Natural traditions

admin
, 26 December 2019
Natural traditions
Robin on Holly © Roger Wilmshurst

By Charlotte Owen

WildCall Officer

We all have our favourite Christmas traditions, and many of the oldest and best-known have nature at their heart.  From boughs of holly to bunches of mistletoe, potted Poinsettias and evergreen wreathes, millions of us have been re-wilding our homes for the festive season by bringing the outdoors in.

It would be ridiculous to suggest dragging a fully grown fir tree indoors at any other time of year but Christmas just wouldn’t be complete without one.  This hasn’t always been the case though, and the pioneers of this tradition would have drawn plenty of questioning looks at the time.  People were used to seeing evergreen branches and foliage used as decorations, and this ancient custom dates back thousands of years to the earliest winter solstice celebrations.  The green leaves and winter berries of holly, ivy and mistletoe symbolised new life and lifted spirits in the midst of a long, dark winter.  The concept of decorating an entire tree didn’t emerge until relatively recently, winding its way to Britain via Germany in 1800, and it wasn’t an instant hit.  The Christmas tree remained a quirk of the royal family until it was popularised by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1848, when it took the wealthy nobility by storm. 

We can thank the Victorians for many of today’s enduring Christmas traditions, including our love of the Robin.  Back in 1840, the launch of the Penny Post made it possible to send a letter anywhere in the British Isles for the modest sum of one penny.  Such an affordable new service immediately proved popular and generated a multitude of mail, which was delivered by postmen in brand new, bright red Royal Mail uniforms.  The red-breasted postmen were fondly nicknamed ‘robins’ and the birds soon featured on early Christmas cards – another new invention – allowing the Victorians to delight in the idea of a robin delivered by a Robin. 

The Christmas break provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy nature outdoors too, and Sussex has a lot to offer.  Whether you take a bracing coastal walk or peaceful woodland wander, I hope you enjoy our very own winter wonderland this festive season.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783279079.54070 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783279079.5670.0263Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783279079.56710.0001Server address: 216.73.216.170
1783279079.56720Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783279079.56720Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/natural-traditions
    [s] => natural-traditions
    [1] => natural-traditions
)
1783279079.56760.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783279079.56870.0012 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783279079.5710.0023 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783279079.57180.0008INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783279079.57370.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22663367
1783279079.57450.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22663367
1783279079.57550.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-05 19:18:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-05 19:18:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783279079.57710.0016 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='natural-traditions')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 19:18:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783279079.57980.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783279079.58080.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1928 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 19:18:00'
1783279079.58250.0017 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783279079.58340.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783279079.58450.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=181 LIMIT 1
1783279079.58530.0009Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783279079.58560.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783279079.58670.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 19:18:00' AND postSlug='natural-traditions'
1783279079.60750.0208Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783279079.60820.0007 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783279079.60990.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783279079.61020.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783279079.61120.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783279079.61340.0022 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783279079.6170.0037 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783279079.61770.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783279079.620.0022Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783279079.620.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783279079.62090.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783279079.62140.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783279079.62430.003 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783279079.62550.0012 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783279079.62650.001 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783279079.630.0035 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783279079.6310.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783279079.63320.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783279079.63370.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783279079.63410.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783279079.63490.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783279079.63530.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='natural-traditions')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 19:18:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783279079.63740.0021 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783279079.6380.0007 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783279079.64190.0039Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783279079.64350.0016 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1928 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783279079.69760.0541 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783279079.6980.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783279079.69840.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783279079.69990.0014 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783279079.70080.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783279079.70160.0008 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783279079.70390.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783279079.70460.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783279079.70690.0023 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783279079.70810.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783279079.70880.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783279079.70940.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783279079.71190.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783279079.71240.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783279079.71470.0023 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783279079.7190.0043 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783279079.71990.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783279079.72050.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783279079.7230.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783279079.72370.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783279079.7260.0023 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783279079.72980.0039 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783279079.73080.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783279079.73130.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783279079.73360.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783279079.73440.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783279079.73640.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783279079.73810.0017Request time: 0.2008
1783279079.73810Process time: 0.2006
1783279079.73810Memory: 1.6217