Holiday Stocking Stuffers
Happy Winter Solstice, Saturnalia and Sol Invictus Day!
I think of the three - Sol Invictus is my favorite. The 'unconquered Sun' was a popular coin/image motif in the late Roman Empire. The figure is remarkably 'Christ-like' in appearance - in fact, the early Christians will 'borrow' this image for later iconography.
I'm in a festive mood today - even though the weather is dismal and soggy. I'm in the process of sending out the last batch of holiday cards (yeah, some will be late - deal with it. *g*). This year I'm including a little SHINY surprise inside - thanks to my new Canon photo printer.
On Christmas Day, we will be cooking up a classic turkey dinner - instead of going out on the road. This is a RARE event - usually I'm invited to a number of places to feast, but this year we decided to stay put and feed our friends. :-)
Here's some shiny to look at while getting ready for the holiday weekend.
Holiday SHINY
Mighty Jove..
Jupiter is now plainly visible as an extremely bright star high in the eastern sky after sunset. In the southwest is the brilliant 'star' - Venus.
Return of Mars
Mars will return as a very bright reddish star in Leo this spring - watch for it.
The Rosette Nebula
So, what kind of plans do you have for the holidays?
I think of the three - Sol Invictus is my favorite. The 'unconquered Sun' was a popular coin/image motif in the late Roman Empire. The figure is remarkably 'Christ-like' in appearance - in fact, the early Christians will 'borrow' this image for later iconography.
I'm in a festive mood today - even though the weather is dismal and soggy. I'm in the process of sending out the last batch of holiday cards (yeah, some will be late - deal with it. *g*). This year I'm including a little SHINY surprise inside - thanks to my new Canon photo printer.
On Christmas Day, we will be cooking up a classic turkey dinner - instead of going out on the road. This is a RARE event - usually I'm invited to a number of places to feast, but this year we decided to stay put and feed our friends. :-)
Here's some shiny to look at while getting ready for the holiday weekend.
Holiday SHINY
Mighty Jove..
Jupiter is now plainly visible as an extremely bright star high in the eastern sky after sunset. In the southwest is the brilliant 'star' - Venus.
Return of Mars
Mars will return as a very bright reddish star in Leo this spring - watch for it.
The Rosette Nebula
So, what kind of plans do you have for the holidays?