At the Crossroads: Anyone Bring a Flashlight?
A day in the life of one witch’s attempts at community organizing, group leadership, public Paganism, and joyous shenanigans. Balancing inner work with external obligations, a professional career with public Paganism, and a full social calendar with gratuitous amounts of sleep.
Happy Christmas!
so this is Christmas / and what have you done
another year over / a new one just begun
Christmas Eve was always a favorite of mine when I was a kid. We’d eat sloppy joes, go to church, open presents, enjoy hot chocolate from the machine at the gas station, and look at holiday lights. (Yes, we opened presents on Christmas Eve. Santa brings presents for you to open on Christmas Day, duh!) One of my family’s favorite memories is when I came home from my first semester of college. My mom was in nursing school at the time and busy working at the hospital that night. I borrowed the old station wagon and took my sisters and their friends out to look at lights. We might have listed to John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” 1,000,000 times that evening. My sisters still tease me about my annoying obsession with this Christmas song (but I won’t let them forget how they mixed up the sugar and salt for the cookies that year.)
and so this is Christmas / I hope you have fun
the near and the dear ones / the old and the young
I still kinda enjoy Christmas Eve, even as an adult. I still make sloppy joes (well, sometimes my husband makes them) and we still look at holiday lights. This year I invited my friend over for dinner. He’s going to bring his kids, and I’m excited and nervous because, as an adult, I’ve never spent Christmas Eve with children. I even bought them some goodies – tea and hot chocolate mixes. (From Santa, of course.)
a very merry Christmas / and a happy new year
let's hope it's a good one / without any fears
I’m not going to church this year, though sometimes I do. I really adore ritual of any type, and even Christians have their moments of reverence and mysticism. But, this year, I’m feeling ritual overload from so many Solstice and Saturnalia events. Tonight, Christmas Eve, I just want to stay cozy and in my home and enjoy the secular holiday. I have mulled cider and German glühwein. I might even put on a holiday movie for the kids. (Have we decided if “Nightmare Before Christmas” is a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie?) Tomorrow we’ll meet up with more friends for dinner and cocktails and board games and karaoke.
and so this is Christmas / for weak and for strong
for rich and the poor ones / the world is so wrong
and so happy Christmas / for black and for white
for yellow and red one / let's stop all the fight
But, tonight, have a very Merry Christmas, everyone. Happy holidays (ALL OF THEM) and may you enjoy your family traditions, or explore making new ones. Get ready to say goodbye to 2018, and hello to 2019. Let's hope this new year is a good one, without any fears.
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I know it's an unusual interpretation but I think of a Nightmare Before Christmas as a Thanksgiving movie. The Santa Clause with Tim Allen is a good Christmas movie, I haven't seen the sequels yet. Rise of the Guardians is also good though not necessarily a Christmas movie. Babes in Toyland with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy is a Christmas classic. Rare Exports: a Christmas Tale is a Finnish movie I've only seen trailers for, but it looks interesting.