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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:31 — 69.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:31 — 79.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Christmas 2017-New Year's 2018-Getting Through-Road Ahead-Podcast 684

Christmas 2017-New Year’s 2018-Getting Through-Road Ahead-Podcast 684

That time of year again. Christmas and Holiday pressure. End of Year Themes. Predictions. Maybe the best thing to do is to kick back and wait it out. In Christmas 2017-New Year’s 2018-Getting Through-Road Ahead-Podcast 684.

It’s Christmas Season Already?

Hard to believe we’re nearing the end of another year. Just ahead of the big slow down between Christmas and New Year’s every year. The pressure is on though. Christmas 2017-New Year’s 2018-Getting Through-Road Ahead-Podcast 684 is an opportunity to give ourselves permission to take a slow down.

Pressure Time Doesn’t Have To Be Pressure Time

These days with people wanting to visit, pressures of blended and non blended families and the normal pressures of life it can get pretty hectic. Moreover, many of us try to pack so many tasks into the mix, it feels like four months of living in about thirty days or less, between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

As a Guy This Is How I Roll

How do some people get through it. My excuse is, I’m a guy. I don’t do much aside from planning my yearly Chinese dinner out on Christmas Day, which few in the family want to come to. It’s a nice opportunity to hang with the younger generation including my son and my nephews, escaping what might termed lightly as ‘the madness’.

Breathe

Especially relevant is the sudden exhortation at the yoga studio for people to ‘take a breath’ and ‘slow down’. Amen to that! What do I want? Time. Time to do nothing. Back in the day, the people out on the plains mended their tools, drank egg coffee and pored over the seed and Sears catalogs to plan what they were going to plant, grow and hopefully harvest in the next year. Take a slow down with me in Christmas 2017-New Year’s 2018-Getting Through-Road Ahead-Podcast 684.

Be A Kid

Then there are the endless predictions and prognostications from a media hell-bent-for-leather to predict the future. What’s going to happen. What happened last year, as though each year has earthshaking developments that will never be forgotten. No time to enjoy the present like we used to when we were kids.

Take Time Off If You Can

Especially relevant for me are the memories of trips to Florida when I was a kid. Getting up at 4AM, climbing into the way-back of the wagon. We couldn’t wait for the moment when you could feel the warmth against the windows. Listening to this podcast, you may find yourself in a reverie of your own memories when Christmas was a simpler time.

Sponsored by Brush Studio In The West End Saint Louis Park and Reliafund

Christmas 2017-New Year’s 2018-Getting Through-Road Ahead-Podcast 684

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:01 — 61.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS