Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts

I've neglected this blog since getting a full time job outside the home. That's a story for another time. Right now, I want to thank those of you who are still here, checking in on my blog, following me on Twitter, and who "like" my Facebook page.

I have these cute overall treat bags and I think they make the perfect "THANK YOU" for one of my readers. Although the giveaway ends ON Ostara and the winner won't have them in time for this Ostara, whomever wins is getting a nice Ostara gift AND can use them next year or this year for Easter, if you so choose...

SIDENOTE: I'm not big on celebrating Christian Holidays and a quick blog search on the matter will explain my 'why' - so feel free to read those entries if I've piqued your interest.

So anyway...check out these adorable Ostara overall treat bags! The photos don't do them justice.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Valentine's Day derives from a Christianized version of a pagan holiday. Lupercalia was an ancient, I think it was even pre-Roman, festival, observed on February 13 through 15, to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility.

In Roman mythology, Lupercus is a god sometimes identified with the Roman god Faunus, who is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Pan.

Lupercus is the god of shepherds. His festival, celebrated on the anniversary of the founding of his temple on February 15, was called the Lupercalia.

Have you started preparing for Yule - not spiritually but mundanely, like decorating and shopping, etc...CJ and I were talking the other night about how we want to decorate more this year, but then we remembered, we won't be home from December 26-Jan. 1 (we're going to WDW again!). So, is it even worth it to go all out with decorations?

What about gifts? Buy or make? I usually get candles from my mom, (Yankee candles are the best) beauty/skin care products from my grandma (like Dermalogica or Jane Iredale - my faves!), and handmade items from the kids (drawings mostly) but nothing from CJ. We just never exchange Yule gifts (or birthday gifts for that matter) but I'm thinking maybe we need to start.

It's life - hectic life. Always working. Always worrying about money - paying bills, saving money fro vacations and fun stuff, saving money for, well, our savings. I think life is going by much too fast. I'm really trying to slow it down.

Hmmmm, I've been seeing a lot of "happy St. Patrick's Day" commenting going around on the social sites - of course, since it is St. Patrick's Day today. BUT, I am seeing this from a lot of Pagans as well and I just wonder, why? Do they not know the history of this day? Ignorance is bliss! Do they know but just don't care? I mean, this holiday has gotten about as secular as Christmas so maybe it just has no impact?

If you don't know the history, I'll get you up to speed: St. Patrick is responsible for driving the Pagans (or snakes) out of Ireland, abolishing the old ways and bringing in Christianity. Yes snakes...what many people don't realize is that the serpent was actually a metaphor for the early Pagan faiths of Ireland.

So basically celebrating St. Patrick's Day honors the elimination of the old religion in favor of a new one.  You may see Pagans who know this history, wearing some sort of snake symbol on St. Patrick's Day, instead of a shamrock. Oh, here's more history! Saint Patrick taught the Irish about the concept of the Christian Trinity by showing people the shamrock, using it to explain the Christian belief of “three divine persons in the one God”.

So, yea....another 'holiday' I won't be participating in...

The most favorite Yule gift the Witchlets got was the Xbox360 with Kinect. This was the group gift CJ and I decided to get them and they love it! Here's Olivia playing one of the games:

We ordered it online from Gamestop and got next day delivery. I literally placed the order round 4pm and it was on our doorstep the very next afternoon! CJ's birthday is December 29th, I'm screwed unless I can find a place with same day delivery birthday gifts for him because I still didn't get him anything!

CJ and I did get the Witchlets Yule presents but instead of going with an ipod nano for each of them, we got an Xbox 360 with Kinect.

We decided on a group gift this year, something they could all enjoy together. I am seriously hoping we didn't just make a mistake. It was an expensive gift and well, I swear if they break it I will scream!

Have you decorated for Yule yet? Olivia saw one of those cardboard displays they have in stores, of a decorated tree and she wants to put it in her room, LOL.

