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Happy Fourth Of July! – May the Right Spirit Win!

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Independence Day

Looking back on our founding father’s woes, its not a shock to realize that we have been a nation divided almost from the start. In order to get all the colonies to agree on the Constitution, they had to let a few things go. The biggest thing was slavery. Pretty ironic, that in order to get a free nation, the founders had to agree to leave some enslaved. Of course, the natives of this land were not considered at all.

The division is there to this day. Getting rid of slavery did not get rid of the problem. The real problem was greed, people putting their business over human life. They might be more subtle about it, but they are still at it. Whether it’s conniving land from mustangs and wild life for cattle and mining, or cutting corners to stuff more animals for slaughter into a farm, they care more about money than their fellow beings..

That’s the real secret of American freedom. That freedom’s cost isn’t just sending people out to defend it. It’s about defending it from greed right here. It’s about saying no to something because it curtails freedoms.  But it’s not so easy to identify it. There is so much demanding our time and attention, it’s easy to just focus on issues we believe affect us.

That’s what the sophisticated greedy think. If they throw enough one sided info at you, maybe you won’t notice they are not telling you everything. Maybe you won’t notice the lies.
For instance, I hear all sorts going on about jobs and the big pipelines. On the other side, I hear about environmental risk. Truth be told, I’ve yet to hear or see anything that told both sides at once. Now the truth is, they are both right. We need jobs, but that doesn’t mean we’d be willing to literally pay with our health or the destruction of our land. Some things, you can’t pay to fix. So the real question is, if these people want to be helpful and run their business and create jobs, why do they think the pennies they save are worth the cost of safety?

My point here is, when it comes right down to the wire, America has two spirits vying for control. One is that wonderful spirit of freedom, independence, help others and creativity that inspired it in the first place. The other is that stubborn pride in money that refused to sign the Constitution if slavery was banned.

That second spirit has new forms now. It hides in businesses that say ‘we are creating jobs’ while cutting corners for profit and dumping toxins that make people sick. The people with those jobs lose either way, because even if you earn money and have health insurance, you end up spending on health care, assuming even that will cure them! They also claim that while dumping huge amounts of money into their account they can’t pay the workers any more.
What’s terrifying is how these people respond to challenge. They take advantage of  their funds to pay for lawyers to get them out of it. Worse, some government agencies are in cahoots. The way the Bureau of Land Management is run, you’d think that land all belonged to them personally, rather than the citizens of America.

I believe when the average person celebrates the Fourth, we are celebrating our freedom, the hope of that chance to not only have a job, but a fulfilling life. But do we? I hope so. But we have to keep battling that other spirit. Gunpowder can make for fabulous fireworks. Our country is full of magnificent creatures, wild and free.  It’s up to us to do our best to see they are their for future generations. It’s up to us to save that gunpowder for the fireworks and not waste in blowing each other up. It’s up to us to keep our authority figures reminded that we elected them to serve us, not their own wallet. To remind the big corporations that without their workers and buyers, they have nothing.  To remind the police that they are there to protect and serve, not bully the people who essentially are paying them.

So here’s to the Fourth of July and our continued fight for independence. May the right spirit win!

Horses and the Slaughter Industry

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There was a time when I believed the argument that it was better for the horse to be put down at slaughter then suffer neglect or abuse. Many still believe this.
But then facts struck me in the face. It’s evidence, not emotion, that rules on these issues, contrary to what the pro horse slaughter lobby claims. This is not just a bunch of bleeding heart horse lovers.

The reasons why American’s should ban horse slaughter are not just about caring about horses, it’s also in our own, best interest as well as the best interest of our neighbors.

Three prime reasons why American horse slaughter is dangerous to our welfare:

Our health: – between the hormones and the medicines equine athletes are given, American horse meat is unsafe for human consumption.

Our environment: – reports of communities near these plants include such horrible affects range from blood backing up the sewers to the smells of the plant cast offs contaminating the entire area.

Our ethics: – ‘humane’ means compassionate. And the word comes from human.
By denying the horse – or any other animal – a compassionate means to an end comes back and bites back by adding stress hormones to the meat, as well as possible virus and bacterial infections due to a stress weakened immune system.
By allowing the slaughter plant into the neighborhood, we are risking the safety of that neighborhood. Far from creating jobs, it will send quality jobs away because no-one wants their business in sight or smell of a slaughter plant.

Our economy: – In order to prevent cruel stress causing treatment during shipment and slaughter, we would have to fund inspections. We would have to enforce and prosecute those who use cruel transport and slaughter techniques to save a quick buck. We would have to be willing to pay for the clean up and enforce the environmental protection as well.

It may seem complicated or contradictory, but it does begin with ethics.  Ethics about both our own food safety and our neighbors. Ethics about the right way to treat any living thing, even one destined for slaughter.

