Live Metanoia

It’s October and I love spooky season.

Don’t ask me why or when Fall became my favorite season, and Halloween one of my favorite holidays because Summer was my jam up until my mid or late twenties. These past few years I have become a Fall lover and spooky season makes me super giddy. Which in general is a little contradictory considering how religious I tend to be. I sing worship music and talk to Jesus, but love listening to spooky podcasts and true crime.

You know, balance.

I think many people, religious or not, struggle with the idea of balance. The religious will quote that one verse in the Bible about being lukewarm and choosing one side or the other. While the non-religious call out discrepancies of the religious or spiritual as hypocrisy. I can understand the feelings on both sides, especially when we really get into celebrating holidays in general, it gets tricky.

Let’s take Christmas for example. A holiday that’s extremely festive. Where people go full out- decorating their homes and placing yard ornaments everywhere. Lit houses, presents, Santa pictures with screaming infants, etc. Christian religions celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ during this time. My very own lord and savior. However, we do not have an actual birthday for him. It’s not like his day of birth was written down.

Jesus don’t have no birth certificate that I know of.

But we choose this day as December 25. Conveniently when we celebrate Christmas, this day also falls during the time of Yule- the celebration of the Winter solstice- a pagan tradition. Decorating a tree? Pagan tradition. Presents, singing songs (chants), certain foods, and believing in a Saint who uses magic to enter homes to leave gifts behind on his magical reindeer ?

Ummm yea, none of that is Jesus related my friends.

I point these things out not to bring shame onto anyone who celebrates the holidays. I love Christmas season, and will bop along to ‘All I want for Christmas is You’ like the rest of ‘em.

I also just stated I love Halloween- a pegan holiday of Samhain. Dressing up in costumes has Celtic traditions as well. Some religions, denominations, and churches try to ‘compete’ or justify themselves with this holiday with a “fall fest” celebration or something similar, however it’s still during the time of the fall equinox and celebrating the same thing most pagan traditions celebrate. The turning of the seasons.

It’s the same concept as Easter.

Yes, Easter. The spring equinox and Pagan tradition of Ostara – a Germanic spring goddess who’s imagery is you guessed it- eggs and bunnies. But the Christian Easter is celebrated during this time as well. It’s “shared” (I.e suspicious).

Do we really have a date or time for Jesus’s death and resurrection? Not that I know of. So why did the heads of Christianity choose to celebrate during Ostara ? Maybe we just know the general time or season of his death, so thats what we go with? I don’t know. Or maybe it’s a great marketing ploy. I can’t tell you how many churches also give chocolate bunnies and Easter baskets to kids using the excuse- they’re kids! They don’t know any better ! Let them have fun. And I love those peep marshmallow ducks.

But you know better.

We know better.

And we give money to the candy companies all the same and keep capitalism alive and well. Then we condemn others for watching Hocus Pocus, but take pictures of our cute toddlers dressed up in costume. I’m just saying there’s a lot of pointing fingers and judgment going around when people are also sipping on their spiced teas.

There should be a lot more of minding your own business and looking in the mirror instead. I think I’m just tired of the weird justifications or reasoning for why one person may do something someone else does not.

If you’re Christian and you let your kids go trick-or-treating, who cares? If you’re pagan or non religious but you enjoy decorating a tree and singing Joy to the World or Silent Night, who cares? Are you hurting anyone? No. Is it anyones business? Nope. Should you care what others think about your celebration habits ? Nada.

For a lot of people their relationship with God and spirituality is extremely personal.

The level of audacity the general population has gathered over the past decade and a half has given them a false sense of security.

One day someone’s going to pop off something that’s not their business and they are going to get punched in the mouth. Honestly more people may need to be.

Anyway, I hope everyone is as excited about the Holiday season as I am. However you celebrate it, or if you don’t celebrate it all- I hope you have a great couple of next months. I know I will! There’s a couple of shouted houses I am attending and you better believe I’m dressing up!

Now where is my fall scented candle ?

My journey continues,

Kaycee