Merry Christmas to all Avalonians

[Frank V]

For quite a number of years already, I've been sending out a self-made Christmas card via e-mail every year to all of my friends -- far more than that I send out actual tangible cards via "snail mail". I commonly pluck an image from the Internet and then I just apply some text and effects to it and rescale it.

The software I use is a Free Software application called The GIMP. Yes, it's an awkward name -- as I found out still only recently -- but it's actually an acronym for The GNU Image Manipulation Program (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP).

Earlier on I got a PM from one of my friends here on Avalon with an image attached to it, and as I couldn't figure out how to upload an image from my own computer to attach to a PM -- I'm not even sure that the forum engine allows for that -- I'm uploading it to a thread instead. That way, I'm reaching everyone on Avalon, because I do want to wish everyone here a happy festive season and a fantastic new year.

I am hereby also inviting anyone who wants to upload an appropriate image for this time of the year, regardless of religion or creed -- I'm not even a Catholic myself, mind you -- to share their season's greetings images here on this thread. Let's end the year and kick off the new one with a positive vibe!


Namaste. :-)


P.S: It is my understanding that an older and similar thread already exists. Therefore, if the mods feel that it is better to merge the threads, then please feel free to do so.


http://projectavalon.net/forum4/attachment.php?attachmentid=28412&d=1419488878

[Kez]

Just a message from me to wish all of you a very merry christmas, hope yall have a great day and hope you enjoy your presents and dinner ;D. Also the meaning of Christmas to me is spending time with your family and enjoying it, it's not all about being materialistic so just remember that when you open your presents (should you receive any). I for one won't be disappointed if I don't get a brand new telescope to allow me to look further into the stars lol.

[crosby]

Thank you Kez...... even though this holiday means different things to different people, and even though the awakening has changed it for most of us - the old feelings of nostalgia are still there and it is indeed a time to reflect. I love being with with my grown children (not a gramma yet, but maybe someday) and with my mother - keeping the generations of this family grounded in what is perhaps an outdated tradition for some - always makes me feel a little better. This evening we are going to have a few drinks, shares some laughs about the old days, and just be glad that we can be together. I am all about that!!!!! Much love to all of you fellow Avalonians, your friends, and your families. I hope that peace rules the day for you all!
Warmest and most loving regards,
crosby

[Blue Radiance]

Merry Christmas!

[Rozzy]

Merry Christmas avaloners!!!!

[aranuk]

Happy Christmas all. And a happy new year when it comes.

Stan

[ghostrider]

Merry Christmas to everyone ... let 2015 be a year of great expectations ...

[crosby]

beautiful.. Thank You.
warmest,
crosby

[Sunny-side-up]

Be Great,
be Happy,
Be Healthy,
be and feel Love in this time of year all!

Peace
Alan

[Cidersomerset]

Merry celebrations whatever your beliefs and customs , I was tempted
to find something topical, but I do that most days ,so I opted for a
more traditional scene.......

http://www.christmassayings2014.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Merry-Christmas-Greetings-2014.png

===================================================


http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/2.77.1/desktop/3.5/img/blq-blocks_grey_alpha.png

24 December 2014 Last updated at 01:19

Turks celebrate Father Christmas as local hero
By Mark Lowen

BBC News, Demre, Turkey


http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79885000/jpg/_79885534_79885533.jpg

Portrait of Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, created by Liverpool's John Moores University
Face Lab in December 2014 This image of Saint Nicholas - the 4th Century bishop who
liked to give gifts secretly - was created by a British university using a facial
reconstruction system and 3D interactive technology Continue reading the main story



It's almost 6,000km (3,730 miles) from the North Pole and there's not an elf in sight.

But trace the roots of the sleigh-riding chap in red and you will arrive in the southern
Turkish town of Demre. This was the home of the man whose legend inspired Father Christmas.

The story begins in the 4th Century, when Demre was called Myra and the region Lycia.

Ancient ruins testify to the town's importance: a beautiful Roman amphitheatre and
rock-cut tombs built into the mountain remain, the burial place of the wealthy residents.

