Christmas Day Movie Recommendation – Nativity! (2009)
We hope everyone had a fantastic holiday filled with love, laughter, food, fun, kith, and kin…and time off from work. Mine had all of the above thanks to my niece (and to my office for the time off). Samantha is Pagan, too, but we both celebrate the day and honor the traditions we have both...
The Presents of Odin in Christmas
We princesses are off princessing with kith and kin this week in celebration of Yule. But we have a few things to share in case you need your week to be extra regal. A few weeks ago, I shared my pride in the Pagan roots of Christmas. It’s lovely to think this holiday season is...
Texas “Merry Christmas” Law: Let’s Hope It Spreads Cheer, Not Fear
I first heard about the Texas “Merry Christmas†law when it was a bill last summer. My knee-jerk reaction was to roll my eyes. “What a waste of legislative time and effort,†I thought. But in the interest of keeping an open mind, I tried to step back and think about what the law was...
It’s the Most Wonderble Time of the Year
Wonderful + horrible =  wonderble. Yule is wonderful because I get to see my sister, who lives out of state. Yule is horrible because <deep breath> the fragile routine I’m working hard to build gets chunked out the window while additional responsibilities are piled on and hundreds of extra decisions must get made–like presents; I...
Can You Wish Me a Merry Christmas?
I bought a tree last night. I’ll decorate it this weekend. And it will be fabulous! Thinking about decorations has me sorting through memories and thinking about the season. I’ll be sharing my thoughts with you in the next few weeks. My thoughts today are about seasons greetings. Literally. I’m talking about the things we...
Finding Yule in New Traditions
Yule tidings! Happy Solstice! And YAY! — the world didn’t end today. I really didn’t think it would. But contemplating the faux end of the world got me thinking about other endings, too. Like the end of Christmas traditions as I embrace Yule. Let me explain. Many modern Pagans grew up in a different faith....
Finding Yule by Shopping Local
We princesses try to stay locally involved — whether its our food source, politics, or our Pagan practice. We also try to contribute to our local economy by buying local for our holiday gifts. The princesses are lucky to live in a town with lots of local gift options. And we like to do our...
Finding Yule: Online Sources for Pagan Holiday Cards
I grew up with shiny Christmases. Lights! Decorations! Crafts! Presents!* My mom laid out the works every year without fail. I still enjoy the pageantry — if that’s the right word — of a holiday-decorated home. Admittedly, I don’t have the chops (or the time) to pull off the indoor wonderland my mother created annually....
Pagan Strong: A Response to My Governor’s New Ad
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Pagan, but you don’t need to dance naked in the moonlight every 28 days* to know there’s something wrong in this country when the Pagan in my household is the one dragging the Christian out to buy a tree and sing carols around it. And with the...
St. Nicholas and His “Damned” Friends: Alpine Winter Traditions
Some friends of ours are hosting a shin-dig tonight with a jocular Krampus theme. “Krampus?,†you might ask (like I did), “what on earth is that?†Krampus is a character in winter stories told to children in parts of Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. More than a character, he’s a creature, a demon — and a...
The Other Christmas Music
I love Christmas music. I mean, yeah, a lot of it’s based on, well, Jesus, and I don’t worship Jesus as a god (though I do have a lot of respect for his work as a person – talk about a progressive!). But I have fond memories of singing “Silent Night” and “O Come, O...
The Oxymoron of a Secular Holiday: Whose Day is it Anyway?
Most people recognize the word holiday comes from “holy day†(actually, according to etymonline it comes from Old English “halig dæg,†which means… holy day), but in America we often use it to mean any day we would normally go to work and don’t, regardless if the reasons are secular or religious (such as the...
