Jennifer's Alternative Religions Blog December 2007 Archive

Top Ten Altreligion Events of 2007
It's been an eventful year for Alternative faiths, and a banner year for Pagans especially, who have suffered many indignities and much heartache but scored several important victories, including legal ... Read More

Saturday December 29, 2007 | permalink | comments (3)

Dies Natalis Sol Invictus
The nativity of the Savior(s). Happy Birthday: Baldur Mithras Helios Apollo Jesus Attis Dionysus Osiris

Tuesday December 25, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Happy Festivus!
What's Festivus? Based on the real-life traditions of a television writer and immortalized on the Seinfeld show, the once imaginary holiday Festivus -tagline "A Festivus for the rest of ... Read More

Sunday December 23, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Yule!
Today is the Solstice, aka the birthday of the sun (and umpteen sun gods). The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, after which the days grow ... Read More

Friday December 21, 2007 | permalink | comments (3)

Happy Yalda, everyone!
(What's Yalda? Read about this ancient Persian Solstice festival here.)

Friday December 21, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Yule, Mother Night, Ardan Arthan?
The folks at the Druid Network have a great article on ethically celebrating the winter holidays (whether Yule, Alban Arthan, or Mother Night), and a great list of charities. ... Read More

Thursday December 20, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Mother Night, Ancient Nativity
Today is a Holy Day for followers of the Asatru faith. The night before the winter solstice, (the longest night of the year) is marked by ceremonies in ... Read More

Thursday December 20, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Damien Echols on Larry King Tonight
For those of you with cable, be sure to check out Larry King tonight. He will be conducting a Death Row interview with Damien Echols, convicted of a triple ... Read More

Wednesday December 19, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Deja Vu
Encouraged after Olean's almost successful pagan display, Wisconsin Pagans sought and received permission to post their own holiday pentacle next to a creche at Green Bay's City Hall. Unfortunately, ... Read More

Tuesday December 18, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Friday Links: (Less Than) Goodwill
It hasn't been a good month to be a Pagan, atheist, or occultist of any stripe. Some of the strangest stories: The gunman who shot up a Colorado Megachurch and ... Read More

Friday December 14, 2007 | permalink | comments (2)

All Lose
An inclusive policy regarding religious symbolism led to my own hometown of Olean, New York becoming the first to host a civic display that included Pagan symbols. Unfortunately, the ... Read More

Wednesday December 12, 2007 | permalink | comments (8)

It Lasted A Week
A reader tipped us to this story this morning: seems the Olean pentacle display was installed after all, and lasted about a week before a resident backed over it with ... Read More

Tuesday December 11, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Raelian Citizenship Ceremony
I think I would have assumed this would be accomplished first by an Atheist, but I just have to love the idea that it was a Raelian who convinced Federal ... Read More

Monday December 10, 2007 | permalink | comments (1)

Egil Skallagrimsson
Many Asatruar reserve this date as a 'day of remembrance' for the Viking warrior poet Egil Skallagrimsson, who is to many the embodiment of the "Viking Ideal." Egil ... Read More

Sunday December 9, 2007 | permalink | comments (1)

Abu Al-Ghazzali
Sufis worldwide will commemmorate the death of twelfth century Muslim mystic philosopher Abu al-Ghazzali today. Al Ghazzali, who is sometimes referred to as the "Thomas Aquinas of Islam," authored numerous ... Read More

Saturday December 8, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Friday Links: Weird
It's been a full moon all year, or at least it seems that way. Creationists didn't fare too well. First, they picked the worst possible spokesperson. A Florida official ... Read More

Friday December 7, 2007 | permalink | comments (1)

St. Nicholas
Today is the feast day of Nicholas of Myra, the fourth century Christian bishop whose saintly devotion to the poor is remembered today as Santa Claus, the saint of retail ... Read More

Thursday December 6, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

The Golden Bough: Mistletoe History and Lore
Mistletoe's standing as an icon of the winter holiday stems from very ancient beliefs. How did this rather ugly, poisonous plant became so popular? The answer lies in ancient sun ... Read More

Thursday December 6, 2007 | permalink | comments (3)

Aleister Crowley
Today marks the anniversary of the death of occultist Aleister Crowley nearly sixty years ago. Crowley is remembered today variously as a notorious hedonist (true), eccentric (true), black magician ... Read More

Wednesday December 5, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

All About Boleskine
The Scotsman comes through with another interesting bit of local occult history. In this instance, it's all about Aleister Crowley's famous dwelling, Boleskine House, and its inevitible ties to ... Read More

Tuesday December 4, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Io, Saturnalia! (Or, the real "Reason for the Season")
"It is now the month of December, when the greatest part of the city is in a bustle. Loose reins are given to public dissipation; everywhere you ... Read More

Monday December 3, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Suijin-Matsuri, Poseidon, Guru Tegh Bahadur
Celebrations in Japan today honor Suijin, the Shinto Kami of water. Suijin is sometimes presented as a single deity, or as a representation of all of the elemental forces of ... Read More

Saturday December 1, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

O, Tannenbaum: The evolution of the Christmas tree
In most parts of the world, Winter is cold and harsh; the Christmas tree, with its ornaments and twinkling lights, is a sign of warmth and gaity. The Christmas ... Read More

Saturday December 1, 2007 | permalink | comments (1)