Midwinter's Night -- The Sun Returns
Tonight is the longest night of the year, winter solstice, Midwinter's Night, Yule. Tomorrow the sun starts its journey north again. For many thousand years Midwinter's Night has been celebrated throughout the northern hemisphere, thousands of years before the major contemporary religions. In ancient tradition people gave gifts in celebration, and lite a fire, or put up candles or other lights against the dark, little lights to grow into the return of the sun. The new religions have adopted the lighting of lights and overlaid their religions on the ancient midwinter celebration.
Roman Emperor Aurillian declared December 25 as the official "solstice" and the beginning of Saturnalia throughout the empire. The 12 days of Roman Saturnalia became the 12 days of Christmas when the Christian conference of Constantinople adopted a Christian overlay of pagan holidays. The return of the sun God became the birth of the son of God. But old tradition dies hard, and everywhere you go people still light their lights on the darkest night, build a yule fire, burn a yule log, light a candle, light 8 candles in a row, or decorate their homes with 10,000 little computer controlled lights against the dark. People still decorate with holly and evergreen boughs, the old symbols of life continuing even in the dark of winter. It is said that holly bears its fruit in the darkest time of the year in anticipation and sure knowledge that spring will soon return.
The giving of gifts at Yule is also old beyond history, perhaps originating in a time when tribal hunters found game scarce and hunting difficult in midwinter, but shared their kill with the whole tribe so that all might survive until spring. Yule is a time of feasting and joy, merriment and celebrating in all lands and all religions.
This year we have also had a lunar eclipse at Midwinter. The last eclipse on Midwinter solstice was in the 1600s. Some of us stayed up most of the night and enjoyed the dark as even the light from the moon went dark on the darkest night.
Today marks the rebirth of the Sun God celebrated in ancient traditions. We have survived the darkest part of darkness once again. There will still be cold weather for a while, but each day the sun shines a little longer, a little stronger. The Sun, the light, and the warm comes again.
For each of my blessed readers, you of every faith and of no faith, may your little lights grow into brilliance in the coming months. May you have a joyous and festive midwinter feast, however you choose to celebrate.
Roman Emperor Aurillian declared December 25 as the official "solstice" and the beginning of Saturnalia throughout the empire. The 12 days of Roman Saturnalia became the 12 days of Christmas when the Christian conference of Constantinople adopted a Christian overlay of pagan holidays. The return of the sun God became the birth of the son of God. But old tradition dies hard, and everywhere you go people still light their lights on the darkest night, build a yule fire, burn a yule log, light a candle, light 8 candles in a row, or decorate their homes with 10,000 little computer controlled lights against the dark. People still decorate with holly and evergreen boughs, the old symbols of life continuing even in the dark of winter. It is said that holly bears its fruit in the darkest time of the year in anticipation and sure knowledge that spring will soon return.
The giving of gifts at Yule is also old beyond history, perhaps originating in a time when tribal hunters found game scarce and hunting difficult in midwinter, but shared their kill with the whole tribe so that all might survive until spring. Yule is a time of feasting and joy, merriment and celebrating in all lands and all religions.
This year we have also had a lunar eclipse at Midwinter. The last eclipse on Midwinter solstice was in the 1600s. Some of us stayed up most of the night and enjoyed the dark as even the light from the moon went dark on the darkest night.
Today marks the rebirth of the Sun God celebrated in ancient traditions. We have survived the darkest part of darkness once again. There will still be cold weather for a while, but each day the sun shines a little longer, a little stronger. The Sun, the light, and the warm comes again.
For each of my blessed readers, you of every faith and of no faith, may your little lights grow into brilliance in the coming months. May you have a joyous and festive midwinter feast, however you choose to celebrate.
posted by Bob | Tuesday, December 21, 2010
14 Comments:
I was reading this: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/on-forgiveness/?ref=opinion
and followed the link here: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470344040.html
The excerpts are fairly short, but insightful. At this time of year, what do you think?