Purses of gold

related article on todays BBC website...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30577800



https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10885070_613544725423823_532512061292998269_n.png?oh=6f34eb05cad163b8db52d429e1893fc8&oe=5545508D&__gda__=1430067788_db41e2167f2c987f46889a6b23fdfb41

[Daozen]

Merry Christmas

[astridmari]

===================================================
It's almost 6,000km (3,730 miles) from the North Pole and there's not an elf in sight.

But trace the roots of the sleigh-riding chap in red and you will arrive in the southern
Turkish town of Demre. This was the home of the man whose legend inspired Father Christmas.

The story begins in the 4th Century, when Demre was called Myra and the region Lycia.

Ancient ruins testify to the town's importance: a beautiful Roman amphitheatre and
rock-cut tombs built into the mountain remain, the burial place of the wealthy residents.

Purses of gold

related article on toadays BBC website...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30577800

Just need to adjust the story a little bit from the North here ;)

"According to Pagan myths, Odin was the leader of the Wild Hunt every Yule –the equivalent of Christmas for the Germanic Pagan Tribes- and he would ride his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir around the whole time. Sleipnir could cover long distances in a very short period of time, just like Santa’s sleigh and reindeer. According to the same traditions, children would fill their boots with carrots, straw and sugar, and place them near the chimney for Odin’s flying horse to eat while resting. Odin would then return the favor and reward those children for their kindness by leaving gifts, toys, and candies in the boots. Sound familiar?"
http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/top-5-things-you-didnt-know-about-christmas-and-probably-should/

28414

[Frank V]

Merry celebrations whatever your beliefs and customs , I was tempted find something topical, but I do that most days ,so I opted for a
more traditional scene.......

http://www.christmassayings2014.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Merry-Christmas-Greetings-2014.png

I'm not complaining. It adds a magical touch. :-)




http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/2.77.1/desktop/3.5/img/blq-blocks_grey_alpha.png

24 December 2014 Last updated at 01:19

Turks celebrate Father Christmas as local hero
By Mark Lowen

BBC News, Demre, Turkey


http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79885000/jpg/_79885534_79885533.jpg

Portrait of Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, created by Liverpool's John Moores University
Face Lab in December 2014 This image of Saint Nicholas - the 4th Century bishop who
liked to give gifts secretly - was created by a British university using a facial
reconstruction system and 3D interactive technology Continue reading the main story



It's almost 6,000km (3,730 miles) from the North Pole and there's not an elf in sight.

But trace the roots of the sleigh-riding chap in red and you will arrive in the southern
Turkish town of Demre. This was the home of the man whose legend inspired Father Christmas.

The story begins in the 4th Century, when Demre was called Myra and the region Lycia.

Ancient ruins testify to the town's importance: a beautiful Roman amphitheatre and
rock-cut tombs built into the mountain remain, the burial place of the wealthy residents.

Purses of gold

related article on toadays BBC website...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30577800

Well, that is not actually correct. The man described here is not Father Christmas, but Saint-Nicholas, the bishop of Myra, whom we here in Belgium and in most of Western Europe celebrate early in December. In Belgium and in the Netherlands, he is known as Sinterklaas -- the city closest to where I live is actually called Sint-Niklaas, in his honor -- and his birthday is celebrated on the 5th of December in the Netherlands, and on the 6th of December in Belgium.

He generally arrives in the country by boat -- he is said to live in Spain -- somewhere in November, and from then on until the night of his birthday, he brings candy to the good children on a regular basis. On the night of his birthday itself, he then also brings the toys that the children were asking him for all year long.

He does all this by riding his white horse from rooftop to rooftop, and he has a number of helpers -- who are all called Piet (Pete in English) -- and who wear Spanish medieval clothing, but they are all black. This has led to a recent riot because of alleged "racism" and "a glorifying of slavery", while the fact that the Piets are black has nothing to do with either people of African ethnicity or with slavery. The Piets are black because they have to crawl through the chimney every night, so they are covered in soot all the time!

