Walking in a Winter Wonderland

"What are some of your favorite winter activities?" - Anon


Well, growing up I was always outside until it started getting dark and my parents had to beg me to come back inside before my limbs froze off. I would spend absolutely all day outside in the snow making forts and igloo type things in the middle of the woods and watching the kids on snowmobiles ride around and do some crazy stuff on those things. I always had fun making forts in the snow and I was a big culprit for taking the piles snow plows made and digging a hole right into them and making that into a fort to block out the wind. I can still remember my mom warning me not to get crushed by a snow plow lol.

Also, I've always quite enjoyed sledding or snow tubing. Just something fun about flying down the hill that fast on nothing but a piece of plastic of inflatable rubber. Granted, I have had some mishaps on running into bushes or tress or the like, but it's still really fun. I remember the first big blizzard we got 2 years ago and I was working at the time with 2 other associates. There was a hill down behind our store and so we grabbed an unfolded box, put a huge garbage bag around it to make it slippery and they dared me to ride it down the hill. Well, I did and i flew so fast i went down the hill, across the alley and into a hedge of thorn bushes o.o Not so pleasant.

On top of that, My father is a big skiier. Ever since we moved to the Poconos, I've been skiing. My father even got a job as a ski instructor and would need to go into work right as the mountain opened for business. There were even some days after I got good that he would take me to work with him bright and early in the morning and I would be the first one out there on the mountain to enjoy the fresh powder that was blown the night before. Being 8 years old and skiing by myself on some awesome trails was pretty fun, i do have to admit.

On the first day of Christmas...

"If you could write your own 12 days of Christmas, based on gifts you want, how would it go?" - Anon


I'll start from 12 and work my way down:

12 months of groceries
11 Hot topic shirts
10 pairs of jeans
9 piece living room furniture set
8 piece professional make up brush set
7 days all inclusive trip to Amsterdam
6 pairs of curtains
5 new tattoos!
4 pieces of home decor (3 wall tapestries and, a new full bed set with pillows)
3 new huge make up palettes with assorted colors
2 tickets to an HIM concert
and an Engagement ring from my loving boyfriend ^_^

well, that;s my ideal 12 days of Christmas. Also.. has anyone ever noticed how a Partridge in a Pear Tree are two gifts? Just saying.

Sealed with a Song

"Do you have any favorite Christmas songs?" - Anon


I do have a few that I simply must hear around Christmas. Most of them include things such as the entire soundtrack from Charlie Browns Christmas special, the Grinch Song, The Snow Miser/ Heat Miser Song. Random stuff like that.

I do also enjoy like celebrity versions of classic carols as well as one's they've done themselves. Such as Faith Hill's "Where are You Christmas?" from the soundtrack of The Grinch and Mariah Carey's 'All I want for Christmas is you." But this isn't all. it's simply not Christmas without hearing Marylin Monroe's 'Santa baby'. As well as listening to Disney stars sing Christmas carols.

I am also a very big fan of classical Christmas hymns played around the holiday, such as pieces from Handel's "the Messiah", and instrumental renditions of some classical songs. I usually enjoy Christmas songs done on harps or pipes or with an almost medieval sound to the instruments. I really think it helps capture the old Pagan feel to the holiday or Yule, as it is known.

Stealing a Kiss Under the mistletoe

"Where did kissing under the mistletoe originate?" - Anon

Along with the Christmas holly, laurel, rosemary,yews, boxwood bushes and, of course, the Christmas tree, mistletoe is an evergreen displayed during the Christmas season and symbolic of the eventual rebirth of vegetation that will occur in spring. But perhaps more than any other of the Christmas evergreens, it is a plant of which we are conscious onlyduring the holidays. One day we're kissing under the mistletoe, and next day we've forgotten all about it (the plant, that is, not the kisses)

When the Christmas decorations come down, mistletoe fades from our minds for another year, receding into the mists of mythology, rituals and enigma. Particularly in regions where the plant is not native (or is rare), most people do not even realize that mistletoe does not grow on the ground, but rather on trees as a parasitic shrub. That's right: as unromantic as it sounds, kissing under the mistletoe means embracing under a parasite....

"The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases." - Washington Irving

We moderns have conveniently forgotten the part about plucking the berries (which, incidentally, are poisonous), and then desisting from kissing under the mistletoe when the berries run out!

Tracing the history of mistletoe-induced kissing means going back to ancient Scandinavia -- to custom and the Norse myths: "It was also the plant of peace in Scandinavian antiquity. If enemies met by chance beneath it in a forest, they laid down their arms and maintained a truce until the next day." This ancient Scandinavian custom led to the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. But this tradition went hand-in-hand with one of the Norse myths, namely, the myth of Baldur. Baldur's death and resurrection is one of the most fascinating Norse myths and stands at the beginning of the history of mistletoe as a "kissing" plant.

Baldur's mother was the Norse goddess, Frigga. When Baldur was born, Frigga made each and every plant, animal and inanimate object promise not to harm Baldur. But Frigga overlooked the mistletoe plant -- and the mischievous god of the Norse myths, Loki, took advantage of this oversight. Ever the prankster, Loki tricked one of the other gods into killing Baldur with a spear fashioned from mistletoe. The demise of Baldur, a vegetation deity in the Norse myths, brought winter into the world, although the gods did eventually restore Baldur to life. After which Frigga pronounced the mistletoe sacred, ordering that from now on it should bring love rather than death into the world. Happily complying with Frigga's wishes, any two people passing under the plant from now on would celebrate Baldur's resurrection by kissing under the mistletoe.

It goes without saying that, if we were to peel off the layers of custom and myth surrounding "kissing under the mistletoe," we would find ourselves in the midst of ancient erotica. Mistletoe has long been regarded as an aphrodisiac and fertility herb. It may also possess abortifacient qualities, which would help explain its association with uninhibited sexuality.

It's that time of year...

"What are some Christmas traditions that you enjoy?" - Anon


I have always liked the tradition of right after everyone is done digesting Thanksgiving dinner, mom would always throw on her Christmas music and we would all start decorating the tree as a family. Since my brother is now in the Army and I live on my own, it's not something we really get to do much anymore, but just thinking about it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I've always liked helping to decorate the tree every year. Also, it was always my job to set up the manger. I would get very upset if anyone else tried to.

A tradition that I've always been interested in was kissing under the mistletoe. I have never gotten to do this personally, but the romantic in me has always been interested in trying this out. Also caroling, or wassailing, has been an interest in mine, and I've only gotten to do it once. Believe it or not we got to go on a caroling field trip my senior year in high school. We spent the entire day out at a retirement home singing and keeping the old folks happy and giving them some companionship. It gave me a really nice warm feeling.

"C" is for Cookie

"What is your favorite kind of Christmas cookie?" - Ali


I have to say i really enjoy a well made oatmeal raisin or oatmeal chocolate chip. The kind where you can taste the clove and cinnamon put into it and it's just the right amount of spice to the oatmeal in order to play off the sweetness of the raisin/chocolate. I also really enjoy a nice crisp gingerbread cookie. I really can't stand the ones that are soft and chewy. I've always been a fan of the kind you need to dunk and soak in milk before it's even possible to chew it without waking someone up from the crunching.

I also love my best friends chocolate chip cookies. She makes the absolute best chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted! They come out nice and chewy like they just came out of the oven. Even after they have cooled down they are still nice and chewy and soft baked. They are even better to throw in the microwave for about 10 seconds just to get them warm and gooey again. Her secret to keeping them so soft and chewy? Instead of using butter or margarine, use shortening. ^_^

Happy Christmahanaquanzyuleka

'Which of the Holidays do you celebrate?" - Dahlia


I was raised celebrating two kinds of Christmas; the normal Christmas on the 25th of December and also what we would call Armenian Christmas or Little Christmas on January 6th. I've also heard this referred to as "true Christmas" or "the coming of the 3 wise men." Where regular Christmas was all the fun stuff like toys and such, Little Christmas was when you got the necessities like socks, shoes, clothing, that type of thing.

Ever since I discovered Paganism though and have been an avid follower and practitioner of the Olde Ways, I do celebrate Yule as well. Honestly, I'm more than happy to roll everything up into one giant day and get it all out of the way at once. Spreading myself out over 3 different versions of the same holiday is wearing on me. I usually spend Yule by myself or with my significant other, Christmas with my mom and Little Christmas with my father. It's nice to be able to visit them all though. But I do still enjoy celebrating Yule. It's not nearly as commercial as Christmas and it's not all about the presents and such.. it's about celebrating life in a season of death.