Saturday, December 22, 2007

It's Christmas

Every year I ask myself, "So what does Christmas mean? What exactly am I celebrating?" I was raised a mainstream Christian was was raised to believe it was Jesus's birthday and that God sent his son, Jesus, into the world to save us from sin; that his mother, Mary, was a virgin and that he was born in a stable in Bethlehim, since there was "no room at the inn".

Almost seven years ago, my faith in literalistic Christianity was destroyed. Poof. Vanished overnight. Ever since then, I've struggled to find the answer to what Christmas means to me. I've done a fair amount of reading on the subject, and I am open to the idea that Jesus was actually the heir to King David's throne; that he was a member of the Royal Family and that he was an earthly king. Apparently it's the Christians that screwed up the translation of the word "Messiah". The Jews knew very well that the word meant earthly king and not heavenly. They were right in expecting someone to come and save them from Roman oppression. I'm cool with celebrating the birthday of a Jewish king. Apparently the word "virgin" can also be translated as "maiden". It certainly makes one wonder, doesn't it?

The evidence suggests that there were several myths about ancient gods born in or around December 25th to human mothers and divine fathers. Here's a partial list: Dionysus, Attis, Adonis, Mithra. When I first read that, my world collapsed. After all, if these are myths, why did I believe that the Jesus story was literally and historically true. It begs the question that his story may be just another one of those myths. I mentioned to DH recently, "Why is it that we are eventually told that Santa Claus isn't real, but we are raised to belive that the literal Christmas story is? Does anyone else see this as ironic?"

DH has said that as time goes on, he foresees the day that we may no longer celebrate Christmas. I suspect he may be right, but I'd be sorry to see that happen. After all, it is fun to get presents and celebrate with family and friends with parites and a good meal. I asked a Moslem friend a couple of years ago if he celebrated Christmas and he said, "yes" since he celebrated anything that tried to make the world a nicer place. After all, isnt' that what the message is all about?

Merry Christmas

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Just Wild About Harry

I guess I'm a little behind the times posting about Pottermania almost two weeks after the release of the final book in the Harry Potter series, but I'm going to do it anyways. Please be warned: there will be some spoilers - but not in regards to the seventh book - only the first six.

I fell in love with the Harry Potter series seven years ago, when the fourth book came out. I bought the first book "to see what all the fuss was about." I read it was hooked. I immediately bought books two, three and four and polished them off quickly. Then began the agonizing three year wait until book five came out.

DH and I went to see the first movie on opening night. While watching it, I had the vague feeling that Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) looked very familiar. With a gasp, I whispered to DH, "That's me! She looks like me!" He agreed. She looked very much like I looked like when I was her age. When my Mom saw the movie, even she had to agree. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), I was amazed to see, was the spitting image of my cousin. It was a reallly weird experience.

I still think that Book three is my favourite (Prisoner of Azkaban) just because of the red herrings she threw at us. I still get a tingle up my spine when I read the paragraph where Sirius and Lupin embrace in the Shrieking Shack. I still shake my head that I didn't figure out Lupin's identity; my (limited) knowledge of the French language should have told me what he was. (Lupin = wolf)

I was in shock at the ending of book six. I expected Dumbledore to die, but not until the seventh book. I was also in shock at how he died. I never expected it to be Severus Snape that did it. I sobbed and sobbed. I so wanted to believe that Snape was good. It was agonizing to wait for another two more years to find out which side his loyalties lay: Voldemort's or Dumbledore's.

A friend once tried to pawn a book off on me called "Harry Potter and the Bible" which I declined to read. A cursory glance at the book told me enough. One of the issues was that the kids lie. Newsflash: kids do tell lies. I pointed out to her that if you were going to throw out Harry simply because the kids tell the occasional lie, then you're going to have to throw out Les Miserables because it was the Bishop of Digne's lie to the authorities that saved Jean Valjean from returning to prison. There was also another character, a nun known for her honesty, whose lie to Javert spared Valjean. She responded with, "Yeah, it's hard." I said, "No it's not. Be consistent."

