Thursday, December 13, 2007

feast of st lucy

st lucy's day dawns pearly gray, but the sky never brightens beyond lead. the smell of snow is in the air, a brooding silence blankets the woods. school is already cancelled.

i may not get to see my grandmother. i didn't bake the cake, but i do have bananas and hard candy, fruit juice and apple sauce. i have her christmas tree, and her boots. i even have some mail.

but whether i get there or not, my recognition of the feast of st lucy doesn't really have much to do with my grandmother. the reason the catholics have so many saints in the first place is because most of them are old pagan gods and goddesses, remnants of ancient beliefs and practices absorbed by the conquering church.

tonight we will decorate our christmas tree. we will lace it with lights, we will drape it garland and cherished ornaments. we will bless it and take pictures of it, will pile up presents beneath it. this year i'll think of it not just as a christmas tree, but as a lucy tree - a reminder of the nascent spark that burns, even at the nadir of light.

and furthermore, the war must end. blessed be.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

" the reason the catholics have so many saints in the first place is because most of them are old pagan gods and goddesses, remnants of ancient beliefs and practices absorbed by the conquering church. "

How far from the truth ! Anyway doesn't matter too much your oppinion ... oh my ... LOL

Unknown said...

how i love it when i strike a nerve...

and poor anonymous doesn't dare step into the light... my opinion may be of no matter to you... you have my blessing on your journey anyway :).

Kathy said...

Saints are much more interesting when they are pagan gods and goddesses. I mean, what's this virgin thing anyway? How fair is it that women only get to be Saints if they refuse to have sex and get killed for it? How come I can't fight a dragon for God?

Patrice said...

Hey -- you mean poor Mary didn't get to have sex even AFTER she bore Jesus? She was a married woman... why not?

Unknown said...

ummmmmmmmmmmmmm...i don't think you'd find ME saying mary didn't have sex before she bore jesus :)