He also doesn't exactly owe his popularity to the fact that he loved giving gifts to children in secret -- maybe the historic Nicholas did that too, I don't know -- but rather to a miracle he is alleged to have performed. I'm not sure on the exact details anymore, but I know that when I heard my teacher tell the story when I was a very young boy, it completely freaked me out because of the cruelty. As the story goes, Nicholas brought two orphan children -- a boy and a girl -- back to life after they had been murdered, chopped up into pieces and hidden inside a wooden barrel by an evil inn keeper. Nicholas arrived at the inn and felt that something was wrong. He then intuitively went to the barrel, held his hand over it, said a prayer, and out came the two children, alive and well. Or so the story goes. :-)

The story of Father Christmas on the other hand is quite different, and that of -- indeed -- someone real or fictional who liked giving gifts to children in secret, and this man was a fisherman from the North, dressed in typical fisherman clothing. The Coca-Cola company then started using the image of this man wearing a Coca-Cola red suit, rather than his original fisherman clothing. And in North America, the legend of this fisherman and that of Saint-Nicolas were then merged, and Father Christmas became known there as "Santa Claus". :-)

[Bill Ryan]

-------

Thank you to all here! :)

I'd been considering starting a thread about unusual or (maybe) solitary Christmases. (I may share a couple of funny stories later.) I had found myself thinking of Avalon member Joe Sustaire this morning, who may be alone in his cabin in the woods. (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?78069-Caring-for-relatives-with-Alzheimer-s-the-modern-curse-of-the-elderly&p=913163&viewfull=1#post913163)

And in looking for Joe's post, I found this thread, which I'd never actually seen, started by AutumnW:

I ache from loneliness (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?69924-I-ache-from-loneliness)

Wow, many times over. Pause for very deep thought — indeed. There but for the Grace of God go we all.

We all need to remember that there may be many even of us, right here, who are on their own today. And despite all our self-reliance, because of the strange morphic field of Christmas, it may feel just a little jangly and weird.

So if you ARE on your own today, I'm sure that Aragorn would not mind at all if those folks link up here on his thread. The advantages of a strong, virtual community is that members can remain wonderfully connected even if they're thousands of miles apart. :)

[Hervé]

Happy Summer Solstice festive season for those living on the other side of the Equator (as seen from here :))!

No caribous coming out of the South pole though... only... who knows what?

[Dennis Leahy]

Thanks, Aragorn, for starting this thread, and for all who take the time to connect with it by posting, or thanking, or even just "energetically linking" to it.

To me, the most amazing thing about Christmas and the Christmas Season is the spirit of rebellion against the attempt to completely degrade and debase the concept with commercialization. I can't help but think that even the most reflexive, brainwashed human robots who apparently fall in line with the vulgar commercial aspects are also touched by the pervasive undercurrent of love and caring and a cry for peace.

Anything that triggers heart-centered, selfless feelings adds to the positive side of the equation - and the ethereal inner core of Christmas does that.

[Joe Sustaire]

Thanks for the thoughts Bill!

Yeah, this is a tough time of the year for many, and like so many parts of life, one doesn't really understand until one has been there. I know I didn't.

I'll be heading out to the nursing home to visit with Patty this morning and see if we can't make some smiles and laughter, and help each other feel loved.

Best wishes for all here and thank you again for thinking of me!

[RunningDeer]

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii610/WhiteCrowBlackDeer/Seasons/wreath_zpsdd0cf303.jpg

Enjoy your time with family or alone as the case may be. :wave:
http://avalonlibrary.net/paula/Seasons/bulbs_zpsgyfydhlu.GIFhttp://avalonlibrary.net/paula/Seasons/bulbs2_zpsqadytjf7.GIF

Love,
Paula

[RunningDeer]

Sunny-side-up has a thread for Christmas called, Avalon Sky Heart Manifestation (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?78316-Avalon-Sky-Heart-Manifestation&p=915640&viewfull=1#post915640).

Some of us will visualize as Sunny-side-up/Alan describes, ’Giant-Golden-Heart-Shape' in the sky where it can be seen by all.

I’ll hold intent throughout the day. I have a system where I put a small green ink mark on my hand. Every time I see it, it'll remind me to put focus on my heart while I visualize the Avalon Sky Heart.

<3

[Wind]

Peace and love, now and forever.

