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Solstice .... the return of the light ... the solar light.
To me it is solstice that, in essence, we are celebrating ... the return of the light.
It's quite possible that Jesus was born around the time of solstice.
What are you referring to that "we now know" that would indicate that he was not born in December?
I think they refer, in part, to the "shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night", which might indicate the spring, the time the ewes are birthing, when they'd be vulnerable to predators.
Anyway, a lot of the ancient cultures had solstice celebrations, sometimes including orgies and wild behavior frowned upon by the church, and as the church expanded into pagan regions, they often replaced these older holidays with the liturgical calendar celebrating Christian events in their stead.
Thanksgiving is here! It still feels like a holiday and special day to me even though my life is "in pieces" right now and "up in the air" etc...I don't want to feel sorry for myself! I don't want to be a "total downer!" YUK!...I'm going to look for ways to "be happy" anyway! I'm going to spoil myself the best I can! And wish everyone happiness today! (Spread "cheer!")...If some people don't want to be happy that's okay! We all have to be "true to ourselves!" I've always had a "Pollyanna" inside of me that kicks in and saves me from "drowning in self pity." And I'm glad! Happy or (non-happy) Thanksgiving to everyone! You decide how you want to feel today and I will too!! And "it's all okay!"
Thanksgiving is here! It still feels like a holiday and special day to me even though my life is "in pieces" right now and "up in the air" etc...I don't want to feel sorry for myself! I don't want to be a "total downer!" YUK!...I'm going to look for ways to "be happy" anyway! I'm going to spoil myself the best I can! And wish everyone happiness today! (Spread "cheer!")...If some people don't want to be happy that's okay! We all have to be "true to ourselves!" I've always had a "Pollyanna" inside of me that kicks in and saves me from "drowning in self pity." And I'm glad! Happy or (non-happy) Thanksgiving to everyone! You decide how you want to feel today and I will too!! And "it's all okay!"
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, CArizona. I hope the day was as good as it gets for you!
Turned out to be a nice day. Saw my siblings and mother and nieces, and then we all woke my daughter up via Skype and everyone got to say hello to her.
I am going to tell my fellow posters a secret......
I would love to enjoy the holidays.
But, it is not possible at my house.
My husband HATES it, in fact I will hear the phase "F" 'n Christmas over and over for the next month.
I don't know why he is like that. His mother loved it. She passed a few years back but, he has always been a "hater".
Oh, we will go to his family's Christmas Eve party and he will hate that.
He will tell me 1000 more times when his dad is gone....that is the end of him going.
I will never understand it.....thanks for reading this.
BTW, yes when I married him I knew his.
In the big picture he is a OK person.
Interesting. I wonder why he feels that way, too.
I had a friend who always made a big deal out of not liking Christmas. She was born on December 21, and had alluded to the fact that as a child her birthday was often overlooked because it was so close to Christmas (not that her parents didn't recognize her birthday, but I guess it was a difficult time to arrange a kid's birthday party). But she was in her forties, so that wasn't the real reason for her dislike of Christmas at that point, but she would never say what it was. I finally came to the conclusion that her schtick about hating Christmas was just a negative attention-getting thing she had adopted long ago for reasons that no longer existed and just changed the subject whenever she started in.
I feel fairly neutral toward the holidays. I don't really enjoy them, but our daughter is 13 so at Christmas we still get a tree and she gets gifts and my husband and I exchange presents with each other. I cook dinner and we have friends over, but it's gotten much simpler over the years. My mom used to come over and eat, but she has advanced dementia and would just be confused if I picked her up from where she lives now and brought her over. My daughter still gets excited about Christmas and that helps to make it fun. My husband can be very grumpy and grouchy about the holidays, but usually rallies for her benefit. I look forward to when she's old enough that she won't mind if we just take a trip together instead of doing the tree and presents.
Thanksgiving was fine. Two friends came over and we cooked together. Low stress and no family interaction.
I've gotta say that my adult holidays improved greatly when I stopped trying to spend them with family and just started spending them with friends. I call my two brothers and wish them a happy holiday but that's the extent of our getting together and it makes everything better.
My childhood holidays were generally ok. They were simple--a couple of presents and dinner with my grandparents. One year my mom was having a midlife meltdown and just took us shopping before Christmas and had us pick some gifts for ourselves. It was weird. But my parents always treated us well and did their best. My father was an alcoholic, but never mean or violent. His getting drunk on Christmas was just like his getting drunk every other day.
I do remember getting an orange 10-speed bicycle when I was in the 6th grade. That was such freedom.
Nevertheless, I'm always happy when it's finally January 1st.
They're okay. I enjoy spending time with my family, I enjoy the fact that a lot of people seem to be in kinder spirits. But at the same time I feel far more lonely during the holidays than I do at any other time of the year.
Well, I knocked myself out and didn't get any compliments from the ogre. My daughter was fun, though, and we took a drive afterwards. All and all a good holiday. I guess now that I know he will be leaving it gives us so much more hope.
Interesting posts. For the life of me I will never understand negative people. How can folks live with never a laugh, a smile? Never tell someone they look nice or the food was good? It must be miserable to live such joyless lives.
My husband will go out of his way to watch comedies on tv, whether a sitcom or a movie, but not laugh even once. I don't understand that.
Mighty Queen, you are correct. Scholars say that Jesus was born in the spring according to all indications by the Bible. It is true that church officials tried to coincide pagan celebrations with church observations by meshing the two. Easier to convert the pagans.
Mighty Queen, I do think that people that get very negatively vocal about the holidays do it for attention. It reminds me a lot of the bandwagon stuff the masses like to jump on.
One that always amuses me is "the holidays are celebrated earlier and earlier every year." I've heard this as long as I can remember and I'm 50. It's something that people can easily say to each other and feel superior. It goes hand and hand with "people forget the real reason for the season."
As others have pointed out, the reason for the celebration was originally about the winter solstice and pagan. After all these years I finally said this to my mother last year and got her to stop the whining.
Well, I knocked myself out and didn't get any compliments from the ogre. My daughter was fun, though, and we took a drive afterwards. All and all a good holiday. I guess now that I know he will be leaving it gives us so much more hope.
Interesting posts. For the life of me I will never understand negative people. How can folks live with never a laugh, a smile? Never tell someone they look nice or the food was good? It must be miserable to live such joyless lives.
My husband will go out of his way to watch comedies on tv, whether a sitcom or a movie, but not laugh even once. I don't understand that.
Mighty Queen, you are correct. Scholars say that Jesus was born in the spring according to all indications by the Bible. It is true that church officials tried to coincide pagan celebrations with church observations by meshing the two. Easier to convert the pagans.
Mighty Queen, I do think that people that get very negatively vocal about the holidays do it for attention. It reminds me a lot of the bandwagon stuff the masses like to jump on.
One that always amuses me is "the holidays are celebrated earlier and earlier every year." I've heard this as long as I can remember and I'm 50. It's something that people can easily say to each other and feel superior. It goes hand and hand with "people forget the real reason for the season."
As others have pointed out, the reason for the celebration was originally about the winter solstice and pagan. After all these years I finally said this to my mother last year and got her to stop the whining.
Hahaha, that's so true. I am 53. When I was a kid people were saying how commercialized Christmas had become. When I was 18 I worked in a home improvement store where the artificial trees and decorations were put on display and for sale in the seasonal aisle in October.
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