[blukatzen]

Continuing on with the Fourth Day of Yule...

By whatever name one celebrates the winter holiday in the West, the
giving of gifts is a central part of the season. Sometimes this
descends into rank commercialism, but the idea of gift-giving itself
is a thoroughly spiritual one. The giver and the one given to are
united through the medium of that which is given. We give, and in a
spiritual law as true as Newton's physics, we must then receive -
even if the reward is not a material one.

"The generous and bold have the best lives," the Havamal tells us -
and note that the two traits are listed together. And is not the
power of generosity the whole point of Dickens' marvelous tale, A
Christmas Carol? Look closer at the story, and you will see a lesson
how open-handedness gives a better life…not to mention an exact
parallel between the three Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and To
Come and the Norns that move behind the action in our own sagas and
Eddas. Generosity is one of the tools we use to forge a good orlog,
or "fate" for ourselves.

Light then, a candle for Generosity. Give the brightness of the flame
to the world around you, and watch it reflect back on you as well.
...Steven McNallen

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('erl', 'G')od Bless us, each and every one.

[erl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rogerhb', '
')Thanks, but no thanks.

We will be celebrating the traditional mid-winter feast at the height of summer here.

[NEOPO]

All of this is good and fine until the Judeo-catho-christians come to take you away....... take you away......... take you A wayyyyyyyyyyyy!

The old gods failed to protect the faithful tree and bunny rabbit worshippers.....
Maybe that is why the faithful now worship guns and ammo and before that swords and shields.

<beats the war drum progressively louder in an attempt to disrupt the softly spoken magic spell that has been cast over all mankind>

Thus spoke Malcom Xmas.....

[blukatzen]

Continuing on with the 5th day of meditations..

"Speaking of A Christmas Carol…I recently watched the movie Scrooge,
starring Albert Finney in the role of the monumental miser himself. I
was struck by the richness, the plenty, associated with the Spirit of
Christmas Present. He was a giant figure, masculine, bedecked in
holly and wearing a luxurious green robe that barely covered his
otherwise bared chest. Indeed, the Spirit was the very figure of
wealth. When he informed Scrooge that "I love life…and life loves me"
it became plain that - whatever Dickens' intention - we were
seeing none other than the God of the Vanir, Frey himself!

The old Gods and Goddesses of our people are alive and well, lurking
in the pages of literature produced a thousand years after the
official demise of our native faith. They bring a timeless message of
life, love, lust, and liberty. With the Yule season upon us, we can
do no better than to heed this admonition to happiness and plenty!

Let us light a candle for Hospitality, sharing our prosperity with kin
and friends everywhere."

... by Steven McNallen