Unspun believes there is a jealous God of Pre-Holidays out there whose only task is to create work, lots of it on the eve of holidays so that you have to work flat out before goign for that long-deserved break.
That God’s been working overtime lately and Unspun‘s up to his eye balls in drafting communications strategies, key messages, talking points, Q&As, position statements and other nonsense for clients who are also under the spell of the God of Pre-holidays. The only consolation is that the god hasn’t exempted lawyers, many of whom Unspun knows has been going without sleep as they rush to complete submissions for filing tomorrow, before the holiday silly season starts.
This is all a roundabout way of saying that Unspun will be slacking off for the holiday season and won’t likely be posting until the new year. It’s been a fun year this, with Pesta Blogger and the many friends Unspun made there; a few skirmishes with Sheriff Dumbass and his posse; the many wonderful comments from readers, many of whom kept Unspun honest and relatively real when he tended to stray; and the incredibly passionate and long Rasa Sayang thread.
The year went fast and ended with a death in the family, of a man that I admired very much and loved, not least because so many people who did not have to be there went to his funeral to pay their last respects to him. For how he has touched their lives. Unspun also found love an an family on the way. So not too bad a year after all. How was your year?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. See you next year.
Hi man,
Merry X Mas and a happy 2008 !
Happy holidays, Mr. Ong Hock Chuan!
In my case, 2007 has been a feisty ambitious year, I cannot recall anyone that has NOT been depressed this year. Even so, one of the best moments of it is when I *discovered* you, Ms. Jennie, pak Enda Nasution, and everyone (that includes my dearest although unbearably annoying uncles at Indonesia Matters) here this year. I’ve learned a lot.
Thank you, and hope you have great New Year’s eve with your loved ones.
God bless.
How is it that the pre-holiday God always has you driving around in the pouring rain with one of Jakarta’s favourite whores, looking for somewhere you can get a drink?
; – *
Strange that no one has flagged Christmas NOT as the Birthday of Christ as most think, but in reality the birthday of a Pagan God; quite the opposite of Christianity. But like most Asians, EVERY celebration is celebrated by all colours with massive EATING.
Happy Holidays
No one knows what day Jesus Christ was born on. From the biblical description, most historians believe that his birth probably occurred in September, approximately six months after Passover. One thing they agree on is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December, since the bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is quite unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter. So why do we celebrate Christ’s birthday as Christmas, on December the 25th?
The answer lies in the pagan origins of Christmas. In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature, named Horus) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast.
In Rome, the Winter Solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. In January, they observed the Kalends of January, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. (ironically, Jesus said; “I am the Light”) The festival season was marked by much merrymaking. It is in ancient Rome that the tradition of the Mummers was born. The Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who traveled from house to house entertaining their neighbors. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was born.
In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were begun long before the participants had ever heard of Christ. The pagans of northern Europe celebrated the their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun God, Mithras, being born, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the Sun God grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras, and the sun, to reappear next year.
Huge Yule logs were burned in honor of the sun. The word Yule itself means “wheel,” the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual. Hollyberries were thought to be a food of the gods.
The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again. Evergreen boughs were sometimes carried as totems of good luck and were often present at weddings, representing fertility. The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol, holding their sacred ceremonies while surrounding and worshipping huge trees.
In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.
You people better start figuring out what you are believing in.