Autumn time, time of candles and tea lights

[chattius 2,792]

The english wiki names them Christmas Pyramids. Where I live they are not limited to christmas and have different names:

Weihnachtspyramide = X-mas pyramide

Adventsmühle, with 4 candles for the 4 advent weeks, Mühle = mill, and it looks like a windmill

Fenstermühle: because they are used to be placed at windows and people could watch from outside

 

Nowadays many people buy them and no longer do them on their own, Adventsmühle (4 Candles):

 

 

some are even from metal (around 5-10 euro) and for single tea lights:

 

The heat from the tea light makes the rotor moving. In old times they were carved in winter times. My ancestors were wood workers and used to do all types of these: from hand size up to several metres and planed to be installed on market places.

 

 

We decided to do a project involving whole family to do a self made one following the century old traditions. I hope to finish it within the 4 weekends I will be at home. So the first one will be a rather small project:

 

 

The one at my grandparents is nearly 100 years old and uses mirrors to throw moving shadows on the wall, was made in a time before TV and ours shows wolves hunting a deer. It is very complex and has several levels.

[gogoblender 3,673]

I have never heard or read about anything like this. I wish I had more crafters in my family, all I seemed to inherit was vast amounts of toe-tapping spam power Chattius, you're fortunate to have so much skill, knowledge and history passed down. We don't do stuff like this, except I think for the purchase of a Christmas or advent calender? Where you knock out the holes and get a chocolate every once in a while?

 

 

gogo

[chattius 2,792]

Think it fits here:

I got 3 more 'Holzbücher' as X-mass gift (from oldest daughter, daughter of my sister and wife of my little brother, the 3 worked together to do them), now it are 218 books created while the last 100+ years. Holzbücher translate as wooden books. It is a book from wood and each one holds a collection of pieces from a certain tree or bush. As kids our grandpa taught us how to do them, they demand a lot of time. When becoming 16 each member of the family created a book and added it to the family collection. My family were woodworkers and the wooden books were used as teaching material, rememberance of family members (a picture of the creator is included), ...

 

The books cover a whole wall in the old 'Schreibraum' (writing room/office) of the house. It was the room were sales and orders were discussed and sealed with a drink. Having an open oven and old hunting trophies covering the walls it is now more a family museum room. When relatives are visiting they always look at the book they did and show it to their kids, husbands, ...

 

Picture of a part of the famous work of Schildbach who did more than 500 books from different trees. The Schildbach collection is now at a museum in Kassel/Hessen/Germany:

 

A book holds leaves, discs from trunk, blossoms, fruits, seed, piece from bark, a piece of charcoal from the tree, .... And in our family a picture of the person who did it.

 

You start in spring with collecting tree parts and collect till autumn and then you have to craft the book in a nearly air tight way. The class of our second daughter was visiting our collection and the female teacher asked if the books were hard to do. She planed to have each kid of her class (and coming classes, she is only 31) doing such a book before leaving school and so build up a nice school Xylotheque. Xylotheque is not the real fitting word (collection of wood). What we have and she is planing is more a bibleotheque of wood books, but could be named xylotheque in a broader meaning. Also she will do pictures of the kids on the books, so she and others can remember the old classmates.

Edited January 4, 2011 by chattius

[chattius 2,792]

School bazaar is collecting self made pieces from kids, so we plan doing some chestnut, acorns, rose-hips, tree-roots and bee-wax creatures when we return fromadvent-market in town. Hope we are as good as these pictures when we are ready

 

chestnut people

 

bee-wax candles

 

 

candle-holders from tree roots

[gogoblender 3,673]

The pix are awesome Chattius. lol, last night, while I was having dinner with my cousin's at my Aunt and Uncle's place, while just drinking around table with me and my cousins, Kandy, one of my cousins' wife, just whipped out a square with needle and started crafting there in front of us!

 

Guess our drinking talk was boring her, but I was intrigued by her ability to 'craft" right there on the spot. Comparable to whipping out an Ipod or Nexus and just gaming away?

 

Would love to see what you guys put together for the bazaar, hope you're able to put together some pix for us.

 

 

gogo

[chattius 2,792]

Chainsaw massacre yesterday after work. I opened the forest from 3-4:30pm, so people could go for a x-mas tree. Probably you know already that I have the philosophy to don't throw anything away. So the trunk pieces from shortening were sold for :50 Euro each by my 8 year old. They can be used for some nice decoration done by kindergarten kids.

Really easy: horizontal cut to have a stand, 60 degree cut for the face, done. Some Black, white and green colour and the kids and parents are happy. Easy to do, can be place indoors and outdoors

 

 

Or for halloween and walburgis

[chattius 2,792]

Today 4th of decembre is Barbaratag - Barbara's Day. Saint Barbara is the patron of Firemen and artillery men, so working with explosives at work - I am hoping that the looks a bit about the little Chattius.

There is an old story that Saint Barbara found a cherry twig stuck to her clothes when she was brought to prison. She used her drinking water to keep it alive. The day she was executed the twig had blossoms, so she took this as a sign of God that there will be a life after death.

I was cutting a cherry tree in shape yesterday and the twigs were giving to friends of family, classmates of kids, ... If put in a vase today they may blossom at x-mas with a high priobability.

 

An english page about the Barbara-Twig: http://www.german-wa...rbarazweig.html

Wiki about Saint Barbara: http://en.wikipedia....I/Saint_Barbara

Older Darkmatters thread: http://darkmatters.o...ch&fromsearch=1

 

Well, I picked one twig for all friends I can't see real life and I hope it blossoms at x-mas. Which would be a sign of good luck for the coming year.

 

 

Do you have old pre-xmas or xmas traditions too?

In two days (6th) is Nikolaus-Day. Kids will place their boots at the door and Santa Nikolaus will put nuts, sweets and other small presents in.

 

[gogoblender 3,673]

Love the story! And that's a great tradition, hoping for the bloom. I've done no decorating yet, but always indulge, no better way to feel good about this time of year.

 

 

gogo