Why are horses NOT food animals: Due to their anatomy and high spirited nature, horses are not killed as easily as cows.Here is the process:

The Sale: Maybe it’s a retired racehorse or outgrown pony. But it’s not always in poor health to begin with. The buyers want meat, not skin and bones. Also it has to be in good health, at the very least not obviously sick. Slaughter plants don’t want obviously sick animals. However, they can’t tell at auction if the animal has been given medication.

The Feed Lot:  The owner cares little for the animals health and the reports of treatment in these places is appalling.

The Transport: The horse is crammed into a truck with multiple other horses, if it resists it may be forcibly subdued and injured. Reports include mention of intentional maiming and use of electric cattle prods. They then face a horrible, pain filled journey to the plant.

Here is a big red flag. Due to European union guidelines, the slaughter plant isn’t going to just take obviously sick animals or those with no meat value. Some are actually TURNED BACK or TURNED LOOSE. To die on their own at the slaughter plant. This means the whole ‘overabundance of neglected, sick horses’ is moot. These are exactly the horses they don’t want.

At the slaughter plant:  The stun bolt used on cows doesn’t work, often neither does the gun. In Mexico, sometimes they use a knife which only paralyzes, but does not render the horse unconscious.Meanwhile all the horses in line behind hear and smell the panic of the horses before them.  This means that when killed you get the meat of a panicked, stressed out animal.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEOS

Horses and Stress: Obviously all these facts add up to one load of meat filled with stress hormones. Stress also weakens the immune system, and makes it more susceptible to disease and infection.

Important Facts about Stress Hormones
Think Antibiotics in your Meat is Bad?
Hormone Released by Stressed Chickens Could Be the Reason for Invasive Bacteria

Horses and Drugs
Horses are not considered food animals. Look in the medicine cabinet or trunk of you average horse barn and you’ll find proof. They are treated as athletes or companion animals.
The labels of bute and other medicines do warn against use in food animals. Bute is proven to cause liver failure and other issues when combined with standard house hold drugs in humans. This is only one medicine but I focus on this because it’s as common as aspirin.

In order to be assured the horse doesn’t have drugs in it’s system, you’d have to have a complete record of the horse’s life. You’d have to have drug testing done.

The Economy and Environment: Locally speaking, horse slaughter plants have been disastrous for the local economies. They leave a swath of environmental contamination behind them. No-one wants their town associated with a slaughter plant. It ruins the local tourist industry. Far from giving jobs to locals, they usually hire illegal immigrants and criminals. There are reports of the blood leaking into the sewage! Would you want this in your neighborhood? Let alone house?

Life in a Horse Slaughter Town
Horse Slaughter Plant Proposed
When Horses Slaughter Comes to Town – – Economic Grown and Community Image
When Horse Slaughter Comes to Town (another one)
Applications for Horse Slaughter Mosey into  USDA

And where exactly does horse meat go?
Americans in general do not eat horse meat. In some European countries it may be a delicacy. But even they don’t want our hormone and drug tainted horse meat. In fact, they are already embroiled in scandal as horse meat has found to have been illegally sold in place of beef in multiple countries and leading to recalls in such big companies as Nestle and Burger King. Everything from school lunches to prepackaged TV dinners has been affected.

Traces of Horse Drug Found in British Beef
Horse Meat Found in Beef at Schools
Horse Meat Found in Nestle Products
Horse Meat Found in Burger King Burgers

Now considering the health risks, do we really want this in America? Why should we pay our tax money on USDA inspections for foreign investors and a few fat cats to slaughter horses and sell the drug laden meat to foreign criminals to pass off as beef?

It won’t stop animal neglect or cruelty. That involves the human heart. And it won’t get rid of the already sick or neglected. Even if it did, selling sick animals for meat is unconscionable.

We can’t afford it financially. We can’t afford it morally. You want less horses? Stop over breeding. But we are not going to find the solution in a slaughter plant.

Teddy Tips: Teddy Abuse

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Teddy Tips on Teddy Abuse

Okay, I’ll admit it. There is something that can make us easy going teddy bears mad.

We love being cuddled no matter how much you squash us, no matter how many times the kid drops us in the mud. We’ll forgive you leaving us on the park bench or the restaurant and rushing back all in a panic. We’ve forgive having pulled ears, losing an eye and all assorted injury that comes with being a teddy bear. And I, for one, adore reports of teddy’s bringing out the good in humans by encouraging them to seek out and find folks separated from their teddy bears. (Social Media Helps Teddy Return Home)

 But doing some things to a teddy bear that should be illegal – and is, in a way. 

One: smuggling nasty stuff inside us. Drugs and guns hurt people and we do not appreciate being carriers for the greed and violence involved.

Two: Using us as spy gadgets or bait for evil purpose. By that I mean anything other than as nanny cam bears, meant to protect the young.

It is our considered opinion….we, meaning all the teddies of this family….that there should be legal punishment for this. I know that the whole illegal gun/drug and invasion of privacy can be brought up on charges. But it is our belief that these people who would abuse a teddy in such a way that it causes the teddy to harm others should be legally restricted from owning or handling a teddy for a length of time.

 You heard me. NO cuddling for the creep. The only thing us teddies want is to cuddle and comfort people. The worst thing you can do is deny us and cause people to fear the teddy bear.  I sometimes dream of the teddies who will never know love, because they are now locked in an evidence warehouse somewhere due to the crime of a human. And there they shall likely stay unless destroyed.

It is very unfair. It’ s awful. And yes it’s really happening, saw it on the news feeds.

Girl finds gun in teddy bear Christmas gift.

Man arrested for carrying meth filled teddy bear.

Girl finds spy cam hidden in her teddy bears.

Repeated reports of drugs in teddy bears!

UGH. No teddy bear should  be associated with such things. It degrades the whole image of teddy bear. What child, so abused, can ever look at a teddy the same? What police officer will not expect to have to tear the poor, terrified teddy apart and find drugs? Our primary reason for being is love and comfort, not hidden evil secrets!

So stand with me in protest, teddies of the world! SAY NO to TEDDY BEAR ABUSE!

I Care Teddy Bear
I Care Teddy Bear ‘Sorry’ Greeting Card

Horses and People: Comrades in War

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The Horse in War

Whether invading or defending, there was a time when the horse was critical for the fight. He could travel faster than the people on foot. He could deliver messages to groups in an army. He could intimidate the individual soldier by rearing up and lashing out. He could run pulling a chariot loaded with archers into the midst of conflict.

During medieval times, these magnificent chargers even had their own armor. They were priceless and not for casual use. Trained to do battle, they would leap and kick at enemy soldiers on command. Even today, you can see these maneuvers done in the Spanish Riding School of Vienna by the Lippizan horses. They maintain them as a matter of tradition and respect for the past.

In the old west, horses were used in battle and what was unquestionably a war with the natives already living there. They were also used in battles between tribes. In a land where justice was rough, horses were so valued you could be hung for stealing one.

The role of horses in war has gone now, except for show, ritual and memorial services. And in many ways, this is a good thing.
Many of us who have worked or ridden horses may wonder at the role of the horse in war. We remember horses that jump in fear at shadows and wonder how any horse could face an army. But a steady hand will often work wonders to a nervous mount.

And it’s worth noting that horses are warriors, for themselves, in nature. The Lippizans perform the ‘airs above the ground’ or battle leaps, even as foals. In the wild, stallions defend the herd from other stallions and predators.
In any event, horses have been involved in the course of all but the most recent battles and wars on earth. They have been a deciding factor in who lives and who dies. And there are few of our fellow creatures who have been so loyal at our sides.

The Shire horse is descended from the medieval charger. They had to be strong and powerful to carry a fully armored knight as well as their own armor into battle.

Horses and People – Transportation

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Welcome to the first blog post on horses and what they meant to society. Yes, I said FIRST.
This is inspired by recent arguments regarding the question of horses and slaughter for food.
I’ve seen a fair number of people ask “What’s the difference between horses as meat and other animals?” I hope this series will help.

First up: Transportation

Long ago, somewhere so far back no-one can recall, someone discovered a horse was more than meat. They could carry or pull loads, or even people. A tribe, a clan or group of people living in harsh conditions and struggling to survive could do better than eating horses: they could use them to carry them to someplace better. Someplace where there was ample food and supplies for everyone.

Thanks to the horse, the ocean and highest mountains are the only limit. As long as you feed and water the horse, he will take you to where you can feed yourself. He can let you range further afield from your home and get back in a day with the results of your quest for food. He can take one further to trade for food or other supplies. He can carry messages to neighbors and kin who are further away.

Now we take it for granted. Most of us are used to having cars, buses, bikes, trains and planes to travel. We have phones and faxes and internet for messages. But it all began with the horse.

Of course, sometimes people still bumped into each other and challenged each other over who got the food. But the horse in war is another post. Stay tuned.

 

Christmas Clydesdale Horse & Teddy Bears Necklace
Christmas Clydesdale Horse & Teddy Bears Necklace by starhorsepax
This Draft Horse is walking through the snow, delivering a load of teddy bears.

 

Teddy Bears and Creative Memorials

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How distressing. So distressing I can’t ‘bear’ to stay silent.

Yes, I know they have too many. And yes, I know I’m ridiculously sentimental.  And I can see that turning the excess into parts of a memorial make sense. But turning teddy bears into bricks? OUCH. UGH. Those poor bears.

