marius

What delights on Baldur and Robin Radio last night. Beads, political elections, holiday decorating, cats on newspaper and more!

We have a cat who loved tissue paper. The appeal was the crinkling noise, hiding beneathe it, attacking it and ripping it to shreads, and sleeping under a sort of tissue paper cave we had to daily reconstruct. Then, new cat arrived and HIS favorite thing was to attack the cat sleeping under tissue paper. Gone are tissue paper days. I miss them.

marius

My hat is off to Baldur for his decorating. (Well hat is always off cause I don't wear them, but you get the idea.) : )

Decorating here is minimalist, but like Robin, there is much appreciation for the beauty and energy that others put into holiday decorating. Am thinking a bead garland sounds very nice so Baldur may be hearing from marius.

And Robin, have seen homes like the one you posted. Yikes! When I was a kid we also had a "holiday street." It was a two block section and every home had a matching, gigantic Candy Cane in the front yard, hence the street was called Candy Cane Lane (during the holiday season). For a child, it was a magic land and don't recall any over-the-top decorating, just beautiful scenes. These were moderate homes, not the rich, so always wondered how they managed to pay the electric. Think it lasted about 20 years and then people moved out and new neighbors didn't want to "play" so that was the end of Candy Cane Lane.

marius

As for Halloween, not sure it's a holiday (is it?), but one neighbor used to start decorating for it on Sept 1. He had tombstones galore, a coffin where a skeleton would rise up and make ghosty sounds, gigantic spiders (but not the blow-up kind.) Every inch of the yard had something to look at. It was gaudy but kids LOVED it. This man even went to conventions to learn how to decorate for Halloween and had many notebooks with plans, ideas, etc.

Alas, the neighbor had a stroke last spring and we were surprised this year to realize we MISS watching the two month preparation! Our friends made fun of the disaster in our neighbor's yard, and it was rather a disaster, but we appreciated the heart of it. It was Frank's joy. Don't think there was anything he liked more than getting his home ready for Halloween.

solosater

marius, according to www.allaboutpopularissues.org

The Origin of Halloween: From the Celts to the Romans
Some historians trace the origin of Halloween back to the Celtic people of pre-medieval Europe. The Celts of Ireland, Britain, and France divided their year into halves: the “light half,” roughly consisting of the spring and summer months when days are longer and nights are shorter, and the “dark half,” roughly consisting of the autumn and winter months when days are shorter and nights are longer. Celts celebrated the end of the light half of the year with the festival of “Samhain” (pronounced sah-wen), which they observed during the October/November lunar cycle. Following the Roman conquest of Britain, British Celts adopted the Julian calendar and fixed the date of Samhain’s observance to November 1.

Costumes and treats were a traditional part of the Celtic celebration. And while Samhain began as a strictly Celtic festival, it is probable that aspects of Roman religion were incorporated into its observance over the four centuries of Roman rule in Britain (43-410 AD). For example, Pomona was the Roman goddess of fruit trees and gardens. Her symbol was an apple. Some scholars believe this may explain how candied apples and bobbing for apples became associated with Halloween (as Samhain was later renamed -- see below).

The Origin of Halloween: From Pagan to Christian
Other historians trace the origin of Halloween back to the ancient and enduring Christian tradition of celebrating the lives of Christian martyrs on the anniversaries of their deaths. When Pope Boniface IV reconsecrated the Pantheon in Rome on May 13, 609 AD, renaming it the “Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs,” he established that anniversary as a day of celebratory remembrance for all of the Church’s martyrs. Pope Gregory III later changed the date of remembrance to November 1 when he dedicated a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica to “all saints.” November 1 became All Saints Day, otherwise known as All Hallow’s Day. The night before became All Hallow’s Eve (“Halloween” being a colloquial contraction of that phrase). While Halloween began as a localized celebration, Pope Gregory IV extended its observance to all of Christendom in the 9th Century AD.

As Christianity spread throughout the world, pagan holidays were either Christianized or forgotten. Samhain was absorbed into Halloween. Costumes and gifts and bobbing for apples were preserved, incorporated into the new holiday. They remain a celebrated part of Halloween to this day, many centuries later.

