Have yourself a PAGAN little christmas…

[Elidor]

I'm celebrating christmas as the "pagan" holiday it is, on December 22. The Winter Solstice. I can't get into the phony immaculate conception, but I can get into the idea of the days getting longer. "And as for me and mine, we shall dwell in the house of apostasy, for the bible is bullshit."

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Pagans put up trees

n/t

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. I LIVE for winter solstice

I have hope that I will see daylight again...AFTER WORK! I'll celebrate with ya :toast:

[Elidor]

4. hell yes.

We WILL see DAYLIGHT AGAIN. :toast: And let it be a metaphor for our hopes and dreams for our country. This darkness shall pass.

[Erika]

3. You sound like an American

You believe we should be able to believe/non-believe as we wish without Bush theocracy. Jesusland despises you.

[Elidor]

6. I live in Jesusland.

It's not as cut-and-dried as you think. There are many thinking, feeling, intelligent people here. Anyway, Pagan Christmas isn't about christians, it's about non-christians. It's like kwanzaa for progressive WASPs. It's an alternative to The Passion, and billboards paid for by fans, and hate radio, and ultra-right-wing dogma. It's about being real.

[knowbody0]

5. solstice is our christmas tradition

excellent rituals for staying connected to the universal laws that govern life. cheers

[intheflow]

7. Wiccan "Christmas" Carols

Check these out. They crack me up -- but they're good! :)
http://www.ladybridget.com/mp/wiccar.html

[NamVetsWeeLass]

25. ROFL.... Yeah, gotta share that with the ladies

My yahoo Group... Well, Not to plug them, but.. they are a bunch of Bitchy Witches (without coming right out and saying the name...) They will LOVE this.

[Longgrain]

8. And a happy

ah tree--worship thingy?

[Elidor]

10. Yes, indeedy - a happy tree-worship thingy n/t

[Lex]

12. Several origins of the Christmas Tree Thingy.

The Christmas tree is derived from several winter solstice traditions. The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and placed candles in live trees to decorate for the celebration of Saturnalia. In Scandinavia, they hung apples from evergreen trees at the winter solstice to remind themselves that spring and summer will come again. The evergreen tree was the special plant of their sun god, Baldor.

[Elidor]

29. I meant to kick this thing at breakfast today

But I slept in, so the night crew gets to see it again.

And thanks to everyone who contributed! :hi: It rocks.

[the Princess]

9. Greetings fellow pagan!

[Lex]

11. December 25th's significance . . .

The date of Christmas, December 25, was borrowed from another religion. At the time Christmas was created in AD 320, the pagan religion of Mithraism was very popular. The early Christian church had gotten tired of their futile efforts to stop people celebrating the solstice and the birthday of Mithras, the Persian sun god. Mithras’ birthday was December 25. So the pope at the time decided to make Jesus’ official birthday coincide with Mithras’ birthday.

So when people say "Happy Birthday Jesus" (it's NOT) please also say "Happy Birthday Mithra!"

[azoth]

33. Could we say "Happy ChrisMithras" to really confuse people?

[Lex]

35. That's a tongue twister for sure, but after a few cups of

mulled wine, I could probably say it with no problem!

[Der Blaue Engel]

40. Or Happy Chrithras. ;)

Merry Mithmas?

(I really need to go do something else besides DU now.)

[azoth]

44. Oh - Merry Mithras! That's it! :)

[GingerSnaps]

13. Are you a Pagan?

My freeper sister is a Wiccan.

[StrongbadTehAwesome]

17. interesting

How in the world does she mesh the Rethug platform with "An it harm none, do what ye will"?

[GingerSnaps]

19. She's an Independent

With a freeper mentality and she is also a hypocrite. It's that special time of year again when you have to associate with relatives that you don't see eye to eye with. She didn't vote for Bush she hates him. Her freeper opinion is that if someone wants a job they can find one.

Oh God, I can't wait until this holiday season is over with. I still have to buy her a gift which will be a new crystal ball, candles, incense, book of spells, desk of wicca cards from her favorite witchcraft website or a new Stevie Nicks dress. :grr:

[Piperay]

21. I have a friend who is a rethug and a Wiccan

she is a very nice kind person but .... how the hell she can be a rethug I will never understand. :wtf:

[GingerSnaps]

22. My best friend from High School was a Pagan

I get Pagans and Wiccan's mixed up sorry.

