Liminal Time: The Spirits of the 12 Days of Christmas
In Dickens’ a Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge was visited by three ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. To our modern eye, this classic of literature may seem weird and an oddity with contrast to the joyful image of Santa Clause… but in centuries past this idea of ghosts visiting was not an uncommon fear. Traditionally, the Christmas period began on Christmas Day and ran for twelve days ending on Twelth Night (or Epiphany). During this period, the world locked down, feasting and merriment was encouraged, and much like in the present time often had no meaning. While we think Christmas is all about celebrations, sometimes darker forces were at work behind the scenes, and this liminal period of the year was filled with all manner of ghosts, demons, angels, and saints. In this presentation we go through each of the Twelve Days and look at some of the the unique traditions of Britain, and meet some of the interesting characters believed to roam around.(Image: Mari Llwyd)
Speaker Bio:
Benjamin Stimpson is an award-winning Welsh based writer, independent researcher, podcaster, and public speaker on folk practice, occultism, medieval history, and British folklore. Benjamin holds a BA (Hons) minoring in Classical, Medieval and Religious Studies from the University of Waterloo as well as a Diploma in Spiritual Psychotherapy. His research focusses on medieval and early modern folk practice, the folklore and history of magic and witchcraft, and applied modern spiritual practice. He is the author of the award-winning Ancestral Whispers: A Guide to Developing Ancestral Veneration Practices (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2023), and his most recent: Of Toads and Hares: The Witches and Wisewomen of England (History Press, 2026), his work has been endorsed by such experts in the field as Professor Ronald Hutton, Dr Owen Davies, Dr Tabitha Stanmore, and Dr Christina Oakley Harrington. To find out more, please visit www.benstimpson.com
Hosted & Curated By:
Lena Schattenherz Heide-Brennand is a Norwegian lecturer with a master degree in language, culture and literature from the University of Oslo and Linnaeus University. She has been lecturing and teaching various subjects since 1998. Her field of interest and main focus has always been topics that others have considered strange, eccentric and eerie, and she has specialised in a variety of dark subjects linked to folklore, mythology and Victorian traditions and medicine. Her students often point out her thorough knowledge about the subjects she is teaching, in addition to her charismatic appearance. She refers to herself as a performance lecturer and always gives her audience an outstanding experience
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