The Origin of Halloween: From Sacred to Secular, from Secular to Pagan.
The origin of Halloween as a secular celebration in many parts of the world goes back to Europe’s rich Christian heritage. European empires conquered most of the world in the centuries following the Age of Exploration, allowing them to export their Christian faith and festivals to the rest of the world. With the Enlightenment of the 18th Century, secularism took root in Europe and spread to her colonies abroad. Christian holidays like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween were secularized in many parts of the world. The celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection was supplanted in the popular culture by the Easter bunny. Trick-or-treating eclipsed pious regard for Christian martyrs.

solosater

"Other historians trace the origin of Halloween back to the ancient and enduring Christian tradition of celebrating the lives of Christian martyrs on the anniversaries of their deaths."

I have a problem with this, not that I don't believe it was done but that it is said to be a "Christian" tradition. Christ NEVER sanctioned any worship of ANYONE aside from God. A yearly celebration of this type constitutes worship.

All of the so called "Christian Holidays" have their origin in Paganism or false Christianity.

Easter is supposed to be the celebration of the resurrection of Christ but actually falls more in line with Pagan fertility rites - the eggs and the rabbit are symbols of fertility and have zero relation to Christ.

Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Christ but actually falls more in line with the winter solstice celebration of Paganism - Christ didn't celebrate birthdays at all and in fact this too would be considered worship of Christ who didn't want worship of himself but of his father. Even if you can worship him instead of God, he would have been born earlier in the year likely in October. The shepherds were in the field, this wouldn't be the case in December as the weather in the area would have been too cold to be in the fields. There are other issues too, one being that at the time of his death he was 33 and a half years old, he died on Nisen (sp?) 14 on the Jewish calender (late March or early April depending on the year), counting back from there to six months previous you end up around October.

Thanksgiving is one that really gets me. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day of giving thanks for blessings. The origin of the holiday is quite different than what has been widely taught to any child raised in the american classroom. Per Wiki: "Governor John Winthrop proclaimed the first official “Day of Thanksgiving” in 1637 to celebrate the return of men that had gone to Mystic, Connecticut to fight against the Pequot, an action that resulted in the deaths of more than 700 Pequot men, women,and children (what their people called massacre). In 1863, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln authorized that the fourth Thursday of November be set aside to give thanks and praise for the nation’s blessings. Thanksgiving became part of American culture."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Mourning_(United_States_protest)

This is not to say you should not give thanks every day for your life and the blessings you receive but ask a Native American what they think and tell them you want the truth. I'd guess they are not giving thanks for a shared meal and good will between themselves and the pilgrims.

I get that these "Holy Days" are steeped in tradition and that most feel that their families are closest and happier around the holidays but really, what are you celebrating? I've looked into these things and even the Catholic encyclopedia tells this truth about Easter and Christmas if you can find it, it isn't a secret that they are Pagan in origin. I think people should know what it is they are celebrating. Ask your priest or your church leader, see if they will tell you the truth. More importantly if you are using these "Holy Days" as part of your worship, ask God.

solosater

solo will now exit her soapbox, thanks for listening and any rotten tomatoes or hate mail should not be directed toward Baldur Radio, Channel Baldur, or any other properties of Baldur inc.

Baldur

Baldur would ask that any planned lynching of solosater be done off of Thinkdraw property as their insurance would probably not cover it.

OneVoteBandit

Solo... You are right on the money... All of the Christian celebrations of today are based in pagan rituals... This is due to Catholic attempts to assimilate pagans into the Christian fold... They believed that blending their current rituals into a "Christian based" belief, the pagan culture would convert to Christianity in a smoother transition...

It is sad that we still feel the need to utilize the assimilative rituals in todays culture... Christianity is based in fact & has a very strong foundation in history... Yet we still feel the need to "trick" people into believing... which often times has the opposite effect... How do we expect anyone to believe in God when the most visible part of Christianity are our celebrations that are based in false idols & barbaric rituals...

marius

Solo, all of that is very interesting. Some I knew, some not. Thanks for sharing.