Since then, she has seen the light. Most people (Christians included) consider Les Miserables a wonderful story of grace and redemption. In fact, I've seen the book for sale in Christian bookstores. If you want the "Readers Digest" version of the story, watch the 10th anniversary concert of the wonderful Boubil and Shonberg musical set in London's Royal Albert Hall. It's available on dvd.

I know that some people consider the Harry Potter series an introduction to the occult for kids. They claim that J.K. Rowling can't possibly be a Christian (as she's claimed) and write this stuff. Yet, these same people are quite happy to claim J.R.R. Tolkien (author of Lord of the Rings) as a christian. Ha. I've yet to hear of anyone becoming involved in the occult because of Harry. Yet, I have heard of people getting involved in Dungeons and Dragons (which, of course, is based on Tolkien's creations) and doing some odd and bizarre things while under its "influence."

Tolkien's work has far more depth. His stories are based on ancient nordic myths and legends. For example, "Saga of the Volsungs - the Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer." There is also mention of a special ring that made the wearer invisible in Plato's "The Republic" which would date back to the Golden Age of Greece - 5th Century B.C. Yes, it's true. Bet you didn't know that, did you? I admit that my mouth fell open when I read that part. Tolkien *must* have known about that. There was no way it could be coincidence.

I've often wondered if there isn't something in the British education system that understands fantasy far better than we in North America. Think about it. Some of the best fantasty writers are from Britain: J.R.R.Tolkien (the father of the genre) C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling. I can't say I've heard any controversary about Harry coming from that side of the Atlantic. My parents, who are Scottish, have no issues. My Mom read the first book and liked it. My Dad has seen (at least) two of the movies. I once attended a Harvest Party at my parents' church as Professor McGonagall. At the party, I met a friend of my parents who was visiting from England. When I told him who I was dressed up as and he had no issues. He agreed that it was "just fantasy."

I admire any person, male or female, who struggles and fights and tries to make something of their life. If you don't know, J.K. Rowling was a struggling single mom. She couldn't afford to heat her flat (apartment) and wrote most of the first Harry Potter book in an Edinburgh coffee shop while her baby slept by her side. It would have been so easy for her to sit back and feel sorry for herself. I think she's an excellent role model for women and mothers everywhere. Look at her now: she's richer than the Queen of England.

One of the qualities I admire in Harry and his friends is their loyalty to each other. Sure, they get angry and go without speaking to each other occasionally, but there is the underlying bond of friendship, and they stick up for each other. They know if they don't stick together there is no way they'll accomplish the tasks that are set before them. There is one character in particular (Neville Longbottom) that goes from being a bit of a spineless jellyfish to a very strong and independent young man. He becomes quite the leader. I just had to cheer him on as his character developed over the last three books. Aren't loyalty, independance, trust and friendship good lessons to be passing on to children? I think so.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Welcome!

Hello World. (You techie types will get the joke). :)

After vowing for years that I would never have a blog because my life wasn't interesting enough, I've finally bitten the bullet and joined the blogosphere. I'm not sure what I'm going to talk about, but I suspect I'll discuss events that are going on in our lives and in the world and issues that are near and dear to my heart. I chose the title "heather's mewsings" since I'm a cat lover and I liked the play on words.

My favourite hobbies include: reading, cross-stitching and watching movies. This year, so far, I've read 16 books. I try and read mostly non-fiction rather than fiction. That being said, I've just finished reading all seven Harry Potter books, but I'll discuss those another time. I'm currently reading, "The Civil War - A Narrative" by Shelby Foote. It's a three volume work on the (you guessed it) U.S. Civil War (1861-1865). As you may have gathered, I love history.

As mentioned above, I'm a stitcher. It's the only craft that I'm any good at. I'm sure I'll post some pictures of my works in progress (WIPS) and completed projects infrequently. I also expect to post movie reviews, since we have a pizza/movie night at least once a week.

So, here's to the first of many posts. I hope you'll check in frequently. I'm not sure how often I'll post, but I'll try and post regularly.

I welcome your comments and feedback. That way I know people are actually reading my posts.