How many times do you catch yourself saying, “If only it was like the old days, life would be a lot simpler. There was a lot less stress and turmoil in the halcyon days of the past?”
Halcyon means characterized by happiness, success, and prosperity. It is used to describe idyllic times in the past that are remembered as better than today. Halcyon can also mean calm and peaceful, both for life and weather.
Halcyon comes from the Greek word alkyon, meaning a type of bird, probably equivalent to a kingfisher today. Als, or transliterated hals, denotes sea salt or brine. Kyon means dog or bitch (female dog). In Greek kyon was used as a slang word for an audacious (daring, reckless, bold) woman.
Here is how this all comes together in the English use of halcyon.
In Greek mythology, Alkyone, the daughter of the god of the winds, became so troubled over her husband Ceyx’s death at sea that in a reckless move she threw herself into the briny deep to join him. The gods, motivated by the couple’s love, took pity on them, and turned Alkyone and Ceyx into halcyons, a bird identified with a kingfisher today. According to the legend, as birds, Alkyone and Ceyx built their nest on the sea, Alkyone’s father (god of the winds) created a period of unusual calm that lasted until their eggs hatched.
When halcyon was first used in English in the 14th century it was as a noun referring to the mythical bird of the Greek legend, and later to actual kingfishers. Kingfishers are known for plunging into water after prey, like Alkyone’s daring jump into the sea.
As an adjective, halcyon was utilized in the 16th century to describe calm waters. It is said that during the winter solstice there are 14 days of calm waters, connected to the Greek legend of Alkyone and Ceyx nesting on the tranquil sea. Sailors have been known to comment, “After we survived the weekend storms, we were gifted with halcyon weather.”
Over time halcyon became associated with any type of calm and peaceful situation. An isolated cabin is sure to provide a halcyon escape from the noise of the crowded city.
Eventually halcyon was used to describe times of happiness and success that occurred in the past, remembered as better than today. I was very content during the halcyon days of my childhood.
Memory is an interesting thing. Often what we remember is not the way events actually happened and the circumstances surrounding them. It is easy to block out some of the difficult or bad incidents that occurred and remember things for their optimistic value. People of a certain vintage recall savings investments that paid enough to keep ahead of inflation and provide a comfortable nest egg. In 1982 a 90-day T-bill returned 13.8% interest. Oh, for those kinds of rates again, those halcyon times. However, memory neglects to remember that a 5-year mortgage was 18%. And the early 80s were no peaceful times in the world. Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982 and Great Britain sent warships into the south Atlantic Ocean. Disney World’s EPCOT opened in Florida while Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide kill 7 in Chicago.
We complain that climate change is giving us such drastic weather these days, while 40 years ago things were much more halcyon. Yet, in the month of January 1982 Moose Jaw received 31.4 cm of snow and a mean temperature of -23.5 C. On January 21, 1982, the low temperature was recorded at -36.7 C. Record lows were established in many cities throughout the Midwestern United States. From April 2–3, 1982, a major weather event resulted in over 60 tornadoes and 30 fatalities, over portions of Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada an F3 tornado touched down near Dovercourt, AB on June 30, 1982. Those certainly were not halcyon days for many people.
Let’s hope we have halcyon days coming in our future. Amen.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com . Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