My best friend in High School family were staunch republicans and their last name was the name of a famous democratic President that had been killed while he was in office and I never could understand how she could be a repug.

She was one of the nicest individuals that you would ever want to meet. She would loan people her Mustang to get home from parties if she drank too much. Her car was worth allot of money and if you were out with her she would always think about your health and I mean she had a heart of gold.

She would hook you up with a job at her place of employment if you needed a job. Her Dad died when she was 3 years old and the Mother was an alcoholic that beat up on her kids. They were wealthy and they took in people off the streets and let them stay in the apartment connected to their house. Her mother brought home strays and she had so many pets that you couldn't breath inside her house because i had asmetha. She had an abortion at 21 and she could have easily kept the baby because they had the money to keep it but she didn't want it.

She hooked up with some Pagans or Devil worshipers and I lost contact with her because I was working and mostly out of town. Several years went by and I went to her house for her birthday which was the 4th of July. She asked me if i wanted to go to church with her and I thought that she meant Catholic Church like we had went to when we were kids.
I asked her If I could borrow a scarf to wear to church and then she told me that we weren't going to that church and that she had changed denominations and she wanted me to join them.

She was a good person that loved animals and they were sacrificing animals at her "Church". I got out of her car and I never spoke to her again. My Sister called the police on the "church" and told them that they were killing animals and they ended up getting shut down. It probably wasn't from one call they probably had many calls.

I miss her real bad because we were close friends. I passed another one of our friends one day on the street and she told me that the last she heard of her is that she moved to Peoria, owns a home and lives with her girlfriend and kid.

Her whole profile didn't fit the republican profile.

[ze_dscherman]

23. Sadly, we have quite a lot of right-wing pagans in Germany

Most pagan/wicca people here are fairly liberal/leftist, but we also got the Nazi (or very right wing) kind of pagans. Himmler and the SS were big into "pagan" mysticism- Germanic/Aryan heathens, shaking off the judeo/christian yoke ...

[GingerSnaps]

26. Hitler was a Pagan?

:shrug:

[ze_dscherman]

28. Himmler

Not a pagan in the sense now used, but involved in mysticism with a "pagan" background.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysticism_in_Nazi_Germany

Also, google for "Thule society" or "Guido von List".


The Nazis held "initiations" of SS officers at sacred sites in Germany - sites that are now meeting places of wiccans, pagans and other eroterics. To prevent clashes with Nazi pagans or Neo-Nazis, there is (was?) heavy police presence during the summer solistice.

On edit: I first met German pagans when trying to document a Neo-Nazi rally (and a counter-rally) at one of these sites at summer solistices. In fact, I found an interesting mixture of hippies and pagans there. Only later I learnt of the close relations of one of the groups involved with Aryan mysticism. Wouldn't call them Nazis, but too close to some of their ideas.

[Hieronymus]

45. Hitler was a pretend Christian.............

like Junior Bush. I recently heard one of his speeches read, and it sounded like it was coming from Junior Bush.:eyes:

[Elidor]

31. I am not a pagan

I am an un-christian. Paganism wins my affection for being more modest, more humble and real, but I do not follow it. (Not into sacrifice.) Neither do I follow buddhism, though I find some wisdom in it here and there.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

37. I thought the "sacrifice" part of Paganism was a misconception

I know several pagans and none of them are any more into "sacrifice" than anyone else.

[Der Blaue Engel]

39. You are quite right

I don't know what GingerSnaps's friend was into, but it doesn't fit any real neo-pagan, Wiccan, or even Satanist* profile. It sounds an awful lot like an urban legend. No offense, GingerSnaps. Perhaps your friend stumbled across the one exception that proves the rule.

<looking around for my sacrificial altar that I seem to have misplaced>

*Note: Satanists are more properly a sect of Christianity, and have no connection to paganism, which does not recognize the Judeo-Christian theology.

[donheld]

14. We found out about Mary's virginity

I hear some right wingers are not teaching that masterbation causes pregnancy. I guess "the Virgin" Mary was a big wanker. :shrug: who knew?

