[jsherman999]

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Well this is my first year with a child but it won't be all the excitement. I mean how much does a 7 month old really care about Christmas. Now when he gets older.....

In some ways I can't wait til we set up all the model railroad stuff I've collected. But I don't want to rush it either. I am enjoying him SO SO much now.

RML Legos are the official toy of Today's Pentaxian.

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Graphic, congrats again on the newbie. My little guy was only 3mos at his first Christmas in 2007, but last year at 15mos he was really into it. I think at 7 mos you're boy will probably enjoy it more than you think, the fun of the season can rub off on a baby even if they don't understand presents or Santa yet. And for you, it will probably be the funnest Christmas you've had since childhood. (and wait 'til next year!)

Right now my little guy is obsessed with Thomas The Train, so I think your model railroad will be a big hit (I still want to get a 'real' train like that, I'm tired of this Thomas stuff.)

(As for me re this thread - my best gift will be middle of next month, when little guy II enters the picture )


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[SteveM]

Well this is my first year with a child but it won't be all the excitement. I mean how much does a 7 month old really care about Christmas. Now when he gets older.....

In some ways I can't wait til we set up all the model railroad stuff I've collected. But I don't want to rush it either. I am enjoying him SO SO much now.

RML Legos are the official toy of Today's Pentaxian.

Model railroad eh?.....I say "go big"..."G" scale for around the tree...brass rail.....although ours is so big it needs about a 12 foot diameter or the turn is too tight for the engine. Of course..it'll stay boxed this christmas as 17 months and a huge train is asking for trouble.... You'll have to wait a couple more years but here is an idea....

USA G SCALE DIESEL SD 70 B.N.S.F. BURLINGTON NORTHERN - eBay (item 390102729714 end time Dec-04-09 22:14:27 PST)

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I heard an explanation as to how the flying reindeer and the elves got in the act the other day. Another pagan rite hijacked.
There's a certain hallucinogenic mushroom that the natives like to partake of up in reindeer land. Unfortunately the shroom has a death causing level of alkalis in it. Fortunately the reindeer can eat the shrooms and their livers filter out the alkalis.
Reindeer piss snow cones are partaken of much to the enjoyment of the partakers. A common hallucination while partaking is visions of small people, add to that you get the reindeer enabling the partaker to fly and voila, santas helpers.

We're keeping the Sol in Solstice.

You can take it easy about the X, by the way, : hardly some conspiracy to 'secularize' the holiday, it's just from the Greek initial for 'Christ.' (It's been in use by Christians for quite a long time, I understand. I can't quite recall what I heard about it, but it was something about how it used to be taken as a particularly *reverent* way to write it for some reason or another. )


As for the gift-giving traditions, I'm pretty easy: just about everything else as regards personal items has been falling by the wayside while I try to get this photo thing going.

[Ratmagiclady]

I did not know this wow learned something today thanks

Hey, being *not* Christian in this time and place tends to require more knowing of it than the average missionary or 'values voter.'


They did a survey of those legislators demanding the Ten Commandments were the basis of everything and must therefore be displayed... Just about none of them could even name them. (Maybe that's why they wanted em carved in stone, I dunno. )

Trying to have a 'culture war' and meanwhile maybe not realizing everything in their religious culture is a weapon for Beck and O'Reilly to 'warn' them about.

Maybe that's why the 'peace on Earth' thing is good to celebrate once in a while.

Legoes make a pretty good toy for it. Can, anyway.

There's always someone out there these days, trying to say someone's taking the 'Christ' out of our own bits of heritage about Elves and flying around on reindeer, or bunny rabbits and eggs, or all the other stuff they took from before Christianity and want to blame someone else for turning into 'Black Friday' and 'War on Christmas' while spending the rest of the year calling everyone else Commies for not being commercialist enough about it.

It's about sharing. You can't *steal* sharing.

Guess you can try, though.

There's apparently some folks out there so scared they don't know the 'X' thing is something *from* their religion, not something from people who want to steal something from them to 'corrupt' what they 'stole' (really inherited and were born into generations ago) in the first place.

A lot of stuff about this holiday, (and some others) even if it's just used for decorations, with maybe a thin overlay of this or that, actually still *means* something to a lot of people, much as it meant to our ancestors. Long before 'culture warriors' ever dreamt of a microphone.

I'd actually say, Graphics, if someone has been stealing something from you, it's those that make you react to something from your own religion as though it must be an 'attack' by others.

Sorry to lecture.

Always seems to be the way, though. One decade, the evangelical 'culture war' types are trying to purge all 'Pagan' elements from the holidays, the next they're claiming 'secularism' is bent on *stealing* the very same things they were burning in effigy before. Sometimes they try to do both simultaneously.

All very silly, I think. Like kids squabbling over toys.

Legos can be very instructive in tese matters, though.

[Ratmagiclady]

I heard an explanation as to how the flying reindeer and the elves got in the act the other day. Another pagan rite hijacked.
There's a certain hallucinogenic mushroom that the natives like to partake of up in reindeer land. Unfortunately the shroom has a death causing level of alkalis in it. Fortunately the reindeer can eat the shrooms and their livers filter out the alkalis.
Reindeer piss snow cones are partaken of much to the enjoyment of the partakers. A common hallucination while partaking is visions of small people, add to that you get the reindeer enabling the partaker to fly and voila, santas helpers.

