Winter Solstice celebrations!
#131739 - 12/20/04 05:35 AM
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Ravenndark
Reged: 11/28/04
Posts: 531
Loc: the internet
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It sounds like most of the people on the boards are celebrating christmas, but for those non-catholics, are any of you celebrating the Winter Solstice today? Or Candlemas?
 just wondering
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I do both :)
#131747 - 12/20/04 05:52 AM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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I celebrate Christmas as a secular, social kind of holiday, but Yule is my spiritual holiday. I'll be celebrating this evening.
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I celebrate christmas, simply because my parents do, and as I am still in their household...well...
I did have plans for celebrating this evening, though those might have been changed due to weather. I have a few friends in a coven who were supposed to come down, but the snow is pretty deep in the country!
I hope your celebrations go nicely!
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Three out of the four of us (including myself) in my apartment are pagan (the fourth is just pretty much areligious), we're doing a combination Yule/Christmas celebration on Wednesday night.
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Melissa
Friendship is thicker than blood. ~Rent
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That's a great idea!
I'm a solitary, though I do enjoy my coven friends during the winter Sabbats.
I'm the only Witch for miles though, so being solitary isn't a choice...
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Heh, I was just going to ask if you were solitary or in a coven/group. I'm a solitary by choice, and always have been... I've moved a lot, it just makes things easier, rather than trying to find new groups. (I'd be unlikely to find a coven up here anyway.)
Anyway, enjoy your celebration with your friends - both of you!
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Hey can you guys explain what the meaning of your celebrations are? I'm Catholic so I have to say I am unfamiliar with some of the terms you were using like "coven" and what not.
Thanks for helping a curious fella out..
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Forgive me for explaining in really general terms, but it's usually a good place to start... definitely ask more questions if something strikes your curiosity.
Paganism in general is an earth-based religion, centering around belief in both a Goddess and a God (or pantheons thereof). I say it's "earth-based" because our celebrations follow the Wheel of the Year: the seasons, equinoxes and solstices, celebrating the planting, the harvest, and the natural cycle of living things.
There are many different subsets of Paganism, just like there are many different flavors of Christianity. Wiccans are probably the most commonly recognized by non-pagans, but they are far from being the only type. Some of us refer to ourselves as pagans, others as Wiccans (or whatever their belief system of choice), still others reclaim the title Witch, which is what I prefer.
A coven is most comparable to a church congregation - a like-minded group of pagans/Witches who meet for worship on a regular basis.
Yule (since that's what's been mentioned here) is "the time of greatest darkness and the longest night of the year. The Winter Solstice had been associated with the birth of a "Divine King" long before the rise of Christianity. Since the Sun is considered to represent the Male Divinity in many Pagan Traditions, this time is celebrated as the "return of the Sun God" where He is reborn of the Goddess." (Forgive the quoting, but www.witchvox.com explains it more concisely than I would!)
All in all, there are eight holidays around the Wheel of the Year; you can read bits about them all here.
Hope that helped a little.
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Thanks Casey, I'll check it out. I always like to educate myself about what others believe.
Thanks again! 
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Well described Casey!
I myself prefer the title Witch, and am solitary, no coven for me!
I've only been practicing since I was around ten years old, and I'm only sixteen now, but I can try to answer some questions if you have any!
Eep, my mashed potatoes are boiling over...
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