Have read that the reason Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter coincide with pagan holidays is that the church (at least the Catholic one) wanted to get rid of pagan celebrations. Since paganism was so entrenched, the church (at least the Catholic one) decided to supplant pagan rites by laying Catholic (or Christian?) holidays, or Holy Days, on top of the pagan ones. Don't know if that's true, but have read this in several sources and it makes a weird kind of sense.

marius

Well, think OVB has heard the same story about our holiday origins, but not sure that Christian celebrations are "based IN pagan rituals." Seems they are more "on top of" pagan practices ... and seems those practices were easier to profit from if viewed with the eye of commercialism and capitalism. Just a guess. : )

Dragon

I've missed so much overnight. Here's my contribution to the Griswold type houses. Every year in my fella's home town of Rocy Mountain House one family goes Christmas crazy. They have thousands of lights strung and in the past have had corporate sponsorship and deals with the electricty company to pay for the electricity. As I understand it he has now converted entirely to LED lights and the savings is so immense he no longer needs the help. He takes food bank donations and cash donations for local charities from the hundreds of people who come to see his house throughout the Christmas season. My boyfriend describes him as a man who just can't sit still and decide to channel his boundless energy into Christmas decorations.
I've included a link to a picture but it barely does it justice.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/7951028

OneVoteBandit

"based in" may have been inappropriate terminology. Catholics looked at the pagan celebrations & interwove their rituals with the closest Christian happening.

For example, the fertility celebrations of the pagan easter blended with the reserection of Christ. This is the reason that Christian celebrations don't occur on the Christian dates. In their mind, it was more important to use the pagan dates.

Dragon

Baldur asked (about 2 pages ago I think) how long our Roomba runs before needing recharging. Ours goes for about 90 mins on carpet, it could go longer on lino or tile but we only really use it for the carpets. It takes about 6 hours to recharge. We can get the whole apartment done on one charge but we usually just do half because it does a better job that way. (Our place isn't huge). The instructions recommend to clean the brushes every other time we use it but we do it every time. They pop right out and are quite easy to clean. What I love the most about it is that it goes right under the couch and bed and the dressers. We would never get under there with a regulr vacuum and it's great to get the cat hair cleaned up from those spots.

Dragon

+k =Rocky

Dragon

Oh, I loved what Robin said about the inflatable Santa's on peoples front lawns. I hate them too, they're so tacky. My friend's neighbour (who lived in a small upstairs apartment) had one on their balcony. It took up the whole balcony and kind of overflowed it in places. I'm sorry, if you don't have a lawn you really shouldn't invest in giant inflatable lawn ornaments. I remember being in Mexico several years ago at Christmas time and seeing a giant inflated Snowman on a lawn. It was somewhat surreal to see it standing there next to palm trees. Made me chuckle.

marius

Dragon, I want a roomba (and I don't vacuum)! And, do not think there is a maid. No, it is spouse who vacuums. It's his thing. Does the roomba make much noise?

Thanks for the picture of the Christmas house! Wow! I love the people who go all out, no matter how tacky it might look to me. It fills me with warmth to think of all the time and care it must take to create such over the top exuberance! (Not sure that's the word, but you get the idea.)

And, so cool that the owners of that house collect donations for charities!
What a great idea!

Baldur

Roomba cats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ-jv8g1YVI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewdbilSWjaM

Normal

Belated comment on the Christmas decor: Normal lives in a 2nd floor condo and has bum hips and other joints now. Thus the dreaded plastic tree comes into use. After decades of ornament acquisition, they too have been weeded out. But still too many I love, so I alternate years. The "solar" years have all gold and red. In between are the "lunar" years of silver, white and clear glass. So I get to keep my favorites. General themes are angels and music. Will admit to 60 Advent CDs. May actually be more. (Better start listening NOW!)

Baldur

Is this a solar year or a lunar year?

Dragon

marius, Roomba is not terribly noisy. We can watch TV while it's in the room but we prefer to either wait til it's done or move it to a different room. My cats are not frightened by it (well, Matilda is) but I don't think we'll ever convince them to go for a ride.