Merry Yule and Blessed Solstice!

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What's all the fuss all about anyway?: Pt. 2

As some of you may remember, I had written a post back in 2012 titled, “What’s All the Fuss All About Anyway?” In it, I spoke a little about the origins of some of our contemporary holiday traditions and how they relate to our modern culture.

As of late, I have taken notice of the fact that there appears to be quite a lot of controversy surrounding the use of the phrase, “Happy Holidays” as many seem to feel that it is only appropriately acceptable to wish someone, be they Christian or not, “Merry Christmas!” Now, first let me begin by saying that although I am Wiccan/Pagan and as such personally choose to only celebrate/acknowledge Yule and the Winter Solstice, I have never been offended by someone of the Christian faith wishing me a "Merry Christmas." 

Why not? Well, to be perfectly honest, there is no need. As far as I am concerned, unless that individual’s intent is malicious or purposely meant to be offensive, I see no reason to get all bent out of shape about it. After all, we all come from the same Universal “creator” so to speak regardless of exactly what faith/religion we choose to follow on this Earthly plane. Therefore; for the purposes of this post, I will try to cover a bit of history which I hope you all will find, at the very least, interesting.

For instance the Christmas tree, perhaps one of the most popular symbols known to embrace the season, has pre-Christian roots. Though trees indeed represented the connection between heaven and Earth, similar ideas are found in the Old Testament as well as trees also symbolized wisdom and life. However, it wasn’t until the middle of the 18^th century that the tree gained popularity in the United States.

And what about the practice of gift-giving and the lore behind the mistletoe? The exchanging of gifts which we know to be commonplace today, was actually banned in the Middle Ages by the Catholic Church due to its' "Pagan" origins, but it was later rationalized by the church because of its' association with St. Nicholas and Christmas, and that gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were given to the infant Jesus. 

A pic of one of our holly bushes in the front yard ~ another symbol of the season.

Mistletoe has always been a revered plant since it has no roots yet remains green even during the cold winter months. In fact, the Scandinavian people associated it with Frigga, the Norse goddess of love, and, it is more than likely that this is where we derive the old custom of "kissing under the mistletoe." People believed then, as they still do today, that those kissed under the mistletoe would be blessed with happiness and good luck in the following year.

These are only a few simple examples of how history has a way of connecting us to everyone, everything, and every culture. And so, it seems to me that getting too caught up in the "mine is the only right way" game is just down right silly!

An Ode to Yule (and a Throwback Thursday)

"... As I walked out on Yuletide,

The winter winds blew cold

I saw the Winter King a-standing,

Grey and grim and old

His cloak was pulled around Him,

A child was in His hand

And He sang, “Blessed Be and Blessed Be

   And Blessed Be again!"

   ~  Joe Bethancourt, "Blessed Be Again"

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 A very OLD pic of my childhood friend, Dave and I at Flanagan's Pub back in 1988 ... (you may remember him from last Sunday's birthday celebration post with my hubby?)

A pic my hubby took while camping with friends back in 1999 ... (Okay, so Mother Theresa I am not!)

Horseback riding taken by my sister Willow ~ circa 1996

HAVE A GREAT THURSDAY EVERYONE!

Some Finishing Touches ...

 

Gifts wrapped, holiday cards sent, ritual ceremony prepared, and the house completely decorated,  it appears that I am finally finished with my Yule "to-do" list.

Although, it seems that every year I always manage to find yet another item or two in which to add. This year, I found a large gift basket for sale to use for the kitties many toys ...  

And, while shopping around at the Hallmark Store for what I call "specialty" cards (cards specifically for family and close friends), I came across a lovely gold-colored tree ornament for family members who are currently serving and/or haved served in the military which holds a 2 X 3 picture. Since my own father served in the Army many years ago, I thought it would be a nice addition to our Yule tree this year ...

One of my dad's old Army pics taken while he was stationed in Europe. This one was from Germany.

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Happy Sunday All!

The Gift of Friendship ... Thank You, Stacy!

Greetings everyone!Right now, I am doing my happy dance as this morning I received a package in the mail from Stacy from her awesome blog, MagicLoveCrow! You see, I was one of the lucky winners of her latest wonderful giveaway!

She is such a sweet soul with a giving heart that she picked out the most excellent gifts you could imagine. Along with a special friendship card for Yule, she also sent me a lovely gift card to accompany my beautiful treasures.

 A gorgeous sterling silver elephant pendant made from a fork. I thought that the elephant was especially meaningful as it symbolizes strength, family, good luck and happiness. Simply perfect!

And two very lovely hearts ~ one made of Rose Quartz and the other is a Singing Heart with pretty flower designs!

 All of the prize gifts were selected from one of her fav stores called, "Daylyn" ...  very cool shop and a place you simply must check out!

Thank you, Stacy for being you (and for having such great taste!)! You are simply the best!

Brrr, baby it's cold outside!

After two weeks of nothing but bone-chillingly cold rain, it appears we have gotten our first "official" snowfall of the season yesterday afternoon. It wasn't much, only a tad more than a dusting, but I, for one, can most definitely live with that. Especially since for the past two years we have had a few inches already on the ground just in time for, believe it or not, Halloween! 

It's not that I don't enjoy the winter solstice ... I actaully do. I love to watch the pretty snowflakes fall all over everything (including my face!) and I don't even mind shoveling it (as, trust me, I really do need the exercise) and, I particularly look forward to gathering with family and friends for our Yule celebration. Honestly, I just do not like having to drive in it unless it is necessary.

On the other hand, I will look for any good excuse to snuggle up with our kitties when it gets really cold out. In fact, our little Kiki just loves to bury herself underneath the bed covers right after I have just made them up ...

 

 My baby boy Mr. Midnight keeping warm on the sofa

 And let's not forget all the really "cool" things to do and see at this time of the year. One of those activities for us has always been to visit a place called, "Christmas Village" only a couple of miles away from where we live. I had taken the above post cover pic at last years beautiful display ~ as well as these ...

But, for now, I will leave you all with one of my favorite songs of the holiday as sung by Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Have a great weekend!

Fun Friday (and The Doors, too?)!

Happy Friday everyone! In case anyone missed Jimmy Fallon's awesome impersonation of Jim Morrrison from "The Doors" singing the theme song to the children's program, "Reading Rainbow" on his show "Late Night" last night, I thought I'd share it with you all, along with a few old pics from some sabbat celebrations that I think fit the song pretty well ... LOL!

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