Beer, Dionysos and Christmas

Every post I've put here lately has begun with apologies for not being around much lately.  I have to say I am still processing many things that have happened to me recently and am also processing some of the things I am about to do. I am about to jump headfirst into what looks like a shallow pool and all I can hope for is that I won't break my neck.

But no matter what scary things lie before me, I always love to celebrate the winter holidays with my friends and family and knowing they are around and support me means everything to me. 

Even though Persephone is very close to me all year long I can't help but honor Dionysos this time of year. One of the many divine births to happen around this time of year was Dionysos himself. Also, the very essence of him is celebratory.

I don't make wine, but I do brew beer and I do find that a contemplative and celebratory way to honor my gods. This year, I made a Yule Gingerbread Porter to share with our friends and family. I'm pleased with it - a hearty brown porter made with ginger, allspice, clove and cinnamon to make it taste like gingerbread. I hope they like it but most of all I hope they know that I made it to celebrate them and to celebrate life and love and happiness. 

Dionysos and my Yule Gingerbread Porter

Your Holiday Song

My favorite holiday songs are ones where everyone is included.  I have written about "Christmas" by Blues Traveler before as well as Dar William's classic "The Christians and the Pagans".  I think this season should be about celebration, no matter what it is you want to celebrate.  Celebrate everything or just celebrate because it is a good time to do it.  That is my wish for everyone during the winter season.  In this dead world where Persephone is hidden beneath the earth and Demeter mourns covering the ground with her frozen tears, we need to love each other so that spring will return.  That is one of the many things I celebrate. 
Well, I just found another holiday song that I love.  The Indigo Girls released a holiday album this year, Holly Happy Days.  It features some originals including a great bluegrass Christmas song as well as many of the traditional carols we all grew up with.  There is also their version of "Happy Joyous Hanukkah". There is also an original song called "Your Holiday Song" that, like the Blues Traver's song feels very inclusive of the winter holidays.  The Unitarians will like it, I bet.

Gather round girls and boys,
It's time to make your joyful noise
Some feel it in the feast after the fast,
Or the oil lamps everlasting,
Or the Solstice in the wild,
or the birth of a baby child.

It's your holiday song
No one more true or right or wrong
When our faith calls our name
Someone else's does the same
Hallelujah! Thank you.

So gather round girls and boys
It's time to raise your holy noise
Some feel it in the drum, in the snare
or the silence of their prayer
or the church bells on the hill
or the harmony of goodwill

For every voice lifted in song
The sacred place we all belong
A chance to heal a broken world
with every voice in every song
of every boy and every girl!

You can listen to it and even download it for free here.

Winter Ponderings

I make no excuses.  I love the winter holidays - all of them.  I suppose I've never really celebrated Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, but I love the idea of celebratory days during the winter so I still appreciate them.  Recently, Patheos.com posted this article about the real "Reason for the Season."  I am grateful for the research that went into that piece and it is an incredibly well written offering on the topic.  I'm not here to argue for or against it in anyway, I just wanted to say that I don't really care what someone celebrates this time of year, I am willing to wish that they have a good one in any case.

I believe that the winter holidays were created essentially to keep people from killing themselves when the world was dead around them.  I have a couple of friends who suffer from SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder and I don't think it hurts to have something to celebrate. Sure, the self- or society-imposed stress when it comes to the holidays doesn't help the situation, but if we really look at it as a reason to be with friends and family and honor the changing of the seasons or the birth of the Son or the return of the Sun, it is simply a beautiful time of year.

My holiday officially begins on December 21st.  My partner, Matt, and I celebrate the solstice. We started this tradition several years ago mostly for practical reasons.  We travel during the holidays and we learned after the first year that it made no sense what so ever to haul our presents from Georgia to Michigan and the back again.  The Solstice was a convenient time to celebrate for ourselves because it is usually before we leave for Detroit and also it is a day that is meaningful to me as a devotee of Persephone, the goddess of the changing seasons.  Our home is already decorated with our tree and lights and other assorted holiday items. The entire spirit of the season is festive and pleasing to me.  I always feel a sense of wonder this time of year.

After our Solstice celebration this year, we leave the next day to travel to Michigan to be with our families for Christmas.  Both of our families still celebrate the christian holiday and frankly, I just don't want to miss out on being able to celebrate with them.  For me it is not at all about the Christ the Savior(as my savior, after a fashion, is Persephone Soteira) but about going to Matt's cousin's house for dessert and white elephant gift exchange, or out to dinner with my best friend, or making a gingerbread house with my sister and the youngest member of the family.  It is, simply, about celebrating life even while the earth herself sleeps waiting for spring.