[opihimoimoi]

15. Pagans and Heathens have more Fun and a fuller Happier Life

[Gryffindor_Bookworm]

16. I agree, for the most part.

But I still think O Holy Night is the most beautiful song ever recorded.

[Der Blaue Engel]

18. I'm listening to that right now! :)

I was just about to respond to this thread and mention my love of the traditional xmas songs, and just as I got to your post, my Nat King Cole CD started this song. I love synchronicity.

I'm a pagan who celebrates both solstice and xmas, just because I can't quite shake childhood tradition. (Which is odd, because I really did not have a happy childhood, and reject just about everything from my upbringing. I think maybe it's because it triggers pre-conscious memories of times before things got rough.) I refer to xmas as Yule, though, and my favorite part of the holiday is Yule eve.

As for xmas songs, some of them really are just lovely, and I can ignore the xian content, even though any mention of God or Jesus in other music usually enrages me. I particularly like Ave Maria and Adeste Fideles, and I've never been Catholic. :)

I spent the evening putting lights on my tree (a laborious but fun process for me because I own dozens of sets in various colors, and I have to have a different color theme for my tree each year...I'm a closet Martha Stewart!) and listening to my xmas CDs. Now I'm looking at my lovely blue and white tree. :)

[Anarcho-Socialist]

20. Hooray, another one celebrating the Solstice!

:toast:

[NamVetsWeeLass]

24. LMAO, of course I will! Merry Yule to you as well...

[frictionlessO]

27. YAY Pagans!! Solstice is my favorite holiday! Ever hear Dar Williams

"The Christians and the Pagans"..? Its a great song! highly reccomended if ya gotta spend time with the Christians this time of year.

[CatBoreal]

30. I love this song...

The Christians and the Pagans

Amber called her uncle, said "We're up here for the holiday,
Jane and I were having Solstice, now we need a place to stay."
And her Christ-loving uncle watched his wife hang Mary on a tree,
He watched his song hang candy canes all made with red dye number three.
He told his niece, "Its Christmas Eve, I know our life is not your style,"
She said, "Christmas is like Solstice, and we miss you and its been awhile,"

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said,
Sending hope for peace on earth to all their gods and goddesses.

The food was great, the tree plugged in, the meal had gone without a hitch,
Till Timmy turned to Amber and said, "Is it try that you're a witch?"
His mom jumped up and said, "The pies are burning," and she hit the kitchen,
And it was Jane who spoke, she said, "Its true, your cousins not a Christian,"
"But we love trees, we love the snow, the friends we have, the world we share,
And you find magic from your God, and we find magic everywhere,"

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And where does magic come from? I think magic's in the learning,
Cause now when Christians sit with Pagans only pumpkin pies are burning.

When Amber tried to do the dishes, her aunt said, "Really, no, don't bother."
Ambers uncle saw how Amber looked like Tim and like her father.
He thought about his brother, how they hadn't spoken in a year,
He thought he'd call him up and say, "Its Christmas and your daughters here."
He thought of fathers, sons and brothers, so his own son tug his sleeve, saying,
"Can I be a Pagan?" Dad said, "Well discuss it when they leave."

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
Lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old, and
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.


It's the only way I can make it through Christmas with my EXCEEDINGLY Catholic family.

Bright Blessings and have a Merry Yule! (I'll be celebrating too!)

[Elidor]

32. Thank you. A very nice song.

[frictionlessO]

38. it makes me cry a lil everytime I hear it.. or read it apparently! nt

[SemiCharmedQuark]

34. For the millionth time, the immaculate conception does NOT refer to Jesus

But regardless, Im glad you're going to have a good holiday. But please, don't bash traditions that you don't understand.

[Der Blaue Engel]

41. I missed the other 999,999 times...

...can you clarify?

Seriously. I've never heard this before, so I'd like to know what it really does refer to. :)

Thanks,
Betty

[SemiCharmedQuark]

46. It refers to the belief that when Mary was conceived, she was conceived

without sin. That is all.

[Elidor]

42. Enlighten us

Share your knowledge.

[robbedvoter]

36. Correction: solstice this year is on December 21, 7:41AM EST

see for yourself
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/

[Elidor]

43. And here I was about to miss it

Thanks!

[Beaverhausen]

47. We have a Pagan group here at DU

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=262