I guess I'm not the only one

I found this post by Phoenix Woman (my favorite 'sodie) over a firedoglake. Some interesting insights on Christmas....and a great conclusion

snippets to follow:

In fact, almost all of the trappings of what we call Christmas — the tree and decorations, the mistletoe, Santa (originally the Horned God or the Lord of Misrule or any number of male Pagan fertility gods), the holly and the ivy — are all lifted from Pagan Yule traditions. Yes, folks, that little tree that graces this post is Pagan through and through! Just about the one thing that isn’t lifted straight from pre-Christian traditions is Santa’s red suit — and that comes to us courtesy not of the church, but from the Coca-Cola corporation, which made sure in the 1930s that his raiment was dyed not just any old shade of red, but Coca-Cola red.

The Puritans, the ultimate Christian Fundamentalists, certainly knew all about this. (Well, they didn’t know about the Coca-Cola angle, as it hadn’t happened yet, but it wouldn’t have surprised them one bit.) That’s why they outlawed keeping Christmas wherever they controlled the local governments, either in England or America. It had almost died out in England until a concerted effort was made in the early 19th century to ressurect it, once the power of the Puritans had long since receded and the ruling Anglicans had got over their fears that bringing back Christmas would lead to the Catholics getting out from being trod underfoot (Catholics in England weren’t quite as lacking in civil rights as were Jews or women, but they weren’t far from it). The repression was even more pronounced in America, particularly in Puritan-founded New England; it wasn’t until 1870 that it was made a public holiday in the US.

The link goes back to Wikipedia, which is amply foot-noted and contains a few gems of knowledge like this:

The identification of the birth date of Christ did not at first inspire feasting or celebration. Tertullian does not mention it as a major feast day in the Church of Roman Africa. In 245, the theologian Origen denounced the idea of celebrating Christ's birthday "as if he were a king pharaoh." He contended that only sinners, not saints, celebrated their birthdays[3].

snip

During the Reformation, some Protestants condemned Christmas celebration as "trappings of popery" and the "rags of the Beast". The Roman Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in an even more religiously oriented form. Following the Parliamentary victory over King Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas, in 1647. Pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities, and for several weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[9] The Restoration of 1660 ended the ban, but many of the Nonconformist clergy still disapproved of Christmas celebrations, using Puritan arguments.

Hmmmm.....curious ....curious indeed....

It is noted earlier in "Wiki" that according to legend and prophecy, the birth of the Messiah was supposed to be the same date as his death which was placed around March 15. So combining it with other religious holidays around December 25 seems to be a certain man-made device.

But back to Phoenix Woman's post....she puts it in an interesting perspective...

snip

So, then, what is the meaning of Christmas? Not really sure what it is now, other than as the chief means by which US retailers stay afloat. Originally, it wasn’t about Christ at all. And nowadays, among the wingnuts, it’s not really about Christ at all either, except when He can be used as a means to score points off of Democrats, the college-educated, or anyone else they don’t like.
I guess the moral here is this: Christmas is what you make of it. Let’s see if we can make it into something good. Oh, and if you ever have the chance to debunk a right-wing e-mail smear being circulated all over the place, grab that chance with both hands.

Interesting....

"...Christmas is what you make of it..."

So I can be depressed if I want to....I can disdain the commercialism if I want to...I can decorate my home...or not...if I want to.. because....CHRISTMAS IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.

I'll have to think about that for a while....

It's Christmas time, Charlie Brown.....

You know....sometimes I actually do feel like Charlie Brown.

I remember his deep concerns over "the true meaning of Christmas" and his troubled looks over Snoopy decorating his dog house with as many lights as he could..

I feel that way most of the season...

I don't understand....

Is the strength of your faith measured by how many inflatable, lighted Christmas decorations you have on your front lawn or the thousands of icicles hanging from your eaves?

Is it a sign of status if you have music playing to pulsating lights across the front of your house?

Conversely,

Are you an atheist if you have only a simple wreath hanging from your front door? If I don't put lights in my window am I less of a Christian than my neighbor?

Where in the synoptic gospels, (Mathew, Mark, Luke and John) did it mention PENGUINS? Penguins in Santa Claus hats forcryingoutloud!!!!

Let's get this straight...Christmas...or, more precisely, December 25... is the day that was decided upon to be the celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth...the son of God...one of the trinity of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost...who would, some thirty years later become a great teacher, prophet and ultimately...according to Christian belief, be unjustly crucified to redeem mankind for its sins...

got that?

Okay............good....

So where does Santa Claus come in?

And Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer?

And Frosty the snowman?

The Grinch, the whos' and freekin whoville... where did they come from?

The gifts...more appropriately the elaborate gifts and "shop til you drop"....where did that come from?

Just where in the synoptic gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke and John) do PENGUINS come in? fercryinoutloud....Penguins in Santa hats!!!!!!

I'll continue to think about this stuff.....No wonder I get depressed around this time of year....

cliche'

Things are quiet......too quiet....

Yeah, yeah...it's a cliche'....but it's true....

The short version.....

I used to refer to this as The Reader's Digest version, but I haven't done that in a while....

Of course, in my last post, I noted that I have been "successful" in getting my proposal through the Common Council.....

well....

What I think I was REALLY successful at was starting a Class A Sh%tstorm. Although, I wasn't alone...other alderpersons were successful in getting their priorities through...the whole world turned ugly for over a week and remains a bit ugly today...

The Mayor used his veto power on three proposals: My proposal on firefighters/Dir of Planning and Economic Development; elimination of a new industrial park; and combining of city engineer/public works director.

I was caught flat-footed on the veto because I didn't have a clue as to whether my proposal would even get a second for discussion so I hadn't thought out the veto scenario at all.

this is the short version....okay...I'll remind myself...

Anyway his veto held by 4-6 vote (I needed 7 votes to override)..and I stood my ground but still lost. I was urged to resubmit my proposal in a different form...e.g. leave off the firefighters and simply eliminate the department head....but that was not what I wanted to do. That was never the intent of my proposal. My intent was to ADD TWO FIREFIGHTERS! The budget rules were that in order to ADD to the budget, I had to SUBTRACT from the budget....so I replaced a recurring personal services expense with a recurring personal service expense. I'm not upset that I didn't do it because my principles were upheld....even if my friends abandoned me in the process, I held onto my beliefs....

Time to put this battle behind me and start focusing on the next....and then the next...

the battles never end you know....

I take no joy in success

I was successful in my proposal last Monday night to add two fire-fighters and to eliminate the position of Director of Planning and Economic Development.



My priorities are right I believe....we can't have a bureaucracy in City Hall Tower while our basic mission, Protection of the Citizens, is in jeopardy. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do that...



To be honest, I had no idea if my proposal would be successful. I didn't know how much or how little support it would have...I had some guesses but "open meeting laws" being what they are, I had to be very careful about approaching fellow alderpersons. I think I was as surprised as anybody when it passed 7-3.



That being said, I take no joy in it.



I can't because it's never a joyful moment when you eliminate another person's livelihood.



In all candor, I cannot say that I personally like the person whose job was eliminated but that's not why I took the measures I took. I chose her position for a number of reasons:



First, the City "rules" are that I couldn't add costs (firefighters) to the budget unless I proposed cuts of an equal amount. That's about $120,000 a year.



Second, If I was going to ADD recurring costs, then I'd have DELETE recurring costs. I couldn't take the "easy way" out and just cut out a street project for this year, it had to be a cost that came up year after year, or, maybe a recurring cost and some minor capital costs to get by for this year.



Third, almost all the major planning initiatives have been contracted out. We'll continue doing that.



Fourth, there are no "junior planners", or planning assistants, or just even categorical planners (community development, land use, recreation etc., etc.) ...there is (was) just a "director". It isn't a "department" in any real sense except that the GIS coordinator and Zoning administrator report to the "director" but that's all. And, in truth, the GIS coordinator takes a large part of his input from engineering and rightfully belongs in that department. Building Services (inspection, building permits, etc, ) are also a pretty good "fit" with Zoning Administration.(edited on Thursday for clarity)


Fifth, economic development is the "holy grail" of every public or quasi public organization and in our city, EVERYBODY AND THEIR BROTHER gets a "piece of the action". From the chamber, the mainstreet organization, two city committees, the Mayor's office claims a piece of it and so does the Administrator's office, and a quasi-public organization...they've all got their hands in it....Why did we need a separated City Department?



Given all that, the choice of WHICH department, was easy.....



doing it was hard.



I take no joy in it.

Scrambling and posturing

I've watch with some interest since last friday afternoon the Mayor's radio/tv appearance pushing his agenda....or more than likely trying to be vague enough to please everybody....

then...a flash of emails from the staff ...oopsies...I've got a few changes...

I wonder what is on their collective mind?

I think it's my move.......

hmmm

We'll see tongiht

Calm before the storm?

My fellow wizards have been really quiet this week. I expected to be lobbied and politely cajoled over some issue or another but.....

but....

nothing....

(sound of crickets chirping)

I remember a few summers ago, standing up on the hill to the west of my house watching the meanest, nastiest-looking, terrifying thunderstorm I've ever seen approach on the horizon. I mean...folks this was a monster....it must have been 20 or 25 miles away and had a huge "tower" or "chimney" in which you could see flashes of lightning, the clouds were so dark black that it was actually frightening......

but there wasn't a breeze in the air. The air was perfectly still and the storm was still too far away for the sound of thunder to reach me. It was eerie....it was literally "the calm before the storm".

So the big meeting is scheduled for Monday night.

And yet....no noise...

hmmmmmmmm....