Happy Winter Solstice
Well, its the time of the year that the northern axis is tilted furthest away from the sun, creating the longest period of darkness of the year, otherwise known as the Winter Solstice.
For a neo-shamanist such as myself, days like today hold the most significant meaning. I, personally, celebrate 5 holidays; Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, my Birthday, Fall Equinox, and the Winter Equinox. Of course I don't usually celebrate them on the actual day of except for my Birthday. These are my personal holidays... but of course to fit in with my judeo-christian surroundings, I tend to celebrate my holidays on the same days as the christian ones. Of course since almost all christian holidays are stolen, I mean converted from pagan rituals and celebrations, I usually don't feel so bad doing it. So here are the holidays I usually celebrate and what they mean to me.
My Holidays(warning some slight ranting about christianity behind the cut)
-New Years Day: I celebrate it for the most part just as a matter of convienance. I don't believe in the divinity of christ, so the roman calander that has the whole BC/AD thing doesn't really apply to me. But if I used the Mayan calander, no one would accept my checks, so it looks like I am stuck with it. But at least its a day off and an excuse to go out and get drunk with my friends so it isn't all bad.
-Spring Equinox: This is my personal New Year since it is pretty much the beginning of the next rotational cycle of the Earth around the Sun. It is a time of rebirth and celebrating what the accomplishments of the past year. I usually do not celebrate this holiday on the actual day of. Rather I usually celebrate this holiday on the converted pagan holiday of Eoster, or "Easter" as the christians put it. For the pagans it was a time of renewal and rebirth, so naturally the christians just arbitrarily made it the day of christs resurrection. So although everyone around me is celebrating "Easter" or "Eoster" for some of my pagan friends. I am pretty much celebrating the start of the true new year.
-Summer Solstice: This my personal holiday of rest and relaxation. It is the time of the year when the northern axis is tilted most towards the sun, resulting in the longest period of sunlight of the year. I usually celebrate this holiday by just resting and relaxing and going out and having fun. When I was younger it was always outdoors, but anymore I am kind of a wimp when it comes to heat and the sun (its all this damn fur!), but I still try to go out and have fun.
-My Birthday: I always celebrate this on the actual day of my birth. I usually prefer to be alone for this, and I go out and do something nice for myself and use it as a time of reflection on who I am, where I am going and where I have been and how much I have changed over the course of my life.
-Fall Equinox: A diminishing and decay... things are getting ready for the winter that is coming. I usually don't celebrate this holiday on the actual day of either, but rather on the American holiday of "Thanksgiving" since it is a very similar holday and everything. I use that day as a time of giving thanks for all that I have, and the people I know.
-Winter Solstice: As stated above, the period of longest darkness, the beginning of the long winters sleep. As with the others, I never celebrate this holiday on the actual day of, but rather on the Roman festival of the sun god, which was later arbitrarily converted by one of the popes as the day of christs birth to get more romans to hop aboard the christian bandwagon. Although this holiday has been bastardized by christians and corporate America, I still celebrate it, albeit with my own moniker of "Giftmas". I use it as a time of showing the people I love and care about my feelings and get them small gifts and tokens.
So those are my major holidays, I also kinda celebrate Halloween and some of the more "American" holidays such as the 4th of July and Veterens day, but I almost never celebrate any of the mostly christian holidays such as St. Patricks day (yeah like I am going to celebrate someone that committed genocide in Ireland and killed anyone who was pagan... thats what "driving the snakes from Ireland" truly meant ya know), and Valentines day is just too depressing for me to even want to celebrate.
But hopefully that explains a little of my beliefs. And as this is a time of showing all the people I love and care about how I feel, I just want to say to all my friends on my LiveJournal. I appreciate all the friendship and support you all have shown me. You all mean more to me than you know and add so much to my days and nights. I don't know half of you half as much as I would like, but know that you all hold a special meaning in my heart and thoughts.
HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE F-LIST!!
For a neo-shamanist such as myself, days like today hold the most significant meaning. I, personally, celebrate 5 holidays; Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, my Birthday, Fall Equinox, and the Winter Equinox. Of course I don't usually celebrate them on the actual day of except for my Birthday. These are my personal holidays... but of course to fit in with my judeo-christian surroundings, I tend to celebrate my holidays on the same days as the christian ones. Of course since almost all christian holidays are stolen, I mean converted from pagan rituals and celebrations, I usually don't feel so bad doing it. So here are the holidays I usually celebrate and what they mean to me.
My Holidays(warning some slight ranting about christianity behind the cut)
-New Years Day: I celebrate it for the most part just as a matter of convienance. I don't believe in the divinity of christ, so the roman calander that has the whole BC/AD thing doesn't really apply to me. But if I used the Mayan calander, no one would accept my checks, so it looks like I am stuck with it. But at least its a day off and an excuse to go out and get drunk with my friends so it isn't all bad.
-Spring Equinox: This is my personal New Year since it is pretty much the beginning of the next rotational cycle of the Earth around the Sun. It is a time of rebirth and celebrating what the accomplishments of the past year. I usually do not celebrate this holiday on the actual day of. Rather I usually celebrate this holiday on the converted pagan holiday of Eoster, or "Easter" as the christians put it. For the pagans it was a time of renewal and rebirth, so naturally the christians just arbitrarily made it the day of christs resurrection. So although everyone around me is celebrating "Easter" or "Eoster" for some of my pagan friends. I am pretty much celebrating the start of the true new year.
-Summer Solstice: This my personal holiday of rest and relaxation. It is the time of the year when the northern axis is tilted most towards the sun, resulting in the longest period of sunlight of the year. I usually celebrate this holiday by just resting and relaxing and going out and having fun. When I was younger it was always outdoors, but anymore I am kind of a wimp when it comes to heat and the sun (its all this damn fur!), but I still try to go out and have fun.
-My Birthday: I always celebrate this on the actual day of my birth. I usually prefer to be alone for this, and I go out and do something nice for myself and use it as a time of reflection on who I am, where I am going and where I have been and how much I have changed over the course of my life.
-Fall Equinox: A diminishing and decay... things are getting ready for the winter that is coming. I usually don't celebrate this holiday on the actual day of either, but rather on the American holiday of "Thanksgiving" since it is a very similar holday and everything. I use that day as a time of giving thanks for all that I have, and the people I know.
-Winter Solstice: As stated above, the period of longest darkness, the beginning of the long winters sleep. As with the others, I never celebrate this holiday on the actual day of, but rather on the Roman festival of the sun god, which was later arbitrarily converted by one of the popes as the day of christs birth to get more romans to hop aboard the christian bandwagon. Although this holiday has been bastardized by christians and corporate America, I still celebrate it, albeit with my own moniker of "Giftmas". I use it as a time of showing the people I love and care about my feelings and get them small gifts and tokens.
So those are my major holidays, I also kinda celebrate Halloween and some of the more "American" holidays such as the 4th of July and Veterens day, but I almost never celebrate any of the mostly christian holidays such as St. Patricks day (yeah like I am going to celebrate someone that committed genocide in Ireland and killed anyone who was pagan... thats what "driving the snakes from Ireland" truly meant ya know), and Valentines day is just too depressing for me to even want to celebrate.
But hopefully that explains a little of my beliefs. And as this is a time of showing all the people I love and care about how I feel, I just want to say to all my friends on my LiveJournal. I appreciate all the friendship and support you all have shown me. You all mean more to me than you know and add so much to my days and nights. I don't know half of you half as much as I would like, but know that you all hold a special meaning in my heart and thoughts.
HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE F-LIST!!