Note to anonymous:
The concept of "forgiveness" without first making restitution for whatever has been done wrong is a fairly new concept. For Christian religious culture the concept of "sin" and "forgiveness" are interrelated. In other human cultures, and prior to the Christian concept of "sin," the tribal elders met and adjudicated a way to restore the balance in the society. The "guilty" party was required to make restitution, to restore wealth or take other action to restore balance. For example, if a pig had been stolen, a pig had to be returned to restore the community. Saying "I'm sorry" without returning the pig is a meaningless gesture, the community is still out of balance, so forgiveness cannot be granted. Once the pig is returned, balance has restored to the community, and there is nothing to forgive.
How do you make restitution for the murder of a child? I live in a death penalty state and here the "restitution" is the forfeiture of one's own life. I agree with it.
Note to anonymous:
The murder of a child is a loss of a person from the family and community. Many human societies would require payment to the family of the dead person. The amount of payment varies.
Killing the person responsible is vengeance, but it fails to benefit the family of the dead child.
Vengeance, sadly, is part of human nature. Getting rid of destructive members of a community is a sane and reasonable act. I recently served on a jury where the defendant was accused of beating and raping a 12-year-old girl. I don't know why the case even went to trial. There was DNA under the girl's fingernails as well as in her vagina, and she left part of a fingernail embedded in her attacker's eye. The evidence against him was overwhelming and it took the jury only a few minutes to find him guilty. The best the defense could do was offer the usual excuses, mother died when he was very young, alcoholic and abusive father, troubled home life, etc. I found out later it was his third felony conviction, with an automatic sentence of life without parole. It can't repair the damage he did to the girl and her family but society can rest better knowing he's gone for good. Societies have a vested interest in disposing of people like that, either by execution or imprisonment.
Why didn't the idiot take a plea?
You did the wrong thing probably. Biblically, the punishment/remedy for the rape of a virgin girl is for the man to marry her, give her father 50 sheckles of silver, and not divorce the girl.
Woman was made for man, not men for women.
America was made for women.
"It can't repair the damage he did to the girl and her family but society can rest better knowing he's gone for good. "
The damage can easily be repaired by having the man marry the girl and not divorce her (and he must pay her father some money). This is what the Bible proscribes. Ofcourse the Biblical law will never be allowed to exist again because you would rather destroy men for having relations with young females of childbearing age than to give them in marriage to men.
...Why didn't the idiot take a plea?...
I'm sure he was offered one, but it may not have been lenient enough. Given the nature of the crime I doubt if a prosecutor would have offered anything that didn't involve a lengthy time spent behind bars. DAs are elected officials and being seen as soft on a child rapist doesn't look good on their record. If it was his third strike the defense attorney may have advised him to take his chances with a jury, hoping for a bleeding heart to go for the sob story defense. It just takes one to hang a jury. Or if it was a really skeevy lawyer he or she may have banked on the kid being too traumatized to testify and go for a mistrial. Glad the jury did the right thing.
Anon December 31, 2010 12:53 AM, very sick idea. Get professional help.
"she left part of a fingernail embedded in her attacker's eye"
Nice going!
The damage can easily be repaired by having the man marry the girl and not divorce her
Very bad joke, in very poor taste. That would be the worst possible thing to do to the kid and her family. I doubt if they want that scumbag as any part of their lives. And the kid needs to put this behind her and hopefully not hate all men as a result of the crime.
Note to readers:
These comments have gotten way off topic and have deteriorated into citing scriptures. Further off topic comments will be deleted.
Please review Bob's rules for comments on the left column of this blog.
Most abused children do not become violent felons. However, most violent felons were abused as children. Damage to the developing frontal lobe which controls impulses and regulates the sense of right and wrong (the "conscience" if you will) is often the culprit. I would be interested to know if the rapist mentioned above had been tested for such damage. Monsters are made, not born.
Biblical law has nothing to do with anything unless you live in a theocracy. The Middle East is that way ----------->. Google Maps will help you locate the nearest airport. America is a secular nation and governs accordingly. Go pound sand, fundamentalist idiot.
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