-
3 votes
-
Happy Solstice!
For those of us in the northern hemisphere, today is the hiemal solstice. Today is the shortest day of the year, and for the next half of the year, the period of daylight will only get longer....
For those of us in the northern hemisphere, today is the hiemal solstice. Today is the shortest day of the year, and for the next half of the year, the period of daylight will only get longer.
Since ancient times, people have marked this day each year, through celebration and through the construction of buildings that line up with the sun or stars on this day; for instance, Stonehenge in Britain and Newgrange in Ireland both act as solstice indicators. Celtic, Chinese, Indian, ancient Roman, and even ancient Hebrew solstice ceremonies are recorded in various forms, with some (such as Newgrange) dating as far back as 3200 BC.
Today, many of these solstice ceremonies have been wrapped up into the Christian winter holiday of Christmas. For instance, the Celtic tradition of hanging evergreen plants, such as holly and ivy, as a sign of hospitality became the British Christian tradition of hanging mistletoe. Even the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah bears a striking resemblance to the Celtic idea of the Yule Log, a fire that was meant to burn for twelve days without re-fueling.
In addition, the solstice itself remains meaningful to many, both in mainstream religions and in neo-Pagan revival movements. So, to all of you who celebrate, happy Solstice, and may the sun shine warm on your face for the rest of the year.
34 votes -
This wealthy Dallas church owns the most clergy homes in Texas — and it costs taxpayers six figures a year
11 votes -
Swedish singer Anna von Hausswolff performed in secret on Thursday night, after two of her French concerts were cancelled due to pressure from fundamentalist Catholics
5 votes -
Supreme Court weighs mandating public funds for religious schools in Maine
8 votes -
QAnon now as popular in US as some major religions, poll suggests
14 votes -
French Catholics agree to sell property to compensate abuse victims
9 votes -
Ministry of violence: Corporal punishment, evangelical Christians, and the doctrine of obedience
8 votes -
Tolerance by Accident, Trust by Design
3 votes -
What is Day of the Dead?
2 votes -
Why some White evangelicals are rethinking their politics
12 votes -
The tiger and the strawberry
4 votes -
At least 216,000 children were victims of sexual assault by the French Catholic Church
13 votes -
Introduction to the Upanishads - The Essence of Vedic Philosophy
5 votes -
Everything is buddhanature
3 votes -
The psychological advantage of unfalsifiability: The appeal of untestable religious and political ideologies
5 votes -
The Malê Rebellion in Bahia: Brazil’s African Muslim uprising
3 votes -
The prison and detention camps built for Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China have enough room to detain over one million people
18 votes -
Kurt Westergaard, a Danish cartoonist whose caricature of the prophet Muhammad outraged many Muslims worldwide, has died at the age of 86
8 votes -
"One by one, all my friends were sent to the camps" - A first-hand account of a Uyghur Muslim whose family escaped China
13 votes -
Vatican urges Italy to stop proposed anti-homophobia law
10 votes -
Documentary recommendation: The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
I recently started an excellent series on Wondrium that is a PBS documentary from 1988: Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth and I figured this series would be of interest to the Tildes crowd. In...
I recently started an excellent series on Wondrium that is a PBS documentary from 1988: Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth and I figured this series would be of interest to the Tildes crowd. In this series, Joseph Campbell sits down for a discussion with Bill Moyers discussing the way mythology has influenced our lives from the day-to-day to religion, and how these common motifs present themselves throughout our history and culture. In addition, there is a lot of examples and comparisons of these tropes within the Star Wars original trilogy that is discussed.
It is a very eye-opening and thought-provoking series that I would really love to have a discussion about if others here find it interesting as well.
Transcripts of the individual episodes can be found on this site:
I personally prefer listening/watching as there are a lot of visual examples that are used during the discussion that helps make the topic more clear.
6 votes -
Supreme Court rules in favor of Catholic foster care agency that refused to work with same-sex couples
9 votes -
Uyghur tribunal
6 votes -
You don’t need an identity
5 votes -
The exorcists who are battling Black Lives Matter - Across the country, right-wing Catholic clerics are weaponizing their rites to own the libs
10 votes -
What is truth? - Perspectives from Buddhism
6 votes -
To be more tech-savvy, borrow these strategies from the Amish
10 votes -
Finland's football association donates sport hijabs to players – part of a series of initiatives marking fifty years of organised women's football
6 votes -
Megan Rohrer elected as first openly transgender bishop in US lutheran church
11 votes -
The existence of God and the beginning of the universe
11 votes -
Orthodox Marian hymn: Agni Parthene/Maria, Blessed Virgin (Church Slavonic rendition)
4 votes -
How do you think songs like national anthems, war songs, religious songs, etc. should be dealt with in Tildes?
The main reason I ask this is that, given these types of songs exist mainly to rile up a people in support or opposition to something, which leaves very little serious discussion to be had, other...
The main reason I ask this is that, given these types of songs exist mainly to rile up a people in support or opposition to something, which leaves very little serious discussion to be had, other than the top comment offering some context. So what do you think? Given these songs are mostly more about nations, peoples, faiths, I'd probably post them in ~humanities inst of just ~music, but I want other opinions. I also generally make exceptions to sad music of this type, mainly because it's more meaningful.
4 votes -
The Golem and the Jewish Superhero
7 votes -
Inside the world's largest Jewish cookbook collection
7 votes -
Pakistan’s first transgender-only madrasa breaks barriers
8 votes -
Evangelicals perfected cancel culture. Now it’s coming for them.
16 votes -
Norway's wealth fund will probe whether companies it is invested in may be using the labour of ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims linked to China's internment camp system
8 votes -
American Pickle: A pickle-shaped void
5 votes -
I'm working on creating a new religion. You may read the beta version of our scripture at disciples.technoslug.org
29 votes -
What's Cajun Mardi Gras? Here's the story
6 votes -
February 16th is Fettisdagen (Fat Tuesday) here in Sweden, our name for the Catholic celebration of Shrove Tuesday – bake your own Semla with this easy, traditional recipe
12 votes -
The Pope vs. Lululemon
5 votes -
Denmark sermons law could stifle free worship, warns Church of England bishop – Robert Innes says proposed translation law could affect religious freedoms across Europe
13 votes -
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declares China's treatment of Uighurs 'genocide'
15 votes -
How I survived a Chinese ‘reeducation’ camp for Uighurs
16 votes -
Twitter has removed a post by China’s US embassy claiming that Uighur women have been “emancipated” from extremism and were no longer “baby-making machines”
15 votes -
Observers have long warned of rising forced labor in Xinjiang, China. Satellite images show factories built just steps away from cell blocks.
19 votes -
The history of Jews, Chinese food, and Christmas, explained by a rabbi
11 votes -
How the sun illuminates Spanish missions on the winter solstice
4 votes