Interesting conflation of hindsight, there. Actually, the 'Elves' weren't 'little people' prior to Christianization. (If you want to talk about reindeer people, there's always the Kalevala, as well as Lappish and other shamans of the area. Tolkien actually referred much to things Finnish and old European when he penned his fantasies. ) The idea of the little helper folk comes from other ideas, actually, not 'hallucinations' per se. Certainly not of 'Alfar.'

It's tempting to try and dismiss ancient tribal cultures with some simplistic sort of paternalism, but... they weren't and aren't.

Figure on it being at least deep enough to keep a culture occupied a while. (Maybe in the West we have such a superficial view of our own culture precisely *because* to most of us, it's just a few trappings of this or that stuck onto written dogmas once or twice a year.)

[Parallax]

You can take it easy about the X, by the way, : hardly some conspiracy to 'secularize' the holiday, it's just from the Greek initial for 'Christ.' (It's been in use by Christians for quite a long time, I understand. I can't quite recall what I heard about it, but it was something about how it used to be taken as a particularly *reverent* way to write it for some reason or another. )

Thanks for that, RML. I didn't know that either. (And I was so sure I knew everything. )

[Ratmagiclady]

Thanks for that, RML. I didn't know that either. (And I was so sure I knew everything. )

Heehee. Well, it's probably-look-uppable. I'm pretty sure it was a Jesuit who told me about it at a young age to begin with. (I want to say it's a holdover from illuminated manuscripts where they'd embellish... and the early times of hand-set type, but I can't remember if that part is something I was told or just something I 'figured' later. I was quite young, but I paid attention. )

Anyway, it's not a 'liberal conspiracy.' It's been around a lot longer than this particular 'culture war.'

Heehee. Well, it's probably-look-uppable. I'm pretty sure it was a Jesuit who told me about it at a young age to begin with. (I want to say it's a holdover from illuminated manuscripts where they'd embellish... and the early times of hand-set type, but I can't remember if that part is something I was told or just something I 'figured' later. I was quite young, but I paid attention. )

Anyway, it's not a 'liberal conspiracy.' It's been around a lot longer than this particular 'culture war.'

I really don't recall where I said it was any kind of conspiracy. I was having a little fun with Dave.

As for "XMas" show your facts.

[Ratmagiclady]

I really don't recall where I said it was any kind of conspiracy. I was having a little fun with Dave.

As for "XMas" show your facts.

Listen. If you'd rather believe it's a conspiracy to 'take the Christ' out of what dubiously-involves 'Christ' to begin with, *you* show some 'facts.'

(Seriously. It was common usage and knowledge not too long ago among Christians. What do you think, in some age before the Internet, someone made it up so that later Bill O'Reilly could get you bent out of shape about it? It's from the Greek, really. Constantine's supposed 'vision' during his coup wasn't even held to be the cross so commonly-depicted: the symbol wasn't even in such use yet: it was said to be the 'chi-ro' which is something like a bind-rune combining two greek letters and which still appears on Catholic documents and regalia to this day. The X comes from the same place.)

You know, you could claim it's all about some 'war' ...Or, actually just go, "Oh, OK. That's not where that comes from. I could stop using it to claim someone's persecuting me and realize, far from being an insult, it's a Christian convention to begin with."

Which would you rather?

[SteveM]

OK..back to topic.... A new Takumar for Christmas??....I've been good.

[gokenin]

never knew it but after the thread i looked it up and found this

The Origin of "Xmas"

I just treated myself to a new to me M-28 and possibly another lens as well

[Ratmagiclady]

never knew it but after the thread i looked it up and found this

The Origin of "Xmas"

I just treated myself to a new to me M-28 and possibly another lens as well

Well, there you go, Graphics. Someone googled for you.

Takumars and Legoes are more fun, anyway.

[daacon]

Damn Santa 's gonna have to filter throught this list

To all the new parents enjoy Christmas is for kids at least it was in our family there is nothing like the joy on their faces Christmas morning ... some of yours are a little young but that will change ...

And oh yeah wait on the Train sets haha I went to early (3 or 4 I think don't remember) - should have waited a few more years ... the 3 year old engineer was a little rough

I am not expecting anyhting photgraphic this year - but we always get together with extended family on Chirstmas day at a cabin on a lake - now to me that is what Christmas is all about Friends , Family, Ski-do's ,quads, hockey, too much food and drink .... the youngest is now 18 so it's a whole new era ......

[Ratmagiclady]

Damn Santa 's gonna have to filter throught this list

Heheh. As much as it's possible for me to represent the ancestors, I take no responsibility for any of this stuff turning into *that*

Interesting conflation of hindsight, there. Actually, the 'Elves' weren't 'little people' prior to Christianization. (If you want to talk about reindeer people, there's always the Kalevala, as well as Lappish and other shamans of the area. Tolkien actually referred much to things Finnish and old European when he penned his fantasies. ) The idea of the little helper folk comes from other ideas, actually, not 'hallucinations' per se. Certainly not of 'Alfar.'

It's tempting to try and dismiss ancient tribal cultures with some simplistic sort of paternalism, but... they weren't and aren't.

Figure on it being at least deep enough to keep a culture occupied a while. (Maybe in the West we have such a superficial view of our own culture precisely *because* to most of us, it's just a few trappings of this or that stuck onto written dogmas once or twice a year.)

My version was more enjoyable.