THE IDEA IS THAT FOR EVERY COMMENT, THAT YOU LEAVE IN THIS BLOG, I WILL LEAVE ONE IN YOURS, IF YOU COPY THIS BLOG TO YOUR PROFILE (OPTIONAL), WE CAN VISIT EACH OTHER, EVERY DAY, AND SEE IF WE CAN GET EACH OTHER TO 1000 COMMENTS, IF YOU ADD THIS BLOG TO YOUR FAVORITES, AND I WILL DO THE SAME, AND WE BOTH KEEP IT UP.

YOU CAN RUN THIS BLOG WITH OTHERS ALSO, AND WE'LL SEE WHO CAN GET TO 1000 FIRST!

Hello Friends,

I am adding this blog as a place for you to advertise your business opportunities, and place you add me links.

I saw this on a couple of my other friends blogs and thought what a great idea, so here it is. If you would like to place an ad for your business, and have my other friends add you, just get an add me button or link and place your add for all of my friends to read. If you need an add me button please click this link: http://www.iloveyuwie.net/addme.htm 

Here are some of the businesses that I am currently working with.

 

Pagan Elements of Modern Religious Celebrations:

Easter

Wiccans and Pagans celebrate “Ostara,” a lesser Saabbat on the vernal equinox. Other names for this celebration include Eostre and Oestara and they are derived from the Anglo-Saxon lunar Goddess, Eostre. Some believe that this name is ultimately a variation on the names of other prominent goddesses, like Ishtar, Astarte, and Isis, usually a consort of the gods Osiris or Dionysus, who are depicted as being born to a virgin, dying and being reborn.

As you might be able to tell, the name “Easter” was likely derived from Eostre, the name of the Anglo-Saxon lunar goddess, as was the name for the female hormone estrogen. Eostre’s feast day was held on the first full moon following the vernal equinox — a similar calculation as is used for Easter among Western Christians. On this date the goddess Eostre is believed by her followers to mate with the solar god, conceiving a child who would be born 9 months later on Yule, the winter solstice which falls on December 21st.

Two of Eostre’s most important symbols were the hare (both because of its fertility and because ancient people saw a hare in the full moon) and the egg, which symbolized the growing possibility of new life. Each of these symbols continues to play an important role in modern celebrations of Easter. Curiously, they are also symbols which Christianity has not fully incorporated into its own mythology. Other symbols from other holidays such as Christmas, have been given new Christian meanings, but attempts to do the same here have failed.

Christmas

Mistletoe is from an ancient Druid custom at the winter solstice. Mistletoe was considered a divine plant and it symbolized love and peace. The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is Druid in origin.

Before they converted to Christianity, the Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and placed candles in live trees to decorate for the celebration of Saturnalia. The practice of exchanging gifts at a winter celebration is also from the Roman Saturnalia. They would exchange good-luck gifts called Stenae (lucky fruits). They also would have a big feast just like we do today.

 In Scandinavia, they hung apples from evergreen trees at the winter solstice to remind themselves that spring and summer will come again. The evergreen tree was the special plant of their sun god, Baldor. Their ancient festival was called Yuletide and celebrated the return of the sun. One of their traditions was the Yule log. The log was the center of the trunk of a tree that was dragged to a large fireplace where it was supposed to burn for twelve days. From this comes the twelve days of Christmas.

Even the date of Christmas, December 25, was borrowed from another Pagan religion. At the time Christmas was created in AD 320, Mithraism was very popular. The early Christian church had gotten tired of their futile efforts to stop people celebrating the solstice and the birthday of Mithras, the Persian sun god. Mithras’ birthday was December 25. So the pope at the time decided to make Jesus’ official birthday coincide with Mithras’ birthday. No one knows what time of year Jesus was actually born but there is evidence to suggest that it was in midsummer.

So at the end of  it all, some devout Christian sects, like the Puritans, forbade their members from celebrating Christmas because it was considered a pagan holiday, and not the birth of Christ.

Thanks for reading, Please comment, I want to read your views!!