We haven't put up our tree yet and I haven't even switched my altar from Samhain to Yule yet! Sheesh I am slacking! We never decorate the outside so I don't need to worry about that.

What do you do? Do you go all out or just do a little?

CJ's birthday is Dec. 29th and my Uncle Eddie's birthday is Dec. 21st (or is it the 20th? UGH) and so one of the great things about this is that shopping for birthday presents during this time of year means I can take advantage of good deals. The bad thing? Seems the birthdays and the Yule celebrations get all mushed up together.

I'm having a difficult time trying to figure out what to get CJ. My uncle wants a cigars humidor, so that's easy; but for CJ? UGH, I have no idea.

If you have family or friends that have birthdays around Yule, how do you make their birthday stand out so it's extra special?

I know, November has just begun and already I'm thinking about Yule. I suppose it is because it is the one Sabbat I dread; mostly because I really dislike this time of year.

Every year we try to incorporate holiday cheer (giving gifts) in with the real meaning of the Sabbat--the Winter Solstice. My Witchlets, especially Olivia, are very interested in learning about Yule traditions, where they originated and how Christianity adopted many of them.

This year I will try not to be so 'bah-humbug' about the season.I will try to enjoy going out and shopping for gifts for the Witchlets. Last year I put it off and just hated it when I finally dd go. I utilized online shopping instead (which I did get some awesome deals at buy.com) but my heart just wasn't in it.

I really hope to start our own family traditions for Yule; I'm tired of following the traditions of others.

So, all the comments that came pouring in regarding Pagans celebrating Christian holidays certainly got me thinking. I am a Libra and for that reason I am always trying to see everyone's point of view. This sometimes gets me into trouble because it tends to set my mind wandering off in a direction my heart is not in. Figures it would take my significant other to reel me back in with common sens; a common sense at least he and I follow.

He made this comment on my last post and I have to say, out of all the comments made, this is the one I agree with the most and yes that IS because he is my other half. We share the same views and perhaps that is why get along so well.

Zyon:

"Seriously it's a completely stupid subject. If you are Pagan you do not celebrate Easter or Christmas in any form. They are christian holidays and have nothing to do with earth based religions. If someone blogs, "I'm gong to go celebrate Easter" and they claim to be Pagan they have no value for their own religion.

I get very tired of people assuming we will celebrate whatever they feel is normal to celebrate. Why would I celebrate the birth or death of a man I don't believe lived? Ask me to celebrate Easter and as a "non believer" and I will tell you what I think about Easter.

I also love how people say, "well what if they want to celebrate your holiday with you?" Well, I don't like hypocrites anymore then I like Christia... If a Christian said they wanted to celebrate a Pagan holiday then they don't have enough conviction to stand up for what they believe in.

Christians and Pagans are fundamentally hard wired differently and our beliefs mix like water and oil. So I say, Christians, go celebrate your God's holidays in a manner that obviously steals as much as possible from Pagan holidays and us Pagans will continue to celebrate our holidays that predate the Christian versions by a few thousand years."

I've gotten a lot of great responses to my last post "Are You Pagan? Really?" and the most recent comment had many questions in it so I am going to answer them in this post.

Here is the comment:

I can understand where you are coming from and agree to a point, but I don't think you need be miffed about it. Pretend for a minute like I'm not in the closet. I still tell my family Happy Easter and Merry Christmas. I give them Christmas gifts. I also wish my Jewish bestfriend a happy Hanukkah and buy her a Hanukkah present. I am not now nor ever have been Jewish, but someone I care about is and I will show my respect and love for her by acknowledging special days in her faith. She is not pagan, but will buy me a Yule present.
I still celebrate Easter with my family because it's FUN. Every year the whole family (2 grandparents, 17 parents, 20 grandkids, and 1 great-grandkid) get together and we have a massive blow-out, enter at your own risk confetti egg/silly string fight. It won't happen on Ostara b/c my family is not Pagan. They are Catholic. Does that give me the right to make them change the date? That's asking a bit much for the size of my family. Does that mean I should not participate because it's offensive that they are celebrating on the wrong day? Well, then I would miss out on a lot of fun and family time. Also, I know plenty of Pagans that choose to celebrate Ostara on the nearest full moon. Sometimes that can be weeks before or after. Are they wrong? If your best friend invited you to their house for Easter dinner, would you turn them down simply because it's not "the right holiday"? I think that would be kind of rude. I think you should look at it the other way, too. Would you be mad if someone gave you a Yule present, even though they were not Pagan? Would you be upset if your family was Catholic, but wanted to celebrate Ostara with you? Should their friends be upset because their egg hunt pictures appeared on the internet two weeks before Easter?

Not trying to ruffle feathers, just coming at from a different angle.

My Response:

I still tell my family Happy Easter and Merry Christmas. I give them Christmas gifts. I also wish my Jewish bestfriend a happy Hanukkah and buy her a Hanukkah present. I am not now nor ever have been Jewish, but someone I care about is and I will show my respect and love for her by acknowledging special days in her faith. 

My point EXACTLY. You wish her a happy Hanukkah and buy her a Hanukkah present - you don't say, "Merry Christmas" and give her a Christmas gift on Christmas. That would be disrespectful.

She is not pagan, but will buy me a Yule present.

That is nice :)

This is fine - you are not celebrating the holiday by giving them a gift or wishing them a happy Easter, Hanukkah or Merry Christmas. If you choose to buy them a gift or they buy you a gift, that is completely different from what I was referring to in my last post about actually celebrating something you don't believe in.

I still celebrate Easter with my family because it's FUN. Every year the whole family (2 grandparents, 17 parents, 20 grandkids, and 1 great-grandkid) get together and we have a massive blow-out, enter at your own risk confetti egg/silly string fight. It won't happen on Ostara b/c my family is not Pagan. 
They are Catholic. Does that give me the right to make them change the date? That's asking a bit much for the size of my family. Does that mean I should not participate because it's offensive that they are celebrating on the wrong day? Well, then I would miss out on a lot of fun and family time. 

Again, you're missing my point. Going to a family member's house on THEIR holiday is different from celebrating it on your own. I still go to my mom's on Christmas Eve for dinner and she stops over at my house on Yule. What I DON'T do is give my Witchlets presents on Christmas. We don't sit around the Yule tree on Christmas Eve or morning and open gifts; we open gifts on Yule. I don't give my Witchlets Easter baskets - we don't do any egg hunts on Easter; those things are done on Ostara. Visiting family on their holiday is not what I was referring to.

Also, I know plenty of Pagans that choose to celebrate Ostara on the nearest full moon. Sometimes that can be weeks before or after. Are they wrong?  

I know Pagans that celebrate Sabbats on a date that suits the entire group, so everyone can attend; but if you are referring to Pagans that celebrate, for example, Ostara on the following Full Moon instead of on the Equinox, well of course that's incorrect.

If your best friend invited you to their house for Easter dinner, would you turn them down simply because it's not "the right holiday"?  I think that would be kind of rude.

Again, visiting family/friends on their holiday isn't the issue. Do they have blessed food they want me to eat (Catholics do this on Holy Saturday) - if so, I might decline and no it's not rude. It's rude for them to think I want to eat blessed food. Did they make me or my Witchlets Easter baskets? I would have to say I would not agree with that. My mom does this and it irritates me. She makes Easter baskets for the kids and gives them to them on Easter. Why not give them colored eggs and candy on Ostara - the holiday they celebrate.

I think you should look at it the other way, too. Would you be mad if someone gave you a Yule present, even though they were not Pagan?

No, that's just silly. If they want to give me a present for a Sabbat I believe in and celebrate, that's wonderful. That is their decision. But don't give me a gift on Christmas. I don't hand my Jewish friends gifts on Christmas. I don't send them Christmas cards - that's stupid, they don't celebrate it.

