tradition. .At Llanfechell, 

 .Anglesey, fairs are held on November 5 and 25, which 

 should be compared with the Llanerchymedd fairs in the 

 same county. 



Fairs are held on November 30, St. Andrew's Day, in 

 Cardiff and at Llansannan, and that was the date of the 

 commencement of a ten-davs' fair at Warrington. 



