Spring Equinox and the Arrival of Callum Jake Bull.

                            

We were all ready to celebrate the spring equinox on March 20^th, but before we could, Jen and Mark’s babe announced his arrival at 06.41 Greenwich Meantime. Perhaps, instead of a stork, it was a dove who brought him for his name is said to mean Dove King.  Welcome, please, the newest member of our family : Callum Jake Bull, weighing in at a hefty 3.4 kilos.  

Sometimes also spelled Calum or Calumn, his name derives from the Latin for dove, the symbol of peace and purity. The name is also associated with Saint Columba, an early Celtic saint who was based on the island of Iona. The family are certainly cooing with pleasure and delight over the bonnie bairn.

To mark the arrival of spring I’m recording a few of the spring flowers that are gracing our garden: the prunus and forsythia are among the first to show their vibrant tones, heralding warmer days to come.

                               

                       

The beautiful narcissus hangs her head modestly, while our pear blossom bears the    promise of a summer harvest.            

                                                                                          

Zissis and I celebrated my birthday quietly, having lunch at a restaurant I’ve been wanting to go to for a little while, and it didn’t disappoint. Mine was a big birthday – I’ve been retired for some time so I’m sure you can do the Math, as they say stateside.  Friends and family kindly sent on greetings cards, but those which bore the numerical evidence of my ageing were placed at the back of the display and at one point I even toyed with the idea of ‘adapting’ them with magic markers and glitter. I know lady friends of mine are equally surprised and reticent to announce the great new decade we are entering together.

                                              

However, on a more positive note, I have decided the celebrations will continue. Zissis and our nephew, Nikos, share the same birthday – so an occasion for a family get-together.

                                                                       

 On Saturday we head to Britland – and who knows what Brexit monsters await us there! :o                           But we have more family to meet up with and metaphorically wet wee Callum’s head!

In the meantime, I’m putting the finishing touches to my talk at the IATEFL Conference, Liverpool.

 Wish me luck!

                              

                               

Naming Baby, Oran and Celtic Mythology.

Jenny, our incredible niece, has just celebrated her birthday on March 13^th, but new babe did not make his expected arrival on March 12^th. Jenny puts this Jexit delay down to politicians dragging their feet on the Brexit issue!

                                                                

 I had helped compile a list of Scottish names which seemed greatly imbalanced on the male side – and that was the gender turned out to be! There are some beautiful names but Tiree and Canna had to be vetoed as possibilities, as had Terry and Eddie – the family surname being …. Bull!

 Just yesterday Jen mentioned the name, Oran, which she said she thought meant, green tree. That got me involved in two trains of thought:

• The colour green – as mentioned in my ‘Wee Trip to Glasgow’ post of 16/8/2018 – is translated into Gaelic as glas, Glasgow being ‘the dear green place’. Glas can be used as shades of grey – and no, I don’t know how many! But oran can mean green as well: a light, or pale green, or ‘little green one’, which, of course, can be rendered as ‘a tree’. If we compare it with glas, could oran refer to a more vibrant green, perhaps?
• Modern Scottish Gaelic also uses oran in the sense of a song, or melody.

                                                     

I’d like to take a little detour here and tell a personal story. When young, we lived for some years in an old manse, beyond which on a hill-top stood a single tree, Oran tree. This is not a picture of that tree, but serves in some way to convey its windswept solitariness.  My grandmother said it took its name from an old settlement on that hill near Kilberry. For me the tree was always significant: it stood proud on the skyline and when I first went to school, from the yard I would gaze longingly at it from a different perspective. When I felt homesick, its image gave me support; it meant home to me.     

                                               

Years later, I was amazed when a medium in Edinburgh was able to describe Oran tree to me in great detail, describing it as a symbol of home! 

When Mum came to build her house in Innellan in the early 1980s, we decided Oran would be an ideal name: a song or melody.

 Strangely now, the shades, symbolism and semantics of oran seem to be merging!

                                                           

            

 Looking further into Celtic lore produced several in points of interest.

The tree of life is a well-known symbol in many cultures, going back presumably to man’s animistic past.  But the Celtic Tree of Life has its own unique features in that its branches fold round to form a circle with its roots. This design is associated with the harmony in nature, wisdom, long-life, rebirth and the circle of life. It is seen as a magical being and serves as a doorway to the spirit world.  

                                                         

Oran, or Ordhan, was a 6^th century Irish saint who was a contemporary of Saint Columba on Iona. He was said to uphold truth above all, to be a man of sound and generous judgement.

But it is in its musical sense where there lies a wonderful tale. Oran Mor – or Great Music – is a fairly common phrase in Gaelic, mostly referring to the music of the bagpipes, in particular, the pibroch. On a more spiritual level, Oran Mor is said to represent the music of mankind, and the universality of nature. In Celtic cosmology, it serves as the fundamental Myth of Creation: it is the Mighty Melody, the breath of the primordial god who sang Oran Mor and brought Creation into existence.

So there we are – delightful tales of man striving to comprehend the great mysteries of life. Oran is clearly a fine name to bear, being associated with cosmology, music, and the vitality of life ready to flourish and develop fine characteristics.

Now Jen, Mark – and Kubrick! – may not finally decide on that name – no pressure, guys! - but we know this little boy will be thrice-blessed on becoming a member of this talented, loving family!

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