lupestripe | The Shortest Day

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Current Location: Marton Road, Middlesbrough

The Shortest Day

It's Yule for the Pagans amongst us or for those living in a more secular world, the less punchy "Shortest Day". If you celebrate Yule then I hope you have a good one and don't feel to disheartened by heartless card companies using the phrase "Have a Cool Yule" in their Christmas Cards. It completely misses the point and is also a pretty dreadful rhyme. To me, it's just one of life's little annoyances.

I always see 21 December as a watershed as it means that the days will now start to get longer again. Granted we won't really see its effects until the end of January but after the miserable darkness of the last two months, today being the Shortest Day is something to be thankful for. To me it symbolises hope and I am hopeful of brighter days to come. I'm sick of waking up when it's dark and feeling tired for most of the day simply because there's a blanket of murk that is shrouding the world.

Roll on Summer! Turn up the central heating!

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Winter > Summer :p Wait that doesn't work as my birthdays in the summer :O

*looks confused now*

It's nearly summer hun, get out that barbeque and sunbed and let's have some fun. Happy birthday by the way :D

yay yule! *does the panagn dance*

*does the panagn dance with iffy* what is the panagn dance?

*snuggles* Blessed solstice, wolfie. I don't really celebrate yule, since while I'm pagan, I'm an atheist pagan, but if I could, I'd get all my friends together for a nice celebration. ^^

My beliefs are a little off-kilter really. I'm a pagan and believe in nature being god. I don't worship nature though because there is a natural physical cycle to things and so don't really see the point of ceremonies and all that because it's a natural order that's going to happen anyway. I guess I would say I respect nature rather than worship it.

When it comes to Christmas, although I don't like a lot about it, it is the biggest party and social season of the year so you've got to get into the spirit of it really. Why can't you get your friends together hun? I hope you have a good time whatever you get up to *hugs*

*noddles* That doesn't sound unlike my own beliefs at all. *smiles and nuzzles* Ceremonies and the like aren't necessary in any way, and don't really make a difference as far as nature is concerned... but on the other hand, they're fun, and that's a good reason to celebrate them, even if there's no significance to them beyond what you (and the other involved people) personally draw from it.

*hugs back with both paws* Mmm, the reason why my friends and I can't get together is mostly that I don't have any that live close. The closest one is about 1 to 1,5 hours away by car, but he's got his own family, his wife and three children, so he couldn't meet up with me. In theory, I could probably ask if I could visit them for christmas, but I don't think I'd even be welcome - my friend wouldn't mind, of course, and I doubt his children really would, either (although it's hard to say with children), but his wife hates me and definitely wouldn't want for me to be there, and given that, it certainly wouldn't be enjoyable. So this definitely wouldn't work out, not at all, and I've never even really thought about it - given his wife, I'd probably rather sit around all on my own than attend anything that she attends as well.

All of my other friends live even further away, too, so the only thing I can do in the end is visit my parents; not ideal, I suppose, but my sister and I always do that, and it's not too bad really. My mother ceases her usual games and subtle (or not so subtle) stabbing, too, for the sake of actually having an enjoyable christmas, so it does work out; and while it sometimes feels strange to visit my parents for christmas at this age (meh, I feel old), the fact that my sister does as well does make me feel less like an old spinster. :P

Of course, I'd still prefer to get together with my friends instead, but what can you do? *snuggles you*

That's a good point regarding ceremonies. The good thing about them is that they can harness the natural energy which brings a sense of oneness and togetherness with earth. Although you can't change things you can harness this power to guide you in your own decisions. Plus that feeling of togetherness is always good to have.

I'm having that problem with a lot of my university friends. A lot of them have been conventional and got married. A lot of my friends live in London (which is four hours from where I live) and when people start forming couples they naturally become more distanced from their other friends. I can certainly empathise with you on that one. Also, most of my friends live nearly an hour away, which again makes life difficult. To have a social life I have to travel a lot at weekends (as it's too far to do after work on a weeknight).

A family Christmas is a political one and that presents problems. After my parents divorce three years ago there has been a lot of animosity directed at certain circles. I've phoned all my family this morning and the politics are still there (I had my mother on the phone moaning at me for 15 mintues about it) so I am better off out of it. Christmas brings out the worst rather than the best in my family and they're never particularly happy times, which is why I am not there. In Britain Christmas is a family affair, I think a lot of people are obligated to spend it with family when secretly all they want to do is spend it with friends.