Would you be upset if your family was Catholic, but wanted to celebrate Ostara with you? 

No, I'd fall over from the thought. That is THEIR prerogative.

Should their friends be upset because their egg hunt pictures appeared on the internet two weeks before Easter?

You lost me on this one :P

In conclusion:

I think somehow my point was unclear to some. My issue is not with visiting family and friends on 'their' holidays. I even said that in my last post: "I'm not talking about going to see family on 'their' holiday. I do that too, it's more of a tradition than a religious thing."

What I am referring to is this: making your kids an 'Easter basket' and giving it to them on Easter. Having an egg hunt on Easter for your kids. If you celebrate Ostara then those things should have already been done for Ostara, why are you doing them again on Easter? Why are you wishing your Pagan friends a happy Easter?

On Christmas, why are you opening gifts? Didn't you do that on Yule? We have a Yule tree every year and every year on Yule we have dinner as a family and open gifts. The tree stays up until sometimes the end of January (mostly because CJ and I are too lazy to take it down earlier) but on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning we don't exchange gifts. We do visit my mom on Christmas Eve and that is okay; she wants us to have dinner with her. People celebrate 'the season' for about an entire 2 weeks in December. However, we don't appreciate 'Merry Christmas' cards from my mom but she gives them to us anyway. We don't give her 'Blessed Yule' cards because SHE DOESN'T CELEBRATE YULE. As I said before, would you send a Jewish friend a 'Merry Christmas' card? No, you would wish your Jewish friends a happy Hanukkah ON Hanukkah.

I find it offensive that some friends/family don't seem to care what my family believes in and celebrates. They still give us Happy Easter and Merry Christmas cards. CJ's mom told him on the phone this year, "Am I allowed to say 'Happy Easter'?" and he replied with, "No, I don't celebrate Easter. Why didn't you call me on Ostara and wish me a happy spring?" (I'm sure I didn't quote that 100% correct but you get the point) Why would she? She doesn't celebrate Ostara? Right - but we do and if she wants to wish us a happy anything then it should be something we celebrate, not something we fully do NOT believe in.

In the cases where people are still in the 'closet' - well, that is an entire other discussion.  For those who have immediate family (spouse) that is absolutely another religion and  believes in it, then sure, it should be split up but BOTH religions should be acknowledged, not just one. I have a friend who is Jewish and her husband is Catholic, they have 2 children. The family celebrates BOTH Jewish and Catholic holidays - that is how it should be. One should not stifle the other.

Am I miffed? Sure. Why? Because to me this IS a big deal. I am tired of being put off by non Pagan family and friends who feel what I believe in is 'not real' for lack of a better term, so they completely ignore it yet shower me with cards and presents during their holidays. So, when I see Pagans actually celebrating Christian holidays, it makes me wonder...

Before I even begin to venture down the road I am about to, let me get one thing straight; I realize there are many paths of Paganism and that spirituality starts with your heart. However, I believe actions speak what the heart feels. If you're Pagan, why do you celebrate Christian holidays?

I'm not talking about going to see family on 'their' holiday. I do that too, it's more of a tradition than a religious thing. I'm talking about full blown celebrations. See, over Easter weekend I noticed many of my Pagan Facebook friends posting various unusual status messages like:

• "Happy Easter everyone!"
• "Have a safe and wonderful Easter!"
• "Watching the movies the kids got in their Easter baskets"
• "The Easter bunny was here and brought lots of goodies!"

Then I saw photos of Easter egg hunts and the like. Ummm, what? I didn't see much of this at all on or around Ostara. Why not have egg hunts and do fun things on Ostara? What's with giving kids Easter baskets? My mother does that every year and it irritates me and every year I have to have a discussion with her. I am constantly reminding her that she is 2 weeks late on the baskets. I find that disrespectful, but that's a rant for another time.