First off, Are You Freaking Kidding Me? Are we in the dark ages here? I can't believe that people are still being put to death after being marked, or named a witch. A "Witch", why is it always a "Witch"? Apparently in Saudi Arabia, they have what they call "Religious Police", and they are raiding people's homes and making them confess to witchcraft and even having sex with evil spirits. I mean how do you prove that someone is having sex with evil spirits? Come On!! I mean I want to walk up to one of these people and ask them flat out  Hey, What is a Witch?, just to see what they would say. Why is it that when someone does or says something that might not be what everyone else is doing or saying, she OR he is a "Witch".  I mean why does everyone think that being of a pagan belief, or religion, makes you evil? There is nothing evil about it. I am sick and tired of being looked at like some kind of  Demon worshipping old hag just because I am pagan. I don't call myself a witch, wiccan, or druid, because they are at the roots basically the same thing. With the exception of wicca which is farely new but structured around the old ways, they are the original religions or beliefs, the pagan beliefs, of the Druid Irish, the Scottish Picts, the Anglo-Saxons, the Britains, and even the Roman empire, before they converted to Christianity, and brought Christianity over and forced it on the others. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against christians, my husband and my father are christian, we celebrate christian holidays with our children, but we also celebrate my beliefs that have been passed down for generations in my family to me and my girls. I believe in The Goddess and The God. In fact, Christians got most of their symbols, signs, and many rituals from the pagan people. Really, why do people automatically associate Paganism to nudity, sex, violence, the devil, evil spirits, possions, hexes, and in general harm. This is an idea that the early christrians forced on the people to make them convert so they wouldn't go to hell and burn for eternity, oh and not to mention, it certainly makes it easier to take over new lands if everyone is on the same page and have the same belief systems. Pagans as a rule do not harm. We live, laugh, cherish, learn, and love, just like everyone else. We don't run around naked shouting and conjuring evil spirits to go out and torcher the people we don't like, and obviously we are not out having sex with evil spirits. In many ways I feel that we are the more peaceful of any belief or way of life, and that is what makes me proud to be who and what I am. However, it is the fear that people have towards pagans that makes most of us stay hidden in the shadows, and quietly loving our mother earth and everything she offers. Brightest Light and Blessings to all. We should all wake up and realize that we are all children of the Earth, without her we would have no physical plain of exsistance. Thanks for listening to me rant, I hope I have not offended anyone, as you are all great friends!!! See the link below about this poor woman who has been wrongfully sentenced to death for being a "Witch".

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwsbJ6LE9HM

Don't Miss This ((*_*))
 
 Very Interesting:


1. The Garden Of Eden was in Iraq

2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization!

3. Noah built the Ark in Iraq

4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq

5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq

6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in Iraq

7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq

8. Jonahpreached in Nineveh, which is in Iraq

9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel

10. Amos cried out in Iraq!

11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem

12. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq!

13. The three Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq (Jesus had been in Iraq also as the fourth person in the Fiery Furnace!)

14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon, saw the "writing on the wall" in Iraq

15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq

16. Ezekiel preached in Iraq...

17. The wise men were from Iraq

18. Peter preached in Iraq

19. The "Empire of Man" described in Revelation is called Babylon, a city in Iraq!

And you have probably seen this one:

Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible.

But do you know which nation is second?

It's Iraq! 

However, that is not the name that is used in the Bible.

The names used in the Bible are Babylon, Land of Shinar, and Mesopotamia...The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

The name Iraq means, Country with deep roots.

Indeed Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible.

No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated with it than Iraq

And also, This is something to think about: Since America is typically represented by an Eagle,

Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages...

The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible):

Koran (9:11)-For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle..The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; And there was Peace.

(Note the verse number!)Hmmmmmmm?!

This is a ribbon for soldiers fighting in Iraq...


 
Pass it on to everyone and Pray for them!  

Hello everyone,

I have this very special friend on myspace who is just a little boy. He has been diagnosed with Childhood Leukemia. His name is James and he is not able to get out much and play and meet new people so he and his father built a Myspace page called James and Daddy. They started out just trying to meet new people and then James decided to make it more interesting and try to see if he could get 1 million friends on his myspace page. I love this kid, he has all of these things happening to him and all he can think about is how many friends can I get to my myspace page!!! He is a true joy and they post blogs regularly to let you know how he is doing, and it is truely so sweet. If you have just a few minutes please add him to your friends on myspace and if you don't have a myspace page it only takes like 5 minutes to set one up. Let's all try to bring a little joy and happiness to someone who needs it so much!! Here is his address

 http://www.myspace.com/bizwiz68  

while your there if you would like to add me as well my address is

http://www.myspace.com/hallaann

Thanks for Reading

Jenni

Hi everyone,

I was just reading through some of your blogs, and I came across my friend MoneyMaker's blog about how you can earn $10 for every sign up you can get and it cost you zip to join. So I joined, and it is for real, it is free. I haven't had a signup yet as I have just joined a few minutes ago, but I thought that you may want to know about this for another reason. This site is a payment send and receive site just like PayPal or AlertPay and others, however it charges you no fee. You can use this site to send and receive payments without having to give up any of your profits. That is awesome!!! Plus don't forget, you will get paid $10 for all of your signups. Think about that for a minute, if you have a webstore or anything really where you receiving payments, you can make an extra $10 on your sales just by using this payment option and they don't charge you a fee. When your customers click the payment button they are prompted to either sign in or create an account in order to pay you. Boom!! You just made an extra $10 for nothing. Can't wait to see how well this works!!!