Winter and the Evolution of Cloth Technology

With the winter season approaching, it is best to stock your cabinets and drawers with quality winter clothes to avoid frostbite and common colds brought on by the harsh elements. For most people living in areas where wintry months consume a large portion of the year, winter clothing may mean thick socks, thick scarves, and thick everything. Meanwhile, others would complete their winter attire with a pair of the so-called ice pants, complemented with an ultra thick goose-down jacket. Much of what makes winter apparel distinct from attire worn in other seasons is the material used and its composition.

History
In its most basic form, winter attire is comprised mainly of animal byproducts, including leather, wool, and fur. During the 19th century, average individuals wore easy-to-produce garments including leather boots and woolen coats to survive the unforgiving climates. Those with insufficient means usually resorted to layering their clothing plus an addition of a knitted woolen jacket or coat. These custom designed fabrics stayed in prevalent use for winter up until the contemporary era. With the augmentation of 3M's apparel insulation during the 70s, plus the artificial cold-weather textiles including polar fleece, winter clothes have become more affordable, lighter in composition, and simpler to fabricate.

Variety
Many current fabrics are generated in both warm- and cold-weather counterparts, with differences in the material used accordingly. Firms will usually have a standard A-line dress, for instance, and manufacture it from delicate cotton for use during summer months, and a fatter wool layer specially designed for the winter season. However, many particular garments are created merely for winter apparel. Caps, gloves, earmuffs, and scarves are a necessity for winter months, as is thermal undergarments. There is also a special kind of footwear for winter season, which usually changes from summer slippers to fleece laced boots and rugged shoes. For outdoors during cold weather, sturdy boots with spikes underneath are usually needed to walk through blocks of ice comfortably.

Location-Based Winter Clothing
Winter attires vary, depending on several factors - one of which is location. You'll find people wearing a different winter attire in Alaska from that of New York. The staple items are unchanged, yet the composition is completely different. Winter clothes in Alaska are designed to endure extreme weather conditions, such as blizzards and biting temperatures. Meanwhile, cold weather textiles in New York and other Eastern states consist of fewer layers and are not as rugged and solid as Alaskan attires are. In fact, most winter clothing in these regions are more fashion-oriented rather than function-oriented.

Length of Use
Because some winter clothes can be put in layers for improved warmth and insulation, it is feasible to wear some of the layers longer than others. Most people start using winter fashion clothes around late September, and utilize gloves and caps the earliest in mid November or early December.

Conclusion
With the constant advancement of clothing technology, mankind has been able to thrive through varying weather conditions and climate temperatures. And thanks to the evolution of clothing technology, people won't have to suffer from frostbite and chills every winter!

Kelsey Kvinge writes about fashion technology, business and more. Her proudest piece is on the Top 25 Best Value Online MBA Programs.

Winter: Viking Jul

By Michelle Styles

One of the great things about Christianity is that with festival and feasts, the early Christians did attempt to provide alternatives.  Although very early sources for Christians (including Hippolytus of Rome in the second century) indicated that Jesus was 8 days before the calends of January in the forty second year of Augustus’s reign, 25 December was not universally accepted as Christ’s nativity until 376 AD. For pagan who embraced Christianity, the idea that Christ brought light into the world meant they could continue with their feasts and festivals with a slightly different emphasis. For the Vikings, winter solstice was the time of Jul. Depending on the source, Jul was either a the darkest two months of the year or a three day feast centring around the winter solstice. Haakon I of Norway who brought Christianity to Norway had the feast of Jul moved to coincide with Christmas. He also caused many of the Jul celebrations to be absorbed into the Christmas feast. Norway became officially Christianised in 1000 AD.

Because Viking sources were written during  the 12^th century in Iceland, it is difficult to say the precise nature of the Viking Jul.  There are just snippets in various sagas. We know that it was a time of peace and good will. In various sagas, fights put off until after Jul. We know that drinking was involved (mostly ale), feasting and that there were probably fertility rites — possibly dancing as in long sword dancing or Morris dancing as well as singing.

Fire certainly played a part. The Yule log is a remnant of the celebration. Traditionally it burned for all 3 days of the Jul in order for the next harvest to be lucky. A bit of the old log was used to light the new log.

The Jul boar which remains in our Christmas ham was used to solemnise great oaths. Queen’s College Oxford still brings in a boar’s head for its Christmas feast. The bristles of a boar were supposed to give power to oaths and great misfortune would be fall anyone who broke the oath. In Scandinavia today, marzipan pigs are popular Christmas time treats. The boar was associated with Freyr who was the Norse god of fertility so it is possible the swearing of oaths had something to do with ensuring a good harvest for the next year.

A popular Scandinavian Christmas ornament is the Yule goat (I always think it looks like a reindeer). These are generally made of straw and go back to Thor whose chariot was pulled by two goats. Thor used to sacrifice his goats for feasting and then bring them back to life with his hammer.   The Christmas goat was thought to bring good luck and presents (until Father Christmas/Santa Claus became popular in the 19^th century). Originally though the Jul goat might have demanded presents. It is also associated with mischief and pranks, if the Yule celebrations are not done correctly.

