Heaven and Hell

When we die, where we will go? In Japan, people who did benevolence when he or she alive go heaven, which is over the sky and people who did vice when they alive go hell, which is under earth. This idea from Buddhism, and Christian idea is same this. However, Celtic heaven is on the sea as island, Northern European heaven is top of tree, Yggdrasill, and hell is under earth. Celtic haven't hell, and Northern European heaven and hell a little different from Buddhism's and Christian one. People who chose by Walkure can go heaven. Go heaven or hell isn't decide by their act when they alive. Only strong people can chose and go heaven.

Creatures

Today I'll talk about creatures in fairy tales or mythologies.
I think many people know some of those: such as Dragon, Unicorn, Pegasus, Griffin or and so on, because they have told in all medias. They have part of some animals. For example, Unicorn has one-horn of Narwhal in hose's body, Pegasus has wing in hose's body. Griffin has eagle's head and wing and lion's body.
There are some creatures who don't have part of another animals. For example, Fenrir , the told in Northern myth, is large large wolf. It looks like normal wolf, but there is no wolf such as large one. It's creature. Loogaroo is also wolf, but it is appearance which human turned into it. Cu Sith is large large dog, and Cait Sith is cat who can walk with hind leg (Sith means fairy).
People have created many creatures that people never seen. I don't know they are genuinely came from imagination. Some creatures came from mistake. Person who looked dugong thought it is mermaid. Which is first? Mistake or imagination?

Avalon―the apple

Avalon is legendary island. It is heaven for the Celts. They say that King Arthur sleep in there. There is some opinion which is where is the island. One of them told that the island is Glanstonbury.
Avalon means island of apple. In Celtic, aval(abal, afal) means apple, so they say that the word, aval, changed in avalon.
The apple is symbol of the immortality, and same time, it is symbol of the death. Pick apple, the symbol of the immortality means death, so the apple have two meanings which are disagree with each other. It have more means when it is drew as a coat of arms/crest; love, rejuvenation, full of vitality, and also kingdom of ground(with cross).
An Apple is told everywhere. The Bible say Adam and Eve eat it and then be banished. The Greek myths say there is beautiful grove which has tree of golden apple.
In Celtic, there is Mag Mell as home of dead. It is put into gratify field. It is said that there are so many apples which never run out.
In any story, apple is told with paradise. Why people think apple as tree with paradise? It is very interesting point.

Halloween and Obon

It doesn't suit this season, I'll talk about Halloween today. Halloween, you know, is American feast. On the day, children parade and visit houses with make up as some ghost or witch, and they say "trick or treat." Originally, it came from Celt. The day was the last day of year and ancestral ghost visit their descendant on that day. Also witch, spirit or fairy comes out. It is said that "Fairy Ride" run around on the day. If people went out, they were caught by it and will never return. So people don't go out. Instead, to greet their ancestor or to wish fairies don't mischief, they put a cup of milk and a little food beside windows. On the next day, if it disappeared, it means their ancestor has came back safely.
Celt have samhain after Halloween as start of years. And between these days there are no border earth and the other side. So ghost came out to visit home, and others which harm people or domestic animals came out too. It looks like "OBON", the festival in Japan. It is on from 13rd from 15th, July. Japanese greet their ancestral ghost on the day. On the day, we display Japanese lantern to see ancestor there is the house which they should return and see them off with light of Japanese lantern as same as the start. It is said that people who stick to the road could hear the sound that the gate of underworld on the day.

Fairy

Today I'll talk about fairies. People draw them as pretty and cute. They are not only cute but also cruel. Do you know about fairy circles? It is said that they are made after fairies danced in a round. If people set foot in one, they must dance with the fairies until the fairies become weary or the human dies. There are fairies who eat people such as Kelpie and there are those who look like ghosts. There are also those who bring death to people who look at them or hear their voice. Like this, fairies aren't only cute, but rather it should be said that some are innocentlly cruel. And they connote an instinctual terror. (Fairies who eat people don't eat people because of hatred or pleasure.)

Food and World

In the world there are some similar story. I'll talk you about one of them.
In Japan, there are story which don't eat "YOMI"'s foods. It is called "YOMOTSU-HE-GUI", means eat foods which are cooked at underworld. If eat it, the one will die. And we can see similar in Greek myths; Persephone was wanted back to ground, but she ate Hades's pomegranate, she couldn't get back completely. It is seen in Fairy Tail, too. It says if people who strayed into fairy's world want to get back one's home, he or she must not eat there's foods.
Why eating foods of another world cause to belong to that world? Because food is three major desire? I don't know why, but I think it is very interesting.

Death, living and paradise

In this world, there are a lot of life as same as death. What is death? If people died, they would where to go? From long time ago, people think about death. Some wants never-die with afraid death, others yearn for death with regard it as mother.
Do you know the word " memento mori"?It means think about death or don't forget death. The thought came in especially the Middle Ages. Almost all of the picture have symbol of death. People have thought death to think and know what the life is. They think their life with say "memento mori", that is don't forget that we will die some day. In mythology, there are some story about death and life. In Japan, IZANAGI has pursued his wife, IZANAMI, to NENO-KUNI, the hell, but he was scared his died wife and escaped from her. There is a mythology like this story in Greece. Orpheus, is minstrel, had pursued his wife, Eurydike to Hades,that is hell, and looked back and couldn't get her back. In Islam, there are angel who likes the Death. It named Azrael, the angel who tells people the death.
Death is difficult theme as much as life. People have thought about it for long long time and they don't get the answer.




Life is fact of moment, death is fact of everlasting. by Nyozekan Hasegawa.