Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Saturday, December 21, 2013

Sol Invictus


December 21, 2013




Sol Invictus ("the undefeated Sun") or, more fully, Deus Sol Invictus ("the undefeated sun god") was a religious title applied to at least three distinct divinities during the later Roman Empire. 




RING OUT, SOLSTICE BELLS, JETHRO TULL













"Solstice comes from Latin – 'sol' for 'sun' and 'sisto' for 'stop.'

For the winter solstice, the sun will stop moving southward, pause, and then begin to move northward. 

So the first day of winter occurs when the North Pole is tilted the farthest away from the sun. Less sunlight reaches the Northern Hemisphere during the winter because of the planet’s extreme tilt. 

Although the solstice is an astronomical event, there really isn’t anything to see in the sky. However, winter is the best time for stargazing because the air is cold and does not hold as much moisture, meaning there are fewer clouds. 

If you do want to look out your window and see something, look for Orion, a brightest of the winter constellations. Orion, recognizable for his 'belt' of three stars, can be seen clearly when looking due south around midnight. 

In many cultures and religions, the winter solstice is used to mark the beginning of a year or seen as a cause for celebration. 

The winter solstice signifies rebirth, a theme which can be found in many winter holidays.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy solstice.

"All these defenses of Robertson seem highly relativistic to me. It’s okay because he’s a Christian, but the First Amendment went right out the window when Martin Bashir criticized Sarah Palin. Yet it’s okay for Robertson to insult not just one person, but gays, lesbians, and African Americans, all at once. And the insults just keep coming, with Republican Ian Bayne of Illinois, who is trying to unseat Rep. Bill Foster, announcing that “Phil Robertson, star of the A&E series ‘Duck Dynasty,’ [is] the ‘Rosa Parks’ of our generation.”

Rosa Parks wanted ALL people to be treated like people. Phil Robertson wants to treat some of them like animals. How is that in any way the same thing?"

Robertson is free to broadcast his bigotry and A&E is free to tell him to go to hell.

Les Carpenter said...

We're all free to put the tempests in teapots aside and enjoy the Holiday Season. Then hopefully return to the normal grind of daily life and take up issues of real importance.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Anon @9:12:

Found this over at Daily Kos:

Duck Dynasty is a Fake Yuppies-in-Red-Neck-Drag Con Job


Seems the A&E "rednecks" are nothing more than wealthy yuppies with ugly beards role-playing duck hunters.

Very much like "Radical Redneck" and his many fake personas that infect the con blogs.

Are these folks ever what they seem to be?

okjimm said...

ya know... I am ok with the solstice thingee.... just wish it wasn't so dark, is all. Makes it hard to tell how much beer is left in the glass, see.

gotta go... heard of a new dating site, pagin mingle.com... wanna find someone to dance naked in the snow with me.

b good

Shaw Kenawe said...

Dear okjimm,

You DO know it is better to light one candle than to curse the dark, don't you? But please be careful with the flame, y'know, because NAKED.

Les Carpenter said...

You didn't know that until you read the DK article?

Yep, quite wealthy southern conservatives. Saw the program a couple times at friends and family when visiting. Found it boring actually.

BB-Idaho said...

Constantine should have stayed with Sol Invictus instead of refereeing Athanasius and Arian.

Shaw Kenawe said...

BB-Idaho:

"What's done cannot be undone."