Familiar Christmas customs based on ancient pagan rituals? GASSSPPP!!!

This time of the year tends to bring out the best - and the worst - in all of us.  It's also the annual time of the year for various retail outlets and government representatives at all levels (city, county, state, and federal) to commit to saying "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" instead of "Merry Christmas" so as to not offend those who don’t celebrate Christmas.  Well, I have my own solution to this particular dilemma, but more on that in a bit. 

First, I want to bring up a common argument generally brought up by those who hate the Christmas season; and they usually bring it up as a way to "de-legitimize" Christmas - as if bringing this up is supposed to make the Christmas celebrant crash into a heap of shock, daze, confusion, and disappointment, and then they’ll leave Christianity and embrace atheism.  That particular fact is that many familiar Christmas customs actually originated from ancient pagan rituals.  It's times like that that I really have to bite my tongue to keep from saying:

NO SHIT, SHERLOCK!  WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CLUE?

You all might not know this, but I have a snarky side that I have to fight to control.  LOL 

Anyway, as I've mentioned before in a recent blog entry, I'm a big lover of history, and these particular facts about Christmas have been known to me since early adolescence.  The fact that Christmas originally was about celebrating the winter solstice is the most common argument brought up by these people – however, that fact is not exactly true.  What the early Christians were doing was not to look for a covert way to celebrate the winter solstice, but to redirect common pagan celebrations to have a Christian theme to them instead, so that this transition from pagan rituals to Christian ones will be very gradual.   Since pagans were used to celebrating at this time in December, then it wouldn't be a great stretch to make it about Christmas instead. 

But what really influenced our current practices of Christmas rituals in our country actually originated in Victorian England, and also by retail stores in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century looking to boost their bottom line (those damn corporations and One Percenters at it again!).  They basically made the Christmas season, in which the three wise men gave gifts to the infant Jesus, to be a time for gift-giving in general.  They were so successful at this transition that we've been paying for it with our dollars and our sanity ever since. 

So is Christmas too commercialized?  You bet! It's been so bad in recent decades that it's a common source of stress.  Heck, even the Peanuts television special in the mid-1960s made reference on how commercialized Christmas was back then!  Given that, I'm not only not surprised that some wouldn't be keen on a holiday with so many manufactured rituals (think Black Friday, Super Saturday, Cyber Monday, for example), I can actually agree with them.

Surprised that I would agree?  My Christmas-hating friends, you will find that you have a lot of people fond of Christmas who also hate the commercialization of it and of the hyper stress and the manufactured rituals.  What really ticks us off, though, is that you will lump us into the creators of the manufactured, commercialized holiday season (notice that I said "holiday" rather than "Christmas".  A distinction that I'm about to clarify) with those of us who appreciate the true "reason for the season".

Ah, yes. The “reason for the season”. That would be, of course, the arrival of the Christ child. Without getting heavy into Christian theology (so that I won’t be accused of trying to “evangelize” any of you LOL), Christmas Day is simply the celebration of Jesus’ birth. His birthday, in other words. And before anyone starts telling me that we don’t know the real date of his birth – yes, that’s true – so chill out! So why December 25th? Well, since we don’t know the true date, then a date had to be picked so that we can all celebrate it!

It also happens to be 9 months after the Catholic feast of the Annunciation of the Lord. And well, pregnancies tend to last 9 months and all that. Yes, we don’t know the true date of his conception, nor do we know whether his mother Mary’s pregnancy lasted the standard 9 months, or if it were shorter or longer than that. And yes, as previously stated, December 25th was picked likely to coincide with the pagan celebration of the winter solstice – but NOT to celebrate it! Thing is, friends, what mattered is that Jesus came into the world, and the other details aren’t necessarily important. So whether Jesus was born on December 25th or May 8th, the most important fact for Christians is that he was born.

Having said all that, I do believe that the celebration of Christmas needs to be more "Christ" centered; and not so much "holiday" centered. So those of you who aren't Christian and are pissed about all the trappings that are actually products of Victorian England and the marketing campaigns of retail outlets, be sure to direct your anger in the right direction. You just might find more Christians agreeing with you than you expect.

