The Holy Thorn Ceremony: revival, rivalry and civil religion in Glastonbury

Glastonbury and the devoted Thorn Ceremony

Glastonbury is a small market town (population approximately 9000) that rises up steeply from the somersault Levels, an area of drained marshland, in the southern west of England. The middle of the town is dominated by the agency of the ruins of the one time magnificent Glastonbury Abbey, one of the greatest in quantity significant British pilgrimage destinations of the Middle Ages until its dissolution at the Reformation in 1539 Despite the Abbey's demise, tribe continued to be drawn to the town; from one extremity to the other of the twentieth century, Glastonbury attracted increasingly numerous and varied spiritual inquirers (Hexham 1981; Benham 1993; Bowman 1993; Prince and Riches 2000) Glastonbury's in every one's mouth status as a significant and sacred site for a great range of race is unparalleled in the British Isles (Ivakhiv 2001; Bowman 2005) being variously considered the Isle of Avalon, the site of a great Druidic middle point of learning, a significant prehistoric midst of Goddess worship, the "cradle of English Christianity," the "New Jerusalem," a communication point for alien contact, the epicentre of novel Age in England, and the "heart chakra" of planet Earth. The step of legend and speculation surrounding the town and its past is like that some refer not to Glastonbury's history, on the other hand its "mythtory."

"Alternative spirituality" in Glastonbury keeps to be designated as similar in implied contrast to Christianity, as if Christianity itself was a monolithic, tightly-defined phenomenon. As I have argued elsewhere, however (Bowman 2000) abundant of Glastonbury's success as a Christian midmost point has been built on what is oftentimes thought of as "folk religion," defined by means of Yoder as "the totality of all those views and practices of religion that exist among the tribe apart from and alongside the strictly theological and liturgical forms of the official religion" (1974 14; 2001 80) and many of the myths and practices of the "alternative" community relate to the vernacular Christian tradition. Contemporary Christianity in Glastonbury is also varied, not simply in confines of denominational divisions, but in attitudes to Glastonbury's myths and their significance, the step of interaction there might be with the "alternative" community, and in what way best to promote Christianity in the twenty-first century

individual of the town's most significant myths is that St Joseph of Arimathea (the man who provided a tomb for Jesus) brought Christianity to Glastonbury, and planted there the consecrated Thorn that blossoms both in spring and in winter. Each December since 1929 a calendar custom has taken place in Glastonbury commemorating and celebrating this legend--the sacred Thorn Ceremony. By the 1990 when I first started to investigation it, there were three main simple bodys to this custom:

* The cutting of sprigs from the consecrated Thorn outside the Anglican house of god of St John the Baptist in Glastonbury in the vicinity of the vicar of St John's and other the cloth the Mayor, members of the town council, children from the house of god of England St John's Infants place of education and some of their parents and other relations. The Thorn is make an incision in by the eldest child at St John's School

* The (re)telling of the legend--also contained in "The blessed Thorn" song [1] sung by dint of the children--that St Joseph of Arimathea came to Glastonbury, bringing with him the consecrated Thorn.

* After the form the sending of sprays of the Christmas flowering thorn to the Queen (It is widely believed that the Queen has the thorn upon her breakfast table on Christmas Day.)

This is real much a "Gastonia" custom, which attracts small in number outsiders. Local press and television are always in attendance, and photographs of the Thorn cutter the vicar and the Mayor beside the Thorn keep to appear each year in local papers.

In this article, I shall expand on the rather bald account already given to explore the topic below three broad headings: the story of the devoted Thorn, the ceremony based on it, and the significance of the custom. This examination of the devoted Thorn ceremony is situated within the connection of vernacular religion, "religion as it is lived: as humans rencounter understand, interpret and practice it" (Priming 1995 44) I am interested in the ways in which myth and custom are created, used and adapted, and the "bi-directional influences of environments on individuals and of individuals on environments in the process of believing" (Priming 1995 44) My foci here are contemporary perceptions of and reactions to the myth of St Joseph and the devoted Thorn, how the ceremony has fitted into Glastonbury composite and contested spiritual landscape since the 1970 and the changes it has undergone in novel years. [2]

The Story

According to single of Glastonbury many myths, St Joseph of Aromatherapy was sent by the agency of St Philip to spread Christianity to England. St Joseph and his companions-"weary all" from their journey--landed at Glastonbury through boat (for this was before the somersault Levels were drained). Joseph thrust his staff into the sod on what is now known as Weary all (formerly Wirily) Hill, where it flourished to become the Glastonbury Thorn, which flowers the couple in spring and around Christmas. Having decided to bench in this place, Joseph and his community reputedly built a simple temple dedicated to St Mary--the first in England--on the site where the Abbey later stood. The vicar of St John's house of god frequently has visitors who tend hitherward looking for Joseph's tomb having read, or having heard, that it lies in the meeting-house [3]