If I lived in Germany I'd definitely come down and see you over the Christmas period. It is a little more difficult though as I live in England. Hope you have a good day today hun, even if it's just relaxing and doing nothing *hugs*

*hugs back* Thank you, hon. MMmm, it'd be nice to spend christmas with you (and your Master; of course he'd be more than welcome as well) and my other friends... ^.^

I'm sorry to hear about your family, too. There's not a lot of politics going on in mine, fortunately; it's mostly the core family, anyway, so there's really not a lot of room for factions and the like. We do like and interact with/visit/talk to/... my mother's side of the family, but my father's side... well, we (them and us) are just too different, so we don't have much contact at all, although there's not any real animosity there, either.

Ah well. And yeah, christmas is pretty much a family thing here, too, I think - most people I know will spend it with their families one way or another, at least, and it's much different in that regard from things like birthdays, where spending the day with your friends rather than your family is not just accepted but also the norm.

*snuggles you warmly* I hope you got to spend a nice time with your Master, at least, hon - or maybe with his family if he visited them? (Depending on how tolerant they are and all that.)

I got a phone call from my mother about half an hour ago and apparently this year my family situation was more farcical and more inconvenient than ever. Everyone was running to their own agenda so people didn't turn up to places until four hours after they were supposed to (thus ruining dinner) and others turned up to places where they weren't wanted.

My father's side of the family I rarely speak to as they live so far away. No animosity either but nothing in interest too - sounds very much like your situation.

As for me? I had a relaxing Christmas with my Master as I wasn't there. Thankfully. It would be cool to spend Christmas with you sometime, that's definitely one for the future. It's the first year I have been with someone other than my family - as you say - birthdays are more for friends, Christmas more for players.

*noddles* Sounds like you did the right thing indeed - that kind of "christmas" is best avoided, and doubly so when you've got a Master to spend the holidays with instead.

*nuzzle* MMmmm, and yeah, we should keep that idea in mind. ^.^ You're very welcome to visit at other times as well, BTW, as long as you don't mind the fact that I'm a poor student who's only got a small place, no car and all that - it won't exactly be luxurious, but still. :)

I know what it's like to be a poor student as I was one myself a couple of years ago. I often visit Germany as I try and keep the language speaking in check but sadly it only seems to happen once a year. I'll let you know though as it would be great to do.

Regarding my family, back in October my mother urged me to go away for Christmas and as my Master was going to spend it on his own, it was quite an easy decision for me to make. I don't regret it but because I have been quite ill mentally of late there have been a few little tensions. Still, I sleep chained to the bed every night, which is no bad thing *wags*

*smiles and wags his fluffy white tail as well* No, that's not bad at all. ^.^ And I think it's cool that your mother actually warned you and suggested you'd do something nicer and more enjoyable for christmas, too.

Mmm, and I'm looking forward to it. :) *snuggles* No pressure, though - if you can't visit, that's fine, too. It's just an offer. :)

My mother and I have a lot of empathy for each other because we are very similar people. I kinda predicted that this was gonna happen as family Christmases are never too great really. I'm just glad I wasn't there and I was given a get-out clause. It did cause a few problems me not being there but I'll sort out those in the New Year.

It'd be cool to visit you hun, I'll see when I can come over. Like most things in life, it's dependent on getting time off work. I'm confident I'll be able to see you soon though *hugs*

*smiles and snugs* I'd enjoy that. I'll just have to say it again, though - don't expect too much. I wouldn't want to disappoint you, although I'd try to make it all worthwhile, of course...

You won't disappoint me hun, just be yourself. I'm sure we'll have a great time :)

*snugs* OK, wolfie... thank you. :)

Shortest day my arse, it was far too long imo, especially with the link system melting for 3 hours.

I had one of those days a week last Thursday when the host company shut my website down. Then, last Thursday they did it again for a wholly different reason. Grrrr. Still it just makes the other days shorter I guess. It's still annoying going into the office in the dark and then not leaving again until it's dark. Yey for long days and cookie dough!

No turning up the central heating! It makes many CO2's =O

*shivers* - but now how am I going to stay warm? *pounces on you for your heat*

3 days of a dead sun. We get to celebrate the dawn of a new sun in 4 days ^_^
Pagans worshiped dragons too. I demand my worshipings. Or was it the Celts?

I think it was the Celts who worshipped dragons and they were more druid than pagan (not that I know the specific differentiation). Three days of dead sun? Where's that? Sun was nice and out yesterday, was great. And any excuse for a celebration :D

According to Egypto-babalonian traditions december 25 is the day that god's sun is reborn.
It's todo with the fact that on 21st the sun is at it's lowist point and it stays at that point for 3 days, on the 25th the suns position has moved north. If you studdy peoples beliefs at a time before the christian movement and the dark ages, you see how they just steel everything.

December 25 was Saturnalia in Roman times which is where the idea of the gift giving comes from. Whether the Christians used this date to convert the Romans from their own belief system to Christianity is a moot point. Is that what Saturanlia is about, and is it related to it.

Egyptian/Babylonian traditions pre-date Roman and I've studied a little about both cultures but I didn't know that. Thanks for pointing it out to me :)

If you look at important religious figures of Europe and the middle east who are not Jesus you see a lot of similarity, most notably the born on DEC 25th

Could you give me some examples? I find this very interesting.

"Pagan" is just a collective term for all sorts of beliefs, and druidism (both modern and ancient) is a pagan religion/spirituality/belief system/... . :)

That's how I understand it but I guess it's more complicated than that. It's something I have a passing interest in but don't really know enough to be 100% sure about.

*noddles* Well, it's the way it is, generally speaking. "Pagan" is a collective term that just places you in a relatively wide spectrum of beliefs. Druidism (of which there's probably more than one tradition) is one variant, but there's also Norse pagans, Egyptian pagans, etc., Wiccans, ecclectic pagans (who freely "choose" from all the traditions based on what they feel is right and don't limit themselves just because something wasn't seen a certain way historically), atheist pagans (although those are pretty rare, I think) and so on.

Of course, there'll still be different variants in most cases; most traditions have been revived rather than actually having been handed down in an unbroken chain, so a Norse pagan today (that is, a neopagan - a term used to distinguish "old", historical pagans from those who've got pagan beliefs today) is not going to be same as, say, an Icelander prior to the year 1000 (when Iceland officially became a christian nation), and two Norse pagans today may well have differing beliefs, customs, traditions and the like. Of course, it's just like that in the "mainstream" religions, too - christianity, islam, judaism, buddhism and so on all have their different variants.

So personally, if you want to be precise, I'm an ecclectic atheist neopagan; I do think the Norse pantheon is more interesting than, say, the Egyptian one, but I don't personally believe that either's actually real.

*snuggles you* But in the end, it matters little... what's more important is that you like people and get along with them. :) I'll prefer a christian person I get along with well over a pagan I can't stand any day. :)

The word "pagan" in English means anyone who doesn't adhere to Christianty but it has since been adopted to encompass the more ancient natural ways of life. I have an interest in many strands of paganism but I have my very own unique world view so I doubt I could buy into any of them completely, I think I am too free thinking.

As you say though, I don't believe in putting labels on people, I treat everyone individually. This doesn't just extend to religion but to everything else as well.

*noddles* That's how I feel, too - I could never be a wiccan, or a druid, or anything like that, simply because I'm neither willing nor able to take anything for granted or as an absolute truth. I base my own view of the world on my own considerations and experiences, and I'm willing to change and adapt it, but I need to be convinced for that to happen, and I also will be willing to do the same thing again in the future. Dogma - of any kind! - fails on both; it doesn't convince, and it also cannot be challenged or changed in the future.

I agree completely. I study things through scientific rationality and I can't make leaps of faith myself. Hell I have trouble believing some of the positive things people say about me so believing in a deity of some kind is not going to happen. It's something I just cannot understand, I need evidence of the existence of things and my natural philosophy works within that construct. I have adapted my views many times, just like scientific theories need adapting from time to time, I guess that's a fair summation of my belief system.

That's a good sum-up of my own beliefs etc., too. :)

I've studied scientific philosophy too so can throw all that into the mix. Religion and belief systems fascinate me, I guess I'm just too logical a person to believe too.

Yeah, it's similar for me... it's not that religious beliefs can't be interesting, but they're interesting in the same way that literary fiction etc. is interesting. When people actually believe things unquestioningly, especially things that defy common sense, I always find that a little creepy, though. But to each their own...

It depends what they do with that belief though. People doing evil things on the whim of a fantasy I find very disturbing.

Oh, yes, that certainly - I was mostly talking about the beliefs as such.

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The Shortest Day

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