And finally, my solution to the whole "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays/Seasons Greetings", I say that those who trouble themselves over what to say should do this: Say all of them! What I mean is, say the following:

Merry Christmas
Happy Hanukkah
Holy Ramadan
Happy Holidays
Seasons Greetings
Happy Festivus
And all the rest!

Any marketing departments worth their salt can find ways to utilize this in creative ways. It *can* be done.

And with that, let me wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Don't forget as well that if you want to give me a holiday greeting here or on FB, be sure to tell me "Merry Christmas", because that's my preference. Heck, it's on my blog banner! LOL

Just so that you all know, I will be taking a break from blogging for about a week, and I'll see you back here early January. However, I will definitely still be posting on FB. In fact, watch my FB page starting on Monday for a special treat! I think you'll like it!

Take care, everyone! I hope you get lots of prezzies!

New artwork by a new artist! Meet Rick Celis!

Okay true believers! It's time to reveal a new artist for yours truly! Meet Rick Celis!  Isn't this work incredible?  Time to reveal how this got started.  This was a combination of the boss' desire for commissioned artwork to have a more "comic book" feel to them, instead of the standard pin-up, followed by my idea of giving him a line to use as the basis of the artwork. 

The challenge to the boss was that he had to craft a scene around that line, and give that description to the artist. And then the artist, not knowing what that line was going to be, made the scene based on the boss' description.

He described the scene as just after I got walloped by a real strong bad guy (or lady!) and I flew into a concrete wall, leaving cracks where I struck the wall.  I am then shown just after I hit the wall, and glaring back at the villain, uttering that line. 

Below is the same artwork with my line included:



Isn't this just amazing? I love how Rick captured that instant perfectly! This, friends, is how it goes when the artist nails the tension and drama in a comic page of art! Look at all that Rick captures here! I got smacked around, but I'm ready to give it all right back, and more! YEAAAHH!!! Bring it on, bitches! LOL

This is one of the reasons that I love comics.  And I love it even more when I'm the one being depicted!  Ha!  Loveitloveitloveit!

Thanks, Rick!  Nicely done!

No shit, Sherlock!

This is my first stab at making this kind of poster. What do you think? :-D

Busty Superhero Chicks for Breast Cancer Awareness?

A quick word of warning - clicking on the following link might be NSFW if someone isn't aware what it's really about.  This is in case you have one of those psycho drama-queen feminists that finds sexism around every corner and in every shadow, because if they happen to be looking over your shoulder when you click on it, they'll see busty superhero women fondling their boobs. (!)

Once you're in the clear, check out this story about a site called Superheroes For Breast Cancer Awareness.  What they're actually doing, of course, is the classic breast self-examination for lumps.  Your psycho drama-queen feminist co-worker should recognize the hand gestures for that, but if you're a dude looking at those images just as she's looking over your shoulder, then she's probably going to take it the wrong way.  They're like that.

Anyway, so what do you think?  Do you think that this will help the cause of breast cancer awareness?  Hm.  I kinda wonder how effective this would be, since they're fictional characters?  As far as I know, there hasn't been a prominent superhero woman that has gotten breast cancer.  Would that be a little too much "realism" for the average comics readers if that happened?

I'm still debating this, and I'll get back to you later, but do let me know what you think.

Lucky Shot again as done by the art goddess, Rocio!

Word of warning, y'all!  When Lucky Shot is looking at you with this pose and facial expression and her glowy blue eyes...

...IT'S NOT A GOOD SIGN!

This means that you're about to go down and unconscious in a matter of seconds, or you will have to be very, very, very, very good - and you'll go down and unconscious in a matter of a few more seconds!  Even though she is 5 foot 4, she is also one of the best at utilizing her power, her martial arts skills, and her strength that is almost double the strength of the average human woman her size and build that engages in regular intensive exercise. 

She's also one of the few people in my life that has the guts to stand up to me on a regular basis!  Oh, and don't tell her that I told you this, but inside that hardass exterior is a sentimental softy!  LOL  She would have to be, to be the loving mother that she is to her son!

Anyway, this artwork is brought to you by the enormously talented Rocio Zucchi, whom I have promoted to art goddess!

Thanks, Rocio!  You're awesome, GF!  Whoohooo!!!

More artwork coming tomorrow and next week! Whoohoo!

Hey, everyone!

One more piece of excellent artwork by Rocio Zucchi is coming TOMORROW!

You will love it like you've loved the rest of her work!

And coming next week will be a new piece of artwork by a new artist! I promise you that you will think this one is way, way cool! It's an action pose like you would see in a comic, so this one is going to be FUN!

So stay tuned, true believers! More artistic excellence is on the way!

w00t!

God Week: Being a believer in God means rebelling against your human nature

Last time I had discussed the belief in God, I had made the comment that those who believe in God are actually rebelling against their own human nature. Now I will explain a little more on what I mean by that.

But first, a little kudos to a couple that I am often critical of, and that’s my own Marxist parents. Despite their wrong-headed beliefs about politics and the world in general, I give them credit for one thing: When they said that they would allow their children to forge their own paths, they truly meant it – even when it meant that one of those kids would eventually take up views contrary to their own. Despite our many disagreements, they are always respectful of my conservative views even if they wholeheartedly oppose them. Boy, was I ever a test of that particular philosophy - and they lived up to it! So, based on their example, I am respectful of their views in return. Heck, I recently admitted that I admire their styles of protest, and would even imitate their style if I ever lead an Occupy movement. If that ain’t a compliment, I don’t know what is!

Another example I learned from them is that just because you are being respectful of someone else’s views doesn’t mean that you can’t occasionally be vocal about your own views! As hard as it is to believe, you can be both loud about your views and still be respectful of the views of others. They did it all the time, and I try to do the same. Mainly, what I learned is that passion for one’s views is no sin, but actually a virtue; for if you don’t have the passion to fight for your beliefs, then why do you believe in them? That’s a lesson that I try to pass on to others. There ya go, Mom and Dad! A public compliment from me to you! :-D Luv ya! <3 <3 Mwah! <3 <3

The reason that I’m bringing up my parents here is because they are atheists, but despite that, atheism wasn’t what they tried to force down my throat. They did tell me of the “dangers” of believing in God, but they still let me decide the matter for myself. Mainly, I think they realized that God is very prevalent throughout our society and our culture, so there was not going to be any avoiding him unless they completely isolated me from the world - which was the last thing that they were going to do. So instead of trying to deny that he exists, they instead tried to give reasons as to why believing in God can often lead to heartache and disappointment. It was their reasoning that I would eventually see it for myself.

Well, I did see that for myself. I did indeed see that believing in God can lead to heartache and disappointment. Ha! I bet you didn’t expect me to agree to that, did ya? However, believing in God can also lead to joy and inspiration. The trick is on how you do this. What I mean is this: it all depends on what you believe God is, and what you expect him to do. Last time I had made mention of the term that I’ve heard atheists use in reference to God, and that's as a “magic genie in the sky that grants all your wishes.” If that is someone’s idea of God, then yes, it’s definitely a recipe for heartache and disappointment. But God is no genie.

Now, what I’m about to present here is my own take on God, and this is based on my own research of history (one of my great loves) and the “footprints” he left along the way in the parade of history, as well as my own experiences. He is there, if you know what you are looking for. Let’s take two examples of people who left their marks in history. One is Genghis Khan, who is alleged to have many descendants in the world because he had a very large harem, and because his sons also had very large harems. Because of that, Khan’s “footprints” are everywhere around the world.

