Preparing for Yule

How does one prepare for a holiday with their family when they follow a different religion than the rest of their family? First off I think you follow your heart. I guess it's easier for me being Pagan when my family is mostly Agnostic or Atheist. I can jump on the commercial Christmas bandwagon for my grandchildren but still hold true to what I believe the Yule holiday is all about. When having little children you must have a tree. Our Yule tree went up this past weekend. While most people will be celebrating the birth of Jesus (whom historians believe was not actually born in December) I'll be celebrating the rebirth of the Sun. Similar enough. I'm looking forward to making a Yule log to decorate my altar. One that can be used year after year (since I don't have a fireplace to burn the Yule log as was traditionally done.) I helped my Grandson make Yule gifts for his teachers and other grandparents this past weekend. I've made small Yule gifts for my friends in my spiritual circle (my spiritual family.) I'm hoping to pass down some traditions to my grandson of the way I celebrate. My daughter is open to this which pleases me immensely.

I found the following in a Christian website christiananswers.net and thought it was interesting:

Why do many Christians celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December, if that is not when he was born?

The date was chosen by the Roman Catholic Church. Because Rome dominated most of the “Christian” world for centuries, the date became tradition throughout most of Christendom.

The original significance of December 25 is that it was a well-known festival day celebrating the annual return of the sun. December 21 is the winter solstice (shortest day of the year and thus a key date on the calendar), and December 25 is the first day that ancients could clearly note that the days were definitely getting longer and the sunlight was returning.

So, why was December 25 chosen to remember Jesus Christ’s birth with a mass (or Communion supper)? Since no one knows the day of his birth, the Roman Catholic Church felt free to chose this date. The Church wished to replace the pagan festival with a Christian holy day (holiday). The psychology was that is easier to take away an unholy (but traditional) festival from the population, when you can replace it with a good one. Otherwise, the Church would have left a void where there was a long-standing tradition, and risked producing a discontented population and a rapid return to the old ways.

Some of us are now returning to the old ways. Yule Blessings to All.

Emerald Storm

Why I Occupy

The Occupy movement has grown a lot (though not locally) and I support it wholeheartedly. Most people have an opinion one way or the other. Some people just don't seem to care. Being a spiritual person I don't see how I can "not" care. At the core of the movement is the people's complaint that the government is influenced by big corporations and their money. Laws are passed not based on what's best for the people but by lobbyist, campaign contributions etc. When I watch movies like Food Inc and The World According to Monsanto I get pissed. How can the government be allowing this to happen to our food supply? Is the money they receive from the big corporations so important? To the detriment of the people? What about what is being done to the Earth? Whether you believe in the Christian god or Mother Earth it is our job to be stewards of the Earth. This is our home. We don't get another one. Being able to afford to eat healthy shouldn't be a privilege it should be a right. Our children that attend public schools should be given a well balanced meal. People say there are jobs here if your willing to work but where are they really? I remember my father talking about graduation from high school. If you didn't go to college you went to work for Cat. Well not anymore. Those that came before us worked hard to unionize our work force. They made your work place a safer environment for you and the pay better whether you now work for a union or not. Well the big greedy retail companies figured out a way around that. They buy the stuff that's made overseas in the sweat shops. So many companies have left American soil citing the need to be "globally competitive." Bullshit. Your getting cheap labor and stuffing your pockets. This is fine with the government. They passed the laws to protect our own workers (I'm sure there was tremendous pressure) but are perfectly fine if our goods come from child/sweat shop labor. Hypocrits. Another problem I see is the companies that hold government contracts. I believe if your company has a government contract then your workers should be tax-paying Americans. I don't want to call to check on my medicare claim and get a call center in Manilla.

OK I've ranted quite a bit. The bottom line is that I want a better future for my children and grandchildren. The government should be for the people and influenced by their needs not the greed of big corporations.

Blessings,

Emerald