The Blessings of a Winter's Solstice
Referencing "Zeitgeist", historically, even pre-historically, the Winter Solstice was a profound event to humankind, of course. The loss of the sun was a great cause of consternation to them. And the return of the Sun was an even greater event. So, a ditty to the gods of winter:
It reminds us of our frailty as a species
It reminds us how fearful we can get
The coming of the Son, after all, is only one letter away from the original greek/phoeniecian/egyptian observation
It reminds us of our inter-connectedness
We need each other, all the time, through the darkest times
The longest nights, the coldest extremes
So we celebrate our connectedness, and our faith in the fact that the sun will come back and bless us once again, if we can just relax and take faith in that.
..
Upon this revelation, whole civilizations were built. And then religions decided that was a neat idea.
So we celebrate, what? The feeling we get when we actually help the poor, cold homeless wretches who have nothing. I think that is an important part of Christmas. My Mother certainly practiced it. Charity.
So, in the spirit of the holidays, of which mine is Christmas, of which what the hey let's all switch our timelines to the pagan holiday, it's all a fake sham so let's pretend like its meaningful in our own way. Except that the timing of it coincides with the greatest need for charity...
..but I ramble..
Merry Christmas
MPK
Comments
ASs one who experiences winter solstice more severely than most,
I can tell you that every year, no matter how hard we try to be otherwise, we all become far less social during the dark. Humans hibernate, if they follow their natural instincts, when we plunge into darkness for the winter.
You wouldn't agree with me if you'd seen the parking lots at Sam's and Fred Meyers today, here in Fairbanks. There was a frenzy, an hysteria of shopping going on.
I maintain that it all comes down to one of those "there are two kinds of People" things. And I really think it is true. Please offer you comments on this:
I'm guessing the majority of c99 denizens are of the latter persuasion. There is much to be gleaned from this dichotomy. I'm interested as to what the rest of you think.
The author makes beautiful points.
But forgive me for feeling anger and frustration when I see ads like the wounded warrior project and hunger in america stuff.
We pay taxes to care for our veterans. It is a promise, we the people made to those who (albeit unwittingly) sacrifice themselves for the good of all Americans. There is no reason in the world why our dollars should be going to subsidies for big oil or big agriculture until and when we have cared for our veterans. Caring for veterans and the poor is one reason we willingly pay taxes.
But it all seems to be trickling up.
Pascal as quoted as saying: "There are two kinds of people in
the world: Those who like to be alone in their room and those who don't." I also think a lot of people here don't mind engaging themselves in solitary pursuits that they find interesting.
Pascal also is said to have said: "The older I get and the more I see of the world and its people, the more I like my dog."
I've always liked this time of year because, as a skywatcher, it's convenient to witness both the sunrise and sunset. When I lived in the mountains of VA, I could drive to a pulloff and be at 3100 feet and watch the sun rise at 800 feet in the piedmont. On days when the air had been stagnant down there, I could - with protection - watch the sun rise through binocs and see sunspots if any were present. A couple of times I saw the Green Flash at sun rise which is always an "Oh Wow" moment for me.
The first sign of the rising sun under the above conditions is a reflection and sometimes the sun would take a pyramid-like shape as the reflection went from one air layer to the next higher. Then, a bright orange shot and you knew the sun itself was above the horizon.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Laughed out loud! (really)
great descriptions.
makes you want to take a look.
"One does not sell the land upon which the people walk."
--- words of Crazy Horse.
Well said Crazy Horse - wish we would have listened
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
I engage with the Snark
Every night after dark
In a dreamy and delirious fight
I eat it with greens
In those shadowy scenes
But it's handy for striking a light.
But if your Snark be a BOOJUM, I fear
You will slowly and silently disappear ...
......
And the Bakers last words,
were a howl or a groan ...
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see!
[written from probably inaccurate memory].
with relevance to the Solstice, darkness, Icelandic sagas, everlasting winter night, and Thorvaldur, the guardian of the deep.
There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.
This transition around the sun, with an Installation Coming
the Giant Sucking Sound is louder and more annoying. Every NGO, every charitable and political organization urges us to give them money to counter the Dark Forces which come. Selectively, to each his/her own. But with what funds? Most of us have seen no increase in income, and costs rise, but never show up on federal statistics pages as rising. This shake-down cannot continue without some relief or some revolution.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
unfortunately there is the Third Way.
They rule forever.
The evolution of Christmas
Fifty years ago when I was a child in North Iowa, Christmas in the Norwegian Lutheran tradition was wondrous time. My mother had an advent calendar, where you opened a window every day in December, and an advent wreath, where you lit an additional candle every Sunday. There were Christmas programs where everyone received a large red apple at the end, and Christmas caroling, and Christmas cooking. My parents gave each of us 5 children $5, with which we bought gifts for everyone (about 12 people). Christmas shopping was great fun . . . Matchbox cars for my brothers and bubble bath for Grandma. On Christmas Eve, after the cows were milked and the chores finished, we gathered around the large table for the big feast, which only at this meal during the year included Lutefisk. After we ate, Pa read the Christmas story, and then we passed out the gifts. The gifts were largely things we needed like socks and underwear. My aunt and uncle who had no children of their own, but were like second parents to us, usually gave us winter coats. Gifts were small, but special and almost sacred, including the heart and soul of the giver. We stayed up late that night, playing board games, cracking nuts, eating lefse, flatbrød, sot suppe, krumkake, and Josephine Bars (named after Aunt Jo). Christmas Day was another feast day at my Aunt and Uncle's house.
Pretty blame magical.
40 years and a thousand miles later . . . far far away in time and space from the generosity, goodwill, and gratitude of my childhood Christmases, I found myself surrounded by those who knew nothing of the magic. Gifts were given with receipts enclosed, so one could return the gift to the store if they didn't like it.
My children were born here, in the land of plastic Santas and materialist made up magic. I have never been able to recreate the Christmas of my childhood for them.
So finally, last year, I evolved. I finally let it go. My kids didn't care after all. They had never seen it, heard it, felt it. (they are teenagers now)
It is a good evolution. Simple. More in the spirit of the solstice. The teenagers each chose a special gift. The four of us went out to eat on Christmas Eve, enjoying the conversation and companionship. We spent a pleasant afternoon with their elderly grandmother on Christmas Day. On New Years Day we will have our second year tradition of a Texas Christmas with our neighbors, where we will eat brisket, beans, and potato salad.
The magic we feel now is gratitude. So . . . yeah . . . I guess it turned out OK after all.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo