The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. - Mark Twain, 1897.
It amuses me how people can be motivated by rumor, innuendo, outright lies, and sales ads. Like Twain in his time, I in mine can say do not believe what you read or hear. Especially at this time of year. The huckster's have begun to sing their Siren's song to empty your bank account and max out your credit cards. And all for a one day holiday.
Having racked my brain over many years I cannot fathom why people of "faith" spend so much money on a one day holiday, a holiday hijacked from Pagan and Heathens and then abbreviated (Yule, the Feast of Sol Invictus, and the Feast of Saturnalia) for a scant 24-36 hours. So for Christmas, Christ's Mass, Christians spend the money on the baby Jesus? No. They spend the dough on themselves and each other, maybe for the sake of emulating the gifts given to the Christ child by the Magi.
The advertisers tell us that we must have this, our sweetheart deserves that, and our kids need all of the above. And we buy into the rumor, innuendo, and outright lies ..... the sales pitch. Frankly, I do not care if you are Christian, Pagan, or Heathen; many of us get sucked in. Do we do so out of guilt or to demonstrate largess, with or without the incurred debt? Only in our modern world via credit, can a pauper appear to live like a king, albeit briefly.
The opportunities here for me to wax on to fellow Heathens concerning the above are multitudinous but I shall not. Ya'll know better, or at least you should. Being and becoming prosperous and generous still means living within your fiscal boundaries. It does not mean pissing away capital in order to impress. So many verses from the Havamal now roll through my head.
In simple Pagan and Heathen terms, we are entering a sacred time of year. It is a time of reflection, thanksgiving, and planning for the future, along with merry-making, feasting, and gifting. It should not be a time to piss away money to make major stockholders of the various retail chains ecstatic. It is my opinion that this is a solid Heathen view, something that wayward Christians and paper Heathens should try and emulate.
And by the way, I am alive and well. Thanks for asking.
Copyright @2016 Terry Unger
Having racked my brain over many years I cannot fathom why people of "faith" spend so much money on a one day holiday, a holiday hijacked from Pagan and Heathens and then abbreviated (Yule, the Feast of Sol Invictus, and the Feast of Saturnalia) for a scant 24-36 hours. So for Christmas, Christ's Mass, Christians spend the money on the baby Jesus? No. They spend the dough on themselves and each other, maybe for the sake of emulating the gifts given to the Christ child by the Magi.
The advertisers tell us that we must have this, our sweetheart deserves that, and our kids need all of the above. And we buy into the rumor, innuendo, and outright lies ..... the sales pitch. Frankly, I do not care if you are Christian, Pagan, or Heathen; many of us get sucked in. Do we do so out of guilt or to demonstrate largess, with or without the incurred debt? Only in our modern world via credit, can a pauper appear to live like a king, albeit briefly.
The opportunities here for me to wax on to fellow Heathens concerning the above are multitudinous but I shall not. Ya'll know better, or at least you should. Being and becoming prosperous and generous still means living within your fiscal boundaries. It does not mean pissing away capital in order to impress. So many verses from the Havamal now roll through my head.
In simple Pagan and Heathen terms, we are entering a sacred time of year. It is a time of reflection, thanksgiving, and planning for the future, along with merry-making, feasting, and gifting. It should not be a time to piss away money to make major stockholders of the various retail chains ecstatic. It is my opinion that this is a solid Heathen view, something that wayward Christians and paper Heathens should try and emulate.
And by the way, I am alive and well. Thanks for asking.
Copyright @2016 Terry Unger
