Happy Michaelmas!

Happy Michaelmas! Welcome to the fall. Besides it being the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, today is the day that marks the fall term in English schools. From now until Christmas is Michaelmas term. According to legend you better eat your fill of blackberries today because tomorrow they will be rotten. Satan comes and snatches them up or something :) It's a cute legend.

Here is Michael himself. It took me a long time to find a manly portrait. He's still got girly hair. Who says angels have long hair? The Renaissance strikes again!
Either way, I'm sure glad I'm on the right side of this guy :) His sword is intimidating enough.

Rev 12:7-12ab

War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is called the Devil and Satan,
who deceived the whole world,
was thrown down to earth,
and its angels were thrown down with it.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who accuses them before our God day and night.
They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them.”

Hallelujah. Victory belongs to our God! AMEN

Names of the week

This week I am putting up a couple names. I've been obsessing about them equally. It's a strange obsession because in the past I have had very few favorite names that start with 's.'

Sunniva- (soon-EEva) (sun-EEva) This is a Norwegian name that means "sun gift." It was derived from Sunngifu a name that reportedly belonged to an Irish princess, but the name has Old English elements. The story goes that in the 900's an Irish princess fled with her brother and maidens from the prospect of an unhappy marriage. They settled in a cave on the coast of Norway. After a while, locals found the cave closed off by a landslide. In the 11th century King Olaf Tryggvason came along and decided to excavate. He was reported to have found the saint's body intact and he built a church in her honor.
Here is a statue of Sunniva in the Bergen museum.

Siri- (See-ree) This is a shortened form of Sigrid, which means "beautiful victory." I always thought Nordic names were the worst out of all European varieties, but then I found out that they don't pronounce 'd' as harshly as we do in English. Here is a link to the Norwegian pronunciation of Sigrid.

Solveig- Another name that looks ugly but sounds quite pretty in Norwegian. It means "sun way" most likely, but also possibly "sun strength." A few ladies spell this name Solvei so that it is easier to pronounce for English speakers. An extra plus to this name is Grieg's Peer Gynt. Solveig's Song is beautiful.

Suvi- This is a Finnish name. It is the poetic word for "summer." It's pronounced here. I just find it beautiful!
So, four 'S' names. How to choose?!