HTQgKBPQkf0

[Natalia]

Fairy Christmas everyone! *giggle* :)

http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2011/343/f/a/christmas_fairy_in_blue_by_aruarian_dancer-d4ilncf.png

[Sidney]

Merry Christmas. to all friends and all species. XOXO
28415

[onawah]

I am not minding being alone so much this year, and it's a sunny day here, warm enough to go for a walk in the woods,which I will do.
Getting out and breathing fresh air, hearing the birds sing and hugging a tree can make my day, even Christmas Day...
Merry Christmas, Avalon!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WFGgz2ppZrw/VJMP7L2ECUI/AAAAAAAADdA/UMm08eQT7-A/s1600/Merry-Christmas.png

[Camilo]

Happy holidays to all, and a wonderful 2015!

[Becky]

Merry Christmas to all, and positive happy wishes for a wonderful 2015!

[Deega]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTDeIULKYRWPpQnxjId8LAOC13xL5MCAJzwGLbGRduz1jXCOgas9A

[Agape]

I really liked this message from H.M. Queen Elisabeth this year ... it's unique , in our times anyway ..

iUXHVLMPz9I


Peace to all and Merry Christmas to all Avalonians . More peace the merrier ...


:grouphug: ;):angel:

[Frank V]

-------

Thank you to all here! :)

I'd been considering starting a thread about unusual or (maybe) solitary Christmases. (I may share a couple of funny stories later.) I had found myself thinking of Avalon member Joe Sustaire this morning, who may be alone in his cabin in the woods. (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?78069-Caring-for-relatives-with-Alzheimer-s-the-modern-curse-of-the-elderly&p=913163&viewfull=1#post913163)

Oh yes, I know what that's like. I've been alone virtually every Christmas since my parents died -- my father was the last one to leave this Earthly realm, and that was in 1998. On a few occasions, I've gotten together with a few other friends who were also alone at Christmas at the time, but that in itself was also a long time ago already.

So yes, I've been spending this Christmas alone as well, but the odd thing is that I've gotten used to it. In addition to that, I'm also still in a very early stage of recovering from pneumonia right now, and I've also got kidney stones again -- which, as some of you will know, is extremely painful. So I've been sitting here at my computer all day/night -- my circadian rhythm is all upside down these days -- reading posts on Avalon, battling a few trolls on Usenet and playing chess against anonymous people via the Free Internet Chess Server, or playing a few computer games on my own -- PacMan and Solitaire.

I'm also very familiar with Alzheimer's, by the way. One of my mom's cousins is currently afflicted with it -- she doesn't even know who she is anymore -- and during my paramedical training (which I did not finish), I've worked as an intern at several geriatric wards. So now that you bring this subject up, Bill, I would like to post this following song here -- perhaps I should have done that on the Alzheimer's thread, but it's appropriate here as well. It is a beautiful song by singer-guitarist Glen Campbell -- one of my boyhood heroes -- who has also recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

(For the very sensitive among us, better grab a box of Kleenex when you're listening to this. Trust me, you're gonna need it...)

U8TsAh-zYFI



And in looking for Joe's post, I found this thread, which I'd never actually seen, started by AutumnW:

I ache from loneliness (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?69924-I-ache-from-loneliness)

Wow, many times over. Pause for very deep thought — indeed. There but for the Grace of God go we all.

We all need to remember that there may be many even of us, right here, who are on their own today. And despite all our self-reliance, because of the strange morphic field of Christmas, it may feel just a little jangly and weird.

So if you ARE on your own today, I'm sure that Aragorn would not mind at all if those folks link up here on his thread. The advantages of a strong, virtual community is that members can remain wonderfully connected even if they're thousands of miles apart. :)

This is very, very true, Bill. Like I said, I've been sitting here at my computer most of the day (or night, actually), and although Avalon was relatively quiet -- for understandable reasons, as people were spending time with their families and loved ones -- I did not feel lonely, because there were a few other people still active here, and I could read a few new threads and talk back and forth via PMs a bit.

There really is a feeling of connection here. Avalon is not just a forum, but a genuine community of remarkable people from all over the planet. It's only the venue where we meet which is virtual, because the people are all real, with real lives, real problems, and real emotions. Well, except for the poster known as "NASA", I believe, but he's been a good little robot so far. :p (Maybe you guys ought to rename him to R2D2? :p)

I would also like to post a second video -- one of my favorite songs -- because it's somewhat appropriate for the time of the year, and particularly the powerful passage...


