Hypnogoria: THE OLDTIME YULETIDE ADVENT CALENDAR

Welcome dear friends back to the Hypnogoria Old-time Yuletide Advent Calendar! And today are rolling open Door 10 to reveal what J stands for. And J shall be for Joseph. However we are not talking about the father of Jesus, rather we shall explore the legends concerning Joseph of Arimathea.

Now according to all four gospels, Joseph of Arimathea was the man who took charge of the burial of Jesus after the Crucifixion, and paid for the tomb. However he remains shrouded in mystery. For example, we are not even sure where Arimathea was supposed to be.

And wherever there is a gap in our knowledge, folks soon begin speculating and the space fills up with ideas and theories. And so it was with Joseph of Arimathea. An early mediaeval concept was that he was a relation of Jesus, with scholars of the day claiming he was an uncle of Jesus, although they could not agree whether he was on Mary or Joseph's side of the family. Another theory claimed he was a secret disciple.

Over time a large number of legends began to form around this mystery benefactor, and by the 12th century had become very intriguing indeed. To begin with it was claimed that Joseph was a tin merchant and as such had travelled often to Britain, in particular Cornwall, to get supplies from the famous Cornish tin mines. Furthermore, as the uncle of Christ, the child Jesus had accompanied him on several of these trips.

However the legends go further, after the Crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea became the first guardian of the Holy Grail, the cup used in the Last Supper. And according to many legends, he brought the Grail to Glastonbury where it remains hidden to this very day.

But regarding Christmas, it is another incident while Joseph was visiting Glastonbury that earns him a place in this advent calendar. He arrived at Glastonbury on Christmas Day,. and had climbed up what we now know as Wearyall Hill, not far from the famous Tor, and made camp for the night. And before he went to sleep he planted his walking staff in the ground. However in the morning it was discovered that overnight a miracle had occurred, the wooden staff had taken root and burst into branch and flower, becoming the famous Glastonbury Thorn.

Now while this origin tale is firmly in the land of legend, the Glastonbury Thorn is a real tree, and it certainly has remarkable properties. For while it is a hawthorn tree, it flowers twice a year, in the spring as you expect, but it also flowers at Christmas. For many centuries, the tree became a place of pilgrimage, however in 1653 it was reported by Bishop Goodman of Gloucester that a fanatical Puritan had chopped it down. However the Thorn evidently survived this attack, for cuttings were taken, and the tree that survives today in Glastonbury Abbey was grown from one of these cuttings.

In the reigns of James I, Charles I and later Charles II flowering boughs from the Thorn were presented to the monarch at Christmas. And in 1929 the tradition was revived with the Vicar and Mayor of Glastonbury sending a budding bough from the Thorn to King George V and Queen Mary. And the tradition continues to this very day, with the new King Charles III due to receive a flowering bough from the current Thorn, that stands in the grounds of the Church of St John, in Glastonbury, this Christmas.