Wassail or drinking from a communal bowl is thought to date from either the Anglo Saxons or the Vikings. Often times, it was associated with pouring libations on various trees (such as apples) to ensure a good harvest. Songs were sung and special dances performed. Some of these rituals still exist in various English villages. They do tend to happen after the traditional dates of Jul (more around mid January). It is where the tradition of singing carols comes from.

So while we may not know much about the precise nature of Viking Jul, various remnants remain and are enjoyed today.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide variety of time periods. Her next book An Ideal Husband? will be published in April 2013. She is currently writing stories set in the early Viking period. You can learn more about Michelle at www.michellestyles.co.uk.

Check out Michelle's Amazon Author, Facebook and Goodreads pages. Follow Michelle on Twitter.  

Winter Foolery by Kathryn Kopple

By Kathryn A.Kopple

As we go about our holiday preparations, we may want take a moment to reflect on the unruly origins of some of our holiest traditions.  Our modern feasting and gift-giving December customs are tame affairs compared to the madcap, authority debunking, and outlandish revelry associated with the Feast of Fools, a medieval free-for-all if there ever was one.  The good men and women of the Middle Ages took their cue from the Saturnalia celebrations of antiquity, and they celebrated much as the Romans did: servants got a free work pass, nobles were lorded over by their staff, and naïfs were esteemed as wise men.  Sartorial codes were cast aside, and those on the lowest rungs of society attended sumptuous banquets, where their masters waited on them hand and foot.  The clergy switched places with the laity, mocking the Church, its doctrines and rites.  A young boy might preside over services as bishop or even pope.  Piety was scorned.  Gambling was permitted.  People took to the streets.  They ate, drank, and were violently merry; most likely because when the partying ended what was there to look forward to but cold, darkness, and hunger.

A Roman Calendar depicting
Saturnalian dice on the table
via Wikimedia Commons

The Saturnalia is often described as a pagan holiday.   And yet the Roman celebration has roots in both pagan and early Christian cultures.  One of the most popular accounts of this time of epic feasting was penned by Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius (or simply “Macrobius,” who lived in the fifth century AD).  In “Saturnalia,” he describes himself as having been “born under foreign skies,” which has led to speculation that he may have been of Greek origin.   The book (a series of dialogues fashioned after Plato’s Symposium) is a compendium of Saturnalia practices, explanations of the Roman calendar, comparisons of pagan and Christian beliefs, the works of Vergil, as well as the meaning of insults,  jokes,  and riddles.  According to Macrobius, he and his guests spent most of a month celebrating the Saturnalia in this way: lazing about, philosophizing, debating, bantering, and, of course, drinking and feasting.

Other accounts describe the Roman Saturnalia as a one-day celebration to a week-long event coinciding with the winter solstice.   No serious business was to take place, people could dance naked, dice and other diversions (vices ordinarily) were perfectly acceptable.   Perhaps, in his infinite wisdom, Saturn thought a large dose of hedonism during one of the darkest times of the year would result in a happier society overall; or he may have felt that after, after all the hard work of sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting, people just needed a break.       

Ruins of the Temple of Saturn, Rome
via Wikimedia Commons

For the Romans, Saturn, often shown as wielding a scythe, ruled over agriculture.  The Greeks worshiped him as Cronus (sometimes called “Father Time”).  He was a Titan who had reined over a golden or mythical age of peace, civility, and prosperity.   However powerful, Cronus had his rivals, among them his father Uranus, whose eminent place in the Greek pantheon he usurped by having the Titan castrated.  Cronus then married his sister, Rhea, and together they had six children.  Believing his offspring—also being Titans—would scheme to overthrow him, Cronus ate one child after another as soon as they were born (as depicted in the unforgettable mural done by the Spanish painter Francisco José de Goya).  Only Zeus, with the help of his mother, survived.   She had Cronus served a potion that would cause him to vomit up their children (being gods they managed to survive their ordeal).  In accordance with his mother’s wishes, Zeus banished his father, along with the other Titans, to the furthest regions of the Underworld.


While the Romans worshiped Zeus or Jupiter (god of the sky) as the supreme overlord, they continued to pay their respects to Saturn.  Sun gods (Saturn was often referred to as the original sun) didn't die out so easily, never mind if they had been banished to the darkest places in the universe.  The Romans may have also felt themselves in some way as descended from Saturn, for it was widely believed that the Titan had sojourned in Italy.  It offers one explanation for enduring popularity of the Saturnalia.  Charity, exchanging gifts, during December holidays can be traced back to the Saturnalia, as well as our winter festivals of light and merriment.  Kings and queens, Catholics and Protestants, from different eras may have sought to put an end to all the carousing, but vestiges of the Saturnalia are still with us, despite its spirit of fun, foolery, and irreverence. 

Sources

The following sources were last consulted in December 2012

Cronus.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronus

Macrobious.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrobius

“Macrobius:  The Saturnalia” http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Macrobius/Saturnalia/home.html

“Praetextatus – Saeculum Praetextati: Macrobius’ Saturnalia”. www.maijastinakahlos.net/b/kirjoituksia/praetextatus/vettius-agorius-praetextatus-saeculum-praetextati-macrobius-saturnalia-ch-51/      

“SATURNALIA: Sub sole nihil novi”. http://www.economist.com/node/327504

Kathryn Kopple is the author of Little Velásquez, an historical set in 15^th century Spain.