And in these days
Darkness falls early
And people wish hope
To the ones they love

You better take a fool's advice
And take care of your own
'Cause one they they're here
Next day they're gone

Unfortunately I could not attach a video of the original by Don Henley because Google/YouTube has muted the soundtrack on all of the versions due to "copyright violation", so you'll all have to do with this interpretation of the song by a Dutch musician named Clemmens Wenners. There's a powerful message in this song too!

RFs7kl5P4OU

[Sérénité]

I've just posted something similar on Jagmans post about being alone at Christmas.

This year I have learned that being with the wrong person or in the wrong place can make you feel far more lonely than actually being alone.
It's my first festive season 'alone' for 8 years, yet I feel far less lonely than I have in as long as I can remember.

We're all in this together, so don't anyone feel alone...sending each and every one of you a heart full of love and light and happiness :grouphug:

[Walter]

Merry Christmas to All!!
My heart goes out to everyone in the spirit of kindness. May we all find comfort at this time of year. I am very grateful being, and hope all of you the best!
Walter

[sandy]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season Everyone :) :hug:

[fractal]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holydays ;)

[Cidersomerset]

A nice quote I just saw on David Ickes page , if I saw it earlier
I'd put on my first post...........

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/get-attachment-614.jpg

[Bill Ryan]

-------

I've just merged Aragorn's MERRY CHRISTMAS thread with the similar one started by Kez a few hours earlier.

Here are some related Christmas threads.... (did I miss any?!)


PEACE on earth and good will toward ALL (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?78389-PEACE-on-earth-and-good-will-toward-ALL-..-..) (Christine)



This is for all those people who feel lonely tonight! (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?78377-This-is-for-all-those-people-who-feel-lonely-tonight-) (jagman)



Unusual Christmases we've all had (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?78407-Unusual-Christmases-we-ve-all-had) (myself, in the 'The Lighter Side')

[onawah]

I think this may be significant:

I really liked this message from H.M. Queen Elisabeth this year ... it's unique , in our times anyway ..

iUXHVLMPz9I


...If the Queen is touting reconciliation, it may be a sign, as predicted, that some Dark siders, at least, are beginning to understand what kind of karma they have been creating for themselves, and are thinking ahead to a possible future unlike the one they have been fantasizing, in which, on the one hand, their dark deeds have come fully into the Light, and on the other, there begins to be more equality, love and compassion in the world.
My initial reaction was not so positive, but as Martin Luther King ( whose birthday is coming up next month) put it so eloquently:

"I have decided to stick with love…Hate is too great a burden to bear."
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Where Do We Go From Here, 1967.


Reflection on the quotation by a King Center staff member:Yes, it is true, we are not always treated fairly, we are not always treated with respect, in fact, we may have been mistreated, sometimes by the people whom we least expect, even by the very ones who are closest to us and are supposed to love us. As a result, we may feel justified in holding grudges, disliking…a lot, even hating; however, in doing so we are ultimately harming ourselves because this will become a cancer and in holding on to it we allow it to grow and fester, and ultimately it changes who we are. We then become full of anger and hate…just like the very person who we felt had wronged us. Their behavior is not okay, but ultimately their behavior is their responsibility and they would eventually have to face the consequences of it. It is okay to speak up when you are being mistreated, after all, “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”(Stride Toward Freedom, 1958)

How can we do this?...By sticking to love. The Bible says in Matthew 5:44 that we should love our enemies. We should bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who spitefully use us and persecute us. We must learn to forgive. To love is to forgive and love is the most precious gift given to us. As Dr. King has so eloquently stated, “we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love…Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning. It is the lifting of a burden or the canceling of a debt…” He went on to say, “There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” (Loving your Enemies – Sermon - Christmas, 1957, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church)

What sticks with me most is this simple, profound wisdom:
"I have decided to stick with love…Hate is too great a burden to bear."

[Nat_Lee]

Happy Holiday Season Everyone :)

https://i.gse.io/gse_media/114/10/1415288080-rockin_the_holidays_tickets.jpg?p=1


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/be/6a/15/be6a15cfab512d823835a134d95136f7.jpg

I'm wishing you love in your heart and soul !