Another historical person with footprints all over the world is Jesus Christ. Before I continue, I know some of you are probably thinking “Uh oh – she’s about to go preachy on us and evangelize her Christianity on us.” I know this, because I know how you guys think. LOL Anyway, I’m bringing Jesus up not to “push” him on you, but to discuss him from a historical standpoint, so I hope you bear with me and hear me out before dismissing me outright, because otherwise you’ll miss a point that I’m trying to make. I also know that some of you deny Jesus existed, but for argument’s sake, let’s say that he did. And for the record, I believe that he existed – which I would have to; otherwise, why would I call myself a Christian?

With that out of the way, let’s look at Jesus Christ. He died young – aged 33 – and left no descendants. Unlike Khan, he never traveled far from the country of his birth. And yet, his thoughts, his words, and his examples are still being lived and discussed to this day. Granted, some of his followers are not doing as good a job in following his examples as others are, but that’s true for any sort of organization; that is, every organization has its zealots and its slackers.

On the one hand, Khan left his “imprints” on history, and yet, what has that done for us – beyond the factual curiosity of a large number of descendants? There is no Ghengishan religion based on his thoughts and his actions. This is because Khan did not see what he did as something that was going to change the world for the better. Instead, he was looking out for himself. Well, he got his very large harem of women and the many children that came out of that, but once he died, he was dead, and no amount of mass copulation was going to change that. He lived according to his human nature and got what came out of that: many moments of physical pleasure for himself, and a large amount of descendants that came from it.

Contrast that with Jesus’ example of love and selflessness. He wasn’t setting out to leave a large number of descendants like Khan did, but instead to leave a large number of followers. And his message of selflessness contrasts with human nature, for it’s our nature to look out for ourselves first. His message of selflessness is difficult to follow – even for his followers – but at the same time, true believers can see how society as a whole can benefit from following his message of love and selflessness.

So how can a message of selflessness draw so many followers – especially in contrast to Khan’s much easier message of following your human nature? What is it that is so appealing to his followers that it quickly spread from his home country to all around the world in a relatively short amount of time? Friends, that’s what I’m still trying to figure out.

And yet, I can’t deny the results. I also can’t deny the appeal of his message of love, despite the difficult standards of selflessness that comes with it. Despite this difficult standard, I can see why this message is appealing, because I can reason out the positive results of what would happen if everyone puts the welfare of others ahead of themselves. In summary, to me God is no genie, but instead is the person of Jesus Christ and his message of love and selflessness in the service of others. That's a deity that's a lot more accessible than some distant spirit in the clouds.

So getting back to my initial statement, being a Christian in the true sense of the word is to be a rebel – a rebel against your human nature of selfishness. So in that light, it can be shown that Christianity is actually “progressive” in the true sense of the word, because progress is what would arise out of serving others before yourself.

Now contrast that with what today’s “Progressives" desire; which is actually REgressive, because they seek “doing your own thing”. This should sound familiar, because that’s what Genghis Khan did. Doing your own thing is the same thing as satisfying yourself first, and with the same results as what Khan got. I leave you with these questions: Has society benefited from liberals' message of "sex, drugs, and rock & roll"? How is such a philosophy better than a philosophy based on selflessness in the service of others?

-----------------------------------------------------

My apologies for this extending into another week, but this post initially was longer, and after looking it over, I chopped off a big chunk of it and will save that part for later, because it’s actually more of a Christmas message than a discussion of what I brought up during my God Week. There’s other things that I wanted to bring up, but I’ll save those topics for another time.

New badass art of me by Rocio Zucchi!

Yesterday you got a sneak peek at the latest artwork of me by Rocio Zucchi. Below is the rest of it! Waahoooo!!! Awesommme!

Don't you just love this pose?  Flexin' those biceps, baby!  Strong *and* sexy at the same time!  Man, I'm running out of words to describe her work! 

Rocio, I will say this, though...  It's no longer enough to say that you are an excellent artist.  Nope, now I gotta call you an art goddess!   :-D

Thank you so much!  I don't know how I forgot this before, but you are now officially in my sidebar of cool links!  --------------->

One more by Rocio coming next week, friends!  :-)