Christmas and Ascension

The energy of this Christmas season has been interesting. Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of the year. I love the lights and displays that everyone decorates with, the music and the love that people express at this time of year.

This Christmas is entirely different. Though people seem to be decorating more this year than in past years, the enjoyment of it is not there. The stores have very little in them and I have not heard one person wish anyone a 'Happy Holiday'.

I love window shopping, just walking around looking at what is available. This year, window shopping is very depressing. I walk around the stores and feel such sadness and depression. When I first experienced this, I thought it was because this is our first Christmas without Samantha. But, I soon realized that this was not it. I was feeling the energy that was being left in the stores by other shoppers.

People are so sad and depressed this Christmas. We are finding no joy in the Holidays this year. I have been meditating on this and realize why this is so.

Christmas is a very third dimensional Holiday. It is extremely stressful. People put lots of stress on themselves to find the perfect, most expensive present possible. They spend time with family that they usually avoid most of the year. They max out their credit cards and eat until they are miserable. This is all very unspiritual.

Humanity is now moving into the fourth and fifth dimensions. There is no place in these higher dimensions for materialism such as Christmas represents. These higher dimensions are places of Love and Peace. Our third dimensional Christmas does not represent either of those qualities. We must move past the materialism and into a more spiritual based honoring of this Holiday Season.

The Christmas Season occurs at the time of the Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year. It is the time when the Earth is about to be reborn and the days become longer. It is a time of letting go of the old and beginning anew. This is the time of new beginnings, a New Year when we can create a New Reality.

These are the concepts of the Holiday Season that we will be celebrating in the higher dimensions. These are the more spiritual qualities that we will be embracing during the holidays in years to come.

So, take some of the stress off of yourself this Holiday Season. Step out of the third dimensional Holiday Season and into the fifth dimensional Holiday Season. Let go of the stress and disappointment you have experienced in 2006 and move into 2007 with a heart filled with Hope for the future, Joy to be alive, and Peace on Earth.

Rev. Claudia McNeely DD - http://www.askclaudia.com - is a world renowned Psychic/Healer who offers accurate psychic readings, emotional healing, spiritual counseling, life coaching and many forms of alternative healing for healing in body, mind and spirit.

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Christmas Traditions with origins in the Civil War era

These days we read so many articles detailing the origins of various Christmas traditions - the placement of a ornamental tree inside the home, egg nog and other culinary delights, and the Christian adoption of the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Many would be surprised to know, however, that a number of seasonal traditions actually have their origins in the Civil War era.

During this tumultuous time of brother against brother, the holidays were still celebrated (mainly in the South) with the hope of a swift conclusion to the conflicts that divided our nation for many years. It is said, too, that the states were split on the issue of celebrating the holiday as much as they were on subjects that led to the war in the first place. Being that the nation was young, this generation grew from a Puritan time where celebrating Christmas was considered sinful, due to the roots of many traditions being steeped in paganism that the early Christians sought to suppress. It wasn't until the early nineteenth century when US states finally legalized the holiday - the first three being Alabama, Lousiana, and Arkansas.

These days, we might catch a glimpse of traditions we observe now in the Christmas scenes in Gone With the Wind and other movies depicting the time. They, however, only tell part of a story. Here follows just a short list of Christmas mainstays and traditions that evolved from this time in history.

Santa Claus

While the legend of Santa Claus has its roots in a much earlier time - reaching as far as the origins of Christianity itself - it is the modern depiction of this jolliest of elves that saw its creation in the mid-nineteenth century with Thomas Nast. Nast, a widely-known cartoonist of the day (arguably credited with being the father of the modern-day political cartoon), created the visage of Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly around 1863. The billowing white beard, nose like a cherry, and wide-girthed figure bearing a sack full of toys soon became synonymous with the secular aspects of the holiday. These days, contemporary depictions of St. Nick do not stray from Nast's original vision.

Christmas Carols

Did you know that many of the songs we sing during this joyous occasion had originally been written during the darkest time of our nation's history? Indeed, one could argue that some Christmas carols are actually the forerunners of the modern day protest song, as some carols penned in this time were actually thinly veiled commentary on the war. "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," written by minister Edmund Sears, touches upon the desire for peace during this time, while Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" contains strong anti-war sentiment. Of course, one likely doesn't sense this because the more blatant verses of Longfellow's poem are omitted in the traditional carol we sing today. By contrast, Phillips Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethelem" touches on the hope for peace in the aftermath of conflict.

Care Packages

While the troops were out to war, it was not uncommon for a soldier to receive gifts while at battle. Barrels of food and drink, warm clothing, and trinkets from home were especially prized and brought a modicum of cheer to an otherwise dismal situation. One could easily liken these gestures to traditions we hold today in sending care packages to our men and women overseas.

From the songs we sing to the icons we identify, one would be surprised to know how the Civil War influenced our contemporary observance of the Christmas season.

Kathryn Lively is The Write SEO [http://www.thewriteseo.com], providing freelance content and marketing assistance for websites like GoStaffordVA.com, the official site of Stafford County tourism, preserving Civil War history for visitors. She works for CINIVA Systems, Virginia Web Design.

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