December 21: Winter Solstice Day 2009, Shortest Day of the Year

Let's get it over, and by the way, pick up all of that snow.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} I would be amiss to  not send this to you during this season for celebration of the winter solstice... for me it's a time for family, friends, loved ones (yes that includes you), the reflection of the past year and the view of the year to come! I love you as a person and a human being, I just wish you'd wake up and realize that Jesus is no more real then daffy duck... that being said though it doesn't mean I think you shouldn't love your neighbor (especially if her husbands not around HA!) , fellow man and enemy. You should help those who are less fortunate than you and not judge those whom have made "human" errors! You should leave the world a better place then it was when you entered it. If you need a god or book to tell you these things then you have problems far beyond the ability of a book to fix. It is you (and I don't mean you literally but any person that needs the bible/god as an excuse to be good) that we will read about someday like the BTK guy! BTW... Here's a better motto to live by if you are looking for a set of rules: "Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture, or kill any creature or living being."... Want to know who's motto that is?... Jainism... The number one rule is NON VIOLENCE! GOT THAT??? NO WAR! NO BUSH! NO REPUBLICANS SCREAMING FOR WAR! .... Re read the bible and tell me about the loving god again that tells you to own slaves (Leviticus 25:44) and kill all the millions of people whom work on Sundays (Exodus 35:2)... Just a thought on this Winter Celebration Season of Love and Peace and Good Will Toward Man! Love Ya and Happy Holidays regardless the reason you celebrate! Enjoy the reading: How  the Christians stole the Winter-Solstice holiday by Jim Walker  Perhaps I should title this section, "How the Grinch   Stole Christmas" except that the Grinch, in this case, describes   Christians, and 'Christmas' gets replaced by the original pagan   celebrations.   Christians celebrate the Nativity, or the birth of the alleged   Jesus every December 25. Contrary to belief, there exists no   evidence for a Jesus born on a December. Not a single shred of   Biblical text declares this date, nor gives a hint of a winter   season birth for a Jesus "the Christ." In fact, there   occurs not a tad of evidence for the existence   of a historical Jesus!   The Christmas that we celebrate today derived from pre-Christian   Germanic, Roman, and Celtic people who celebrated the winter   solstice. The use of holly, mistletoe, yule logs, wassail bowls,   and decorating a tree derived from early pagan customs. Many   European countries still call this celebration "Yule-tide"   meaning "wheel time," the cycles of time. None of these   derive from Christian origin.   The Persian Mithras cult spread during the 3rd and 4th centuries   B.C.E. and predates Christian ceremonies and rites such as: baptism,   communion wafer, and Sunday rest. On December 25, the sacrifice   of a bull celebrated the Sol invictus (the invincible sun) and   signaled the birth of a young sun god who sprang from a rock   or a cave in the form of a newborn infant.   The Romans celebrated the Winter Solstice on December 25th   as a renewing of the sun every year. Also the Romans celebrated   the festival of the Saturnalia from December 17th to the 24th   to honor Saturn, the god of grain and agriculture. The festival   consisted of a period of goodwill, devoted to visiting friends   and the giving of gifts.   At the beginning of the first century, Christianity emerged   as a fledgling religion but not until the 4th century did Christians   celebrate the birth of Jesus. The motive behind the introduction   of this celebration aimed at subverting the practice of pagan   rituals such as Mithra and Saturnalia. Pope Liberus introduced   the Nativity on December 25th 354 C.E.. By the 5th century, the   event became so customary that it began to mark the beginning   of the ceremonial year.   Today, we still celebrate with ornaments on trees, mistletoe   and giving gifts, none of which has anything to do with Christian   mythology. So instead of celebrating the Christian deception,   why not opt for the earlier non-god celebration of the Winter   Solstice? After all, it represents an actual event as the planet   earth orbits about the sun. The universe presents us with far   more magnificent events than the superstitious religionists have   ever dreamt up. Even more than the imagination of Dr. Seuss.