Pomegranate Stocking Stuffers

I often find myself buying products just because they have pomegranate in them.  This applies to food, of course, but also to other products like lotions and even razors. For me, using pomegranate products brings me closer to the Goddess whom I love so deeply. I thought maybe I would share some of my favorite products and maybe they would even make good stocking stuffers. 

I started using Intuition Razors years ago for my leg shaving needs.  I love it and couldn't imagine going with out it.  Recently, I discovered that they make a pomegranate refill, which is awesome. 

Bath and Body Works has an entire line of fragrance called Midnight Pomegranate.  I love this scent.  It has the sweetness of the pomegranate but the mystery of something more, like patchouli. 

I have a pomegranate scented candle that has a central spot on my altar to Persephone.  The one I have is a brand called Illuminations and it smells amazing and makes the whole house smell amazing.  I've googled every combination of words to find it, but I can't.  However, Yankee candle has a scent called Pomegranate Cider that I imagine would be satisfying. 

One of my favorite pomegranate products is shampoo.  Burt's Bees has a great shampoo that makes my hair feel great but also gives me that pomegranate fix. 

And if you're interested in a refreshing pomegranate drink but not pure pomegranate juice, Izze's sparkling pomegranate juice is awesome. 

Thinking of Dionysos

At the very least, he is Persephone's brother.  Some traditions say he is her son.  For some reason I have always linked the feeling of Chrsitmastime to the energy of Dionysos.  And even though this is a blog about Persephone, I wanted to take this little detour into his mythology.

Sure, sure...you might say it is all about the wine.  But that isn't exactly it.  I think it is that feeling of perpetual celebration.  About giving yourself over to feeling good. 

I have a habit of feeling "stressy" during the holidays.  I do it to myself.  I have a problem with not knowing how to react when too many things are coming at me all at once.  The Holidays tend to do that to you.  We travel during the holidays, so I always feel like I need to get things done super early to allow myself enough time to be prepared.  I am a planner by nature anyway.  When it starts to feel like I can't finish all of these things on time, I start to freak out.  Truth is, they always work out in the end.  The energy of Dionysos is like that - give yourself over to him 100 % and things will work out in the end.  It might be a wild and out of control ride, but it'll work out. 

One of my favorite Christmas movies is The Muppet Christmas Carol.  I love the way they handled the Ghost of Christmas Present.  I think there is something about his image - the giant, jolly ghost sitting among all the symbols of a great and prosporous feast - that is very Dionysian.  "Come and know me better, Man!" he says to Michael Cain's Scrooge.  That is exactly what everyone should do with a god like Dionysos.

Things in Persephone's Stocking

I have been wondering what Persephone would want for Christmas. 

• Pomegranate Sun Screen - for her return to Olympos in the Spring
• Dark Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Seeds
• Midnight Pomegranate Lotion
• Pomegranate Lip Balm
• A "Hello My Name is Persephone" t-shirt
• Garnet Earings
• A personalized stocking for her husband

Christmas Pomegranate Cocktail

When I did a search for "Christmas Pomegranate", this video appeared everywhere.  Enjoy the Christmas Pomegranate Cocktail from Jamie Oliver. 

Persephone Crafts: The Olympian Yule Tree

It is that festive time of year.  The house is decorated, the presents are wrapped and the only thing missing in Atlanta is several feet of snow.  I love Christmastime! 

I began a tradition several years ago with our household holiday decorations: the Olympian tree. I love holiday decorations and I wanted something meaningful to me and my devotional Hellenic path. I selected blown glass ornaments that represented each of the Olympian gods.

I placed them all on a small tinsel tree that we bought several years ago. Even though she isn't an Olympian specifically, I included an ornament for Persephone as my patron - a beautiful blown glass pomegranate. I hang it next to the Rooster, a symbol sacred to her husband, Hades.

While I chose specifically to purchase ornaments for this tree, mainly because I really love the look of blown glass ornaments, I thought that an excellent craft for the holidays might be to make ornaments for your own Yule tree.  This gives each person the freedom to craft any symbol that is important to them. 
 
When I was little, we had a lot of hand made ornaments that we made out of dough.  I believe it was my sister who spearheaded the project.  This link provides a recipe and directions for the project.  Be creative and be meaningful and I believe in the end you will have a tradition that can last a lifetime.