There lives at Woodside a small community of tiny woodland folk

The Fey
of
Woodside
There lives at Woodside a small community of tiny woodland folk.
Those characters consist of faeries, elves, brownies, gnomes and goblins.
They call themselves ‘The Fey’.
Each little group has a role to play; the faeries undertake the tasks such as cooking, washing,
and tending the children. The elves are workmen and builders and make all the furniture and
keep their homes in good repair. It’s the job of the brownies and gnomes to protect and care for all
the lovely trees, flowers and wildlife that live in the gardens at Woodside. The goblins, as you
would expect, are lazy, naughty little creatures who try not to do any work at all, but spend
their days getting up to mischief and playing tricks on the rest of the Fey and humans alike!
The faeries are happy, sociable creatures who like nothing better than
merrymaking on their eight seasonal festivals, or playing a game of
rounders by the light of a full moon.
For most of the year the woodland folk are invisible to the human eye. They are there, but it is
as though they are looking at us through a window where they can see us but we can’t see them.
This is known as living in another realm. Twice a year on the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes
the walls of the realm grow very thin and it is often possible to catch a glimpse of the tiny
creatures as they go about their daily business.
The faeries have a calendar of social events they call festivals, and they are as follows.
The Woodside Fey begin their annual celebrations on 31st October which is the start of their new
year. They call this festival Samhain (pronounced ‘Sa-wheen’). It is the time we humans call
Halloween. The faerie folk celebrate with a party and raise a glass of elderberry wine to welcome
the start of winter, a time when the new life of all the flowers and trees tremble and begin to
grow again deep beneath the ground.
Their next celebration is on 21st December, known as Yule, when they greet the waxing year
that will last until mid summer (21st June). In these celebrations they re-enact a battle
between two kings, the Oak King and the Holly King, the Oak King wins and reigns until
midsummer, the Woodland folk dress up in clothes of red and green, and dance and sing until
dawn.
On 2nd February the Fey don their warmest clothes and party again, this time the festival is called Imbolc. It
is a time when the first tiny buds start to appear on the trees and hedgerows, snowdrops push their first tentative
green fingers out of the earth and the early lambs are born. Spring has sprung, and the faerie folk celebrate with
Bramble-Tip wine and Saffron cakes topped with snowy white icing.
At the end of March on the 21st day is a festival call ‘Eostara’. The Spring Equinox, when the day equals
night, and the walls of the realms between Humans and Fey are very thin. It’s at this time of year the
Woodland Folk plan their year ahead and have a grand meeting led by Mother Nature, who allocates all the
chores and duties that need to be done in the year ahead. Once everyone has been given a task to perform they
round off the occasion with a magnificent feast.
On 30th April comes the most joyful of all festivals, Beltane. This is when all the Fey weddings take place
and the Woodland folk dress in pale pink or lemon rose petals and wear wreaths of daisies in their hair. Each
bride has to provide a platter of cakes or sandwiches and the grooms’ a pitcher of wine, ale or cider. The couples
then dance around the hawthorn tree, the sacred tree of fertility, and beg it to bless their union.
Midsummer, 21st June, sees the battle begin again between the Oak King and the Holly King.
This time the Holly King, ruler of the waning years is the conqueror and he will reign over the
Woodland Folk and the greenwood until Yule when the battle will start all over again.
Once again the party proceeds with Blackberry wine and feasting, but not until the faeries versus
elves pitch their skills against one another in the annual Midsummer Cricket Match, the faeries wear
the red of the Holly Kings and the elves the green of the Oak King and the rest of the Woodland Folk
shout and cheer on their favourite team.
The Harvest festival falls on 31st July known to the Fey as Lammas. This time the little community pay
homage to the Sun to thank it for shining on their crops and helping them grow and ripen so they can store
their bounty away to feed their families through the dark winter days and nights. It is also the naming
ceremonies of all the newborn babies and each and every child is brought before the Faerie Queen so she can
choose him or her a suitable name.
The last celebration of the year is the Autumn Equinox, again the walls of the realms are very thin and
it’s just possible if you’re lucky, to catch sight of the Woodland Folk feasting on fresh baked loaves,
apple wine and cider as they celebrate the completion of their harvesting of all the nuts and fruits in
the hedgerows. This festival falls on 23rd September. At the end of the day when all the tiny folk
have had their fill, they sit around a bonfire and sing songs about the seasons.
Artwork by www.potting-shed-cartoons.co.uk