Like I said, I realize people visit family on holidays and such. What I don't understand is the sheep mentality. I mean, I have some Jewish friends; I don't see them giving each other Easter baskets 'just because it's Easter' or having a Christmas tree and giving each other presents on Christmas. They have their own traditions. They don't celebrate other religion's holidays just because 'everyone else is' - so why do some Pagans? It's just easier?  Look, I've been fighting my mom about this for years and eventually one day, if she continues to shove her holidays down my throat, she won't see us at all, even for a simple 'holiday' dinner.

Exposing children to other religions is absolutely fine, it makes them knowledgeable and well rounded. Having them celebrate other religions is odd to me. Shouldn't we first institute our beliefs within the family and then branch out?

It's the same round and round I've had with my family for years. My spirituality and what I believe seems to be 'nonsense' yet I am expected to partake in the traditions my family has on their holidays.

I have been Pagan for over 15 years now and openly practicing for about 10. My family knows I am Pagan, they know I was in a Coven. The only event any family member ever attended was Olivia's Wiccaning - only my mom came. Yet, every year when Ostara comes around or when Yule comes around, it's the same thing - those special days get overlooked by my family and by CJ's family. Okay, fine, they are not Pagan so why should I expect anything from them?

Maybe because I am expected to be at my mom's house on Holy Saturday (she's Catholic) to eat blessed food and I am expected to be at my dad's every Easter for ham. My kids gets tons of candy in their Easter baskets. What do they get on Ostara from family? Nothing. Why are they getting EASTER baskets anyway???!

Every Christmas Eve I run myself ragged to my dad's in the afternoon and then to my mom's in the evening. An overabundant amount of presents for the kids is an every year occurrence. What do they get for Yule from family? Nothing.

Even my mother in law - whom I adore, when she called to chat with me today, felt the need to say to me, "I know you don't celebrate it, but tell the kids I said Happy Easter." Why? You just admitted you know we don't celebrate it. I just don't get it?

Why do I still get looked at like I am speaking another language when I mention Ostara or Yule? Why am I 'expected' to continue their traditions but no one can see my side? Why, when I speak my mind, am I the asshole?

I want to wish everyone a wonderful new year. Please stay safe!

Not much going on here tonight, what are your plans?

The Witchlets had a fun Samhain, especially trick or treating. Well, 2 of them did. Wyatt wanted nothing to do with his little devil costume.


Yea, you would have thought the costume was choking him to death or something. No problem, he stayed with my mom and grandma at their house while Zyon and I took Dante Buzz Lightyear and Olivia Hannah Montana trick or treating.

How was your holiday?

My mom got me these cute candle holders for my birthday. They're from the Yankee Candle store.

Of course she also got me some great smelling candles, including my favorite, 'Witches Brew'!

Today is Pagan Pride Day, although many celebrations were had over the weekend.

Seven years ago, Dru Ann Welch put on a Wiccan pentacle -- a symbol of her newfound Pagan faith.

"I had a friend, one of the first people I met in Paganism, and one of the best things she ever taught me was 'I will never hide my pentacle from anyone,' " Welch says. "To me that was profound. Why should we hide? If you want to believe in a pentacle, a cross or an Egyptian ankh, you should be able to believe, be proud of that and never have to hide anything."

That's part of the motivation behind Pagan Pride Day events that are held across the country each September.

Source: http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=20037

During the months of September and October many communities celebrate Pagan Pride Day. With Pagan Pride, it's the time to celebrate our Spirituality, give thanks, and a time for renewal and rebirth.

September 22nd is the Autumn Equinox, and time to wear our Purple Ribbons! The Purple Ribbon campaign was started by FOTE in 1997 to show our support for religious tolerance and the freedom to believe in our own paths.

September 22 is the day to wear our Purple Ribbons, but why keep it a single day? We should wear our ribbons all the time! By wearing our ribbons we can help ease fears and promote tolerance!