Pagan-Roots-Of Christmas-Bob Davis Podcast 887

Pagan-Roots-Of Christmas-Bob Davis Podcast 887

Christmas Is Indeed A Pagan Holiday

I know there are religious people who don’t want to hear this but Christmas is a pagan holiday. These days we’re disconnected from history and our ancestors. I’ll explain in Pagan-Roots-Of Christmas-Bob Davis Podcast 887.

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is especially relevant here. The shortest day in the northern hemisphere. December 21st. The next day the sun starts its journey back toward us and the days will start getting longer.

A Time To Rest, Repair And Recharge

Second people have taken this time to hunker down, rest and prepare for the coming brighter and warmer months. This goes back millennia.

The Shortest Darkest Days

In contrast to those in warmer and brighter places those of us who live in the far northern reaches of North America and Northern Europe know only too well how dark it gets. Even more how long those dark and cold nights can be.

Jesus Was Not Born On December 25th

We are told Jesus Christ the bringer of light, was born in December. Truth is the bible doesn’t say when the savior was born.

The Bringer Of Light Was A Summer Baby

Moreover astronomers believe Christ was probably born in the summer, or fall somewhere between 6 or 7 BC, and 3 or 2 BC.

Rome and Saturnalia

Finally it was the Roman Catholic Church that set Christ’s birth on December 25th. Oddly enough, the new celebration would coincide with the celebration of the Roman God Saturn.

Santa IS A Pagan Symbol

Even more, Santa’s origins are rooted both in a Greek Saint in about 300 AD, and the Norse god Odin. Above all once Artist Norman Rockwell and the advertising industry shaped and advanced the idea of Saint Nick as a rosy cheeked white bearded grandfatherly symbol. Our modern Santa. For more on Odin, click here.

Holiday Season

This year I spent a little time and thought about our Winter Holiday Season, which starts with the celebration of the harvest on Thanksgiving, includes a parade of totems in New York City, and ends with New Year’s.

Natural Rhythms

Are we immune to natural human rhythms? Were our ancestors dumb? How has commerce and communication in the modern age obscured the pagan roots of Christmas, and New Year’s? Does this change the nature of Christmas for the faithful? I don’t think so.

Happy Holidays

And of course, Merry Christmas

Sponsored by Reliafund Payment Processors and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Pagan-Roots-Of Christmas-Bob Davis Podcast 887

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Value-Persuasion-Disruption-Live At The Mall-Podcast 687

Value-Persuasion-Disruption-Live At The Mall-Podcast 687

These days we seldom think about what is valuable. We want the newest. The latest. Consume. Enjoy. Move on. Spending a day at the mall makes me wonder what has real value today. In Value-Persuasion-Disruption-Live At The Mall-Podcast 687.

At The Mall

We’re at certainly one of the oldest indoor malls. Southdale Mall, in Edina, Minnesota. I used to come to Southdale a lot. Not so much anymore. While malls in general have fallen on hard times, Southdale is still home base for me.

Things Change And Stay The Same

Shopping at the mall pretty much like it always was. While decorations have changed the idea stays the same. Especially relevant is the idea that all the stores are more closely defined. Seems like more clothing and accessories than back in the day of the JC Penny on one end of the mall, and Sears on the other. We’ll talk about it in Value-Persuasion-Disruption-Live At The Mall-Podcast 687.

If That’s All There Is My Friend Then Let’s Keep Dancing

What is valuable to us these days? Many things are disposable. Software and hardware upgrades feed buying the newest and latest. The idea of a waffle iron or heavy coat that lasted a lifetime is in the past. We discuss real value in Value-Persuasion-Disruption-Live At The Mall-Podcast 687.

Brand Names and Quality

Words like Value evoke brand images in every generation. For some it’s a car, or a consumer item. For others value triggers thoughts of clothing, an accessory or something that seemed to last forever. Real value though, can also be intangibles. Attributes attached to people. ‘Things’ we have to earn.

Missing Intangibles

Seems like these days so called intangibles are taking on a great deal more significance. We miss integrity, trustworthiness and respect. We crave time and forget the value of health and the people we care most about.

Beautiful Downtown Fill In The Blank

Malls are designed to evoke feelings and images of the old time markets. Walking through the mall is supposed to feel like the old time main street and its row of shops. The watchmaker and jeweler, tailor and shoe store, outdoor store and record shop. The texture and surfaces make us feel comfortable and somehow like we’re at home.

How Do You Spell Happy?

In conclusion I could suggest that the ‘things’ that make us feel secure and happy aren’t things at all. So, in Value-Persuasion-Disruption-Live At The Mall-Podcast 687, some thought starters for your Christmas and New Year’s season about what’s really important.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and Brush Studio In The West End Saint Louis Park

Value-Persuasion-Disruption-Live At The Mall-Podcast 687

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Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646

Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646

Fast and sometimes chaotic change sometimes causes people to cling to the old days and old ways. Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646 focuses on advertising for small business.

An Incredible Time

These days individuals and small business have the ability to achieve the kind of reach only dreamt about in past eras. One of the biggest problems I encounter is the habit of small businesses to fall into small thinking.

You Put A Dollar Into One End Of This Machine and You Get Twenty

Seems like business owners think there’s a machine somewhere that converts one dollar bills into twenty dollar bills and its called ‘Return on Investment‘. Social Media. Digital Advertising. Funnels. SEO. What are these? How do you set your business apart from competitors? We’ll talk about it in Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646.

ROI Is A Pig In A Poke

You don’t build a brand – as hackneyed as that concept is these days – worrying about ‘return on investment’. You don’t build a brand with ‘Hey Come On Down’ advertising approaches. Old thinking dominates main street and our political process.

Do You Feel The World Change?

Change is especially relevant these days. Chaos is another thing. Problem is if you don’t orient yourself and your business to it, change will become chaos.

There are more yoga teachers in the United States than Coal Miners, but we are developing a major economic policy for coal miners. Internet Commerce is in the process of disrupting and destroying retail. Yet, we’re building more malls. Autonomous machines and software of all kinds is replacing workers but city councils are passing higher minimum wages. In Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646.

Delivery By Drone

Technology already exists to deliver most of major company’s commerce by drone. Regulation and approval is holding it up. Same with driverless cars and many other innovations.

Meanwhile Back At The Ranch

I think it is probably predictable that in the face of potential chaotic change, people cling to the old ways of thinking and doing. Especially when it comes to advertising and politics. Change waits for no one though. It seems like the more we wait to adapt and improvise the more potential chaos looms.

Mundane to Extraordinary

The Return on Investment trope is the trigger for a romp through a discussion of new technology and its effects. From tanks in World War I to Edward Snowden. From advertising to asymmetric threats. It is here and more is coming. Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646.

Sponsored by Brush Studio In The West End

Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646

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