Métis Fear 164

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Métis Fear 164: I don't spend enough time in quiet contemplation with my goat brothers.

Urban Hunting

Had some exciting urban hunting these past few weeks as the food this year has been plentiful for the albino deer and moose.  I have been able to observe a number of these majestic creatures in their natural shop window habitats.

I spotted this moose casually strolling through a candle forest.  Note how its silver shimmer helps it to camouflage into the Christmas chaos that surrounds this peaceful forest.  When hunting this kind of moose, a nice plaid blanket, casually laid to one side acts as an irresistible lure.

This majestic stag was showing off for a beautiful doe just behind me.  Their beautiful courting dance plays out each night as the mall closes watched over by a number of lonely giant whales who hang out over the liquor shop.  The meat on an mall deer can be tough so you will want a thoughtful marinade to bring out the flavors of plastic and despair.

These dwarf moose were captured using the aforementioned plain blanket trick combined with a complementary plank of weathered barn wood balanced nearby.  I also captured a number of hipsters this way, but I released them back into the wild.  I with you good luck with your urban hunting.

Winter Traditions and Holidays Part 3

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Birthday of the Unconquered Sun)

 

Roman Imperial repoussé silver disc of Sol Invictus (3rd century)

•   Sol Invictus was the official sun god of the later Roman Empire and a patron of soldiers. In 274 AD the Roman emperor Aurelian made it an official cult alongside the traditional Roman cults.
•   Celebrated near-solstice
•   After his victories in the East, the Emperor Aurelian reformed the Roman cult of Sol, elevating the sun-god to one of the premier divinities of the Empire.
•   Constantine decreed (March 7, 321) dies Solis—day of the sun, "Sunday"—as the Roman day of rest (Codex Justinianus): On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.”
• Constantine's triumphal arch was carefully positioned to align with the colossal statue of Sol by the Colosseum.
• Celebration included religious rites and public business was suspended. Even slaves were supposed to be given some form of rest. Family and community celebrations were held.
• Within the city of Rome, the priests were not allowed even to see work done.
• Sol Invictus played a prominent role in the Mithraic mysteries, and was equated with Mithras.

So….what was Mithraism?

• A mystery religion of the god Mithras practiced in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to the 4th century.
• Mithras was born from a rock emerging already in his youth on December 25 (date contested by some)
• Key imagery includes Mithra slaughtering a sacred bull while being watch by Sol who he then shares food with.
• There are no written records of this religion, so all information has been interpreted by archeological evidence.
• By some, Mithraism has sometimes been viewed as a rival of early Christianity with similarities such as liberator-saviour, hierarchy (bishops, deacons, presbyters), communal meal and a hard struggle of Good and Evil (bull-killing/crucifixion).
• Mithraism declined with the rise to power of Christianity,
• Early Christian apologists noted similarities between Mithraic and Christian rituals, but nonetheless took an extremely negative view interpreting Mithraic rituals as evil copies of Christian ones.

Métis Fear 163

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Métis Fear 163: I think I am beginning to understand my role in the work world with greater clarity.

Winter Traditions and Holidays Part 2

Diwali

Observed by	Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists
Date	Five days between mid-October and mid-November

• The Hindu festival of lights celebrated every year in autumn in the northern hemisphere (spring in southern hemisphere).
• One of the major festivals of Hinduism, it spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair.
• Celebration includes millions of lights shining on housetops, outside doors and windows, around temples and other buildings.
• The night Before Diwali night, people clean, renovate, and decorate their homes and offices.
• On Diwali night (last of the five days), people dress up in new clothes or their best outfit, light up diyas (lamps and candles) inside and outside their home and participate in family prayers.
• Fireworks follow with a family feast including and an exchange of gifts.
• In the same period
  • Jains celebrate a festival also called Diwali to mark the attainment of enlightenment by Mahavira (an important teacher)
  • Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas to mark the release of Guru Hargobind (the sixth of the Sikh gurus) from a Mughal Empire prison.
• Diwali dates back to ancient times in India, as a festival after the summer harvest
• Children are told ancient stories, legends about battles between good and evil.
• Deepavali is celebrated around the world, particularly in countries with significant populations of Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh origin.  Specifics of the celebrations vary across regions and countries.

Winter Traditions and Holidays Part 1

For many years I have tried to bring many winter traditions and holidays into our families December celebrations.  I have done this to help us understand where our traditions come from, to build a feeling of the continuity of celebrations to recognize the darkest nights and to build awareness that Christmas can cover other traditions that those around us are celebrating.  I implement this through remembrances and discussions throughout December about how people at other times, in other places and those with other beliefs have and continue to celebrate.  I pull all of these discussion together into a teaching for Christmas Eve.


This year, inspired by all the adult Advent Calendars available, I created a holiday and traditions calendar for my office with one pagers for each day.  I am going to use these write ups and learning prompts with the children who we are now home schooling.  I thought I would share this information here as well.  For the most part this information is from Wikipedia.  I have simplified things so that things are simple and that closely linked ideas are together.  Hope you enjoy them.  I will share my Christmas Eve teaching later as well.

Métis Fear 162

Janie Olsen
Métis Fear 162: the monkeys on our backs grown ever more clever and articulate.

Métis Hope 49

7th century Mughal illumination
Métis Hope 49: I hope you find a good crew to hang around with.

Métis Hope 48

Expensive Raccoon
Métis Hope 48: I hope that your raccoon does not get so fancy that he won't stop in for a chat.

Métis Hope 47

Peter Carrington
Métis Hope 47: I hope that the dimensions of your relations will be easy to calculate and the resulting holiday sweaters will be delightfully awful.

Métis Hope 46

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Métis Hope 46: take time to artfully display your hipsters.  Don't let them collect dust in the closet.  Enjoy them!

Métis Hope 45

Ana Elisa Egreja
Métis Hope 45: you will make time to enjoy just being where you are.

"We Matter" Campaign

Came across this article about the "We Matter" Campaign for indigenous kids with mental health challenges.  I am going to get the girls to do one as we have certainly had our share of experiences around coping with mental health challenges.


I also found an interesting article about a photographer thinking about residential schools.


What are you finding interesting today?

Métis Hope 44

Illustration by Jeannie Phan
Métis Hope 44: the burdens you carry may bring their own kind of calm

Happy Belated Louie Riel Day

I decided to wear my sash to work for Louie Riel Day.  The kitten found this highly relevant to his interests.  I brought in my 1885 Rebellion Flag, the book of participants and doughnuts.  This lead to some conversations with folks about Louie Riel. 

It was the last day of school for both the children, so it was weird.  I know this is the best step for our family right now but I also get anxious about breaking the rules.  Last night at the Parent teacher interview they told us that it was school policy in the Catholic System to not let the parents have contact with the teachers.  Especially having a child with special needs and the legacy of residential schools in our family this information really cemented that our choice to pull Sophie out was the right one.  We did not know it was the policy of the whole board and I wish we had know before we started out there.  I am not willing to hand my child over to someone no questions asked.  So today we start on a new phase of life.  It will be interesting.

Métis Hope 43

Paul Blow - Handsome Frank Illustration Agency
Métis Hope 43: I hope that your bear doesn't look better in your pajamas than you do.

Métis Hope 42

Paul Blow - Handsome Frank Illustration Agency
Métis Hope 42: I hope that the minor annoyances of life don't overwhelm you.

Métis Hope 41

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Métis Hope 41: I hope you can see the layers of beauty in those around you.