My approach would be entirely different. I would ‘pass on’ the unused bears and items.  Sure we know about the families and children involved in the shooting. But what about the ones we don’t know about? Are there no other grieving families there, whose children were lost to accident or illness? What about in neighboring counties? No children in hospitals that would appreciate them? No kids whose families are hard up and could use the school supplies or toys?

I know the logistics sound difficult. But ‘passing on’ the gifts to those with nothing would be a tribute in itself. It would honor the fallen and help the living too.  There are plenty of other ways to ‘build’ a memorial without the bears.  

For that matter, how about a ‘teddy bear auction’ with proceeds donated to a charity of the families choice?  I bet that $5 Wal-Mart teddy would go for a lot farther if put up in a charity auction.

Must we resort to ‘cremating’ unused teddy bears into bricks?  

How heartbreaking. Don’t ask me to explain why I hurt over a threatened teddy bear, or one abandoned in a thrift store. I just do. And I hurt for a real animal that is driven from it’s home by human encroachment.  And yes, I can still have room to hurt for those families too. Better too be too sensitive on these subjects than not sensitive enough.  I think our hearts are meant to be like Doctor Who's TARDIS: bigger on the inside than out.

So, visitors, what would you do with the teddy bears in a memorial? Any creative thoughts?

News on the Memorial

Two Teddies who have no fear of being turned into bricks. They get to pose for artwork.
Two Teddies who have no fear of being turned into bricks. They get to pose for artwork.

Too Many Teddies?

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Teddy Bear Collection
A Big Group of Teddy Bears – these live with me.

It’s raining teddy bears in Sandy Hook, Conneticut! Yes, bear lovers and sympathetic folks everywhere have sent love in teddy bear form en masse. So en masse that the people of Sandy Hook are now drowning in bears and asking for donations to the United Way instead.

This is a thought provoking moment: can there be any such thing as too much teddy bears? As too much love? NO. However, love does need room to expand so it doesn’t smother. How about donating some of those cuddly bears to others in need? Not every lonely child or grieving mother makes the news. Yet children die without being shot and some live without a parent because that parent is overseas defending our country. And to be fair, there are kids in some countries who've never laid eyes on a toy!

So let’s consider our options and look around. Who else needs some love? I guarantee you, there is somewhere for a teddy bear to be sent on a mission of delivering love. We need to learn to find it in the smaller more personal tragedies too. For the single mom who can’t afford her kids birthday because it’s too close to Christmas, to the orphan, to the sick children in the hospital….they are there all the time. It shouldn’t take a gunman to make us notice.

So bring on the bears! They have a mission!

Merry Christmas to you and your teddy bear.

Joyful Christmas Bear
Joyful Christmas Bear
Christmas Tree sweater bear
Christmas Tree Bear

 

References:

Evening Sun: Newtown asks people to stop sending bears

Latino Fox news Sandy Hook draws worldwide outpouring support

 

The Christmas Lament

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Appreciating Grief

When considering the tragedy of murdered children, it occurs to me there are other murdered children, unnamed, that must not be forgotten.

The Last Arrivals at Christmas:  According to Matthew 2: 1-18:
We tend to lump Mary, Jesus and Joseph in Bethlehem with no roof in the inn, shepherds, and wise men all together at Christmas. In reality the wise men arrived later. And they naturally, following the star, stopped first where you would expect to find a new King. They stopped in the palace. Now old Herod, he didn’t have to act surprised but he did hide his alarm and play nice and help find where this prophesied King was to arrive. He sent the wise men on their way.

Now whether it was just the dream that warned them, or whether they heard things about Herod en route to the babe, but they really were wise enough to see he didn’t want them to tell them where that baby was so he could worship. He wanted to kill that innocent child. So, being wise, they blew out of there on their four footed ride’s in the opposite direction.

Matthew 2:1-18
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men

Did God warn anyone else?

Did anyone else heed the warning? Or wake up and think “Oh, bad dream” and roll over and go back to sleep?  What about the soldiers given the order? Did they hesitate, reminded of their own children or siblings?  Did any find themselves alone, with a brief moment of decision when they uncovered a mother cowering with a baby boy and take the opportunity to make a shush motion and hide them again?  How did these men live with themselves afterward? What hatred this must’ve instilled in the survivor’s and their older children – scarred for life by such evil.

Sadly, Herod needed no rapid fire weapons to pull off the atrocity, he only needed soldiers and a position of power.

Some who argue the Bible is false will say that if this truly happened more evidence would’ve been uncovered. But apparently, evidence that Herod was wicked enough to perform these kind of things was common. It’s only news if it rarely happens.

This is where appreciating grief comes in.

It is definitely true to say history is full of children sold into slavery, murdered and sacrificed to idols. Such things do slip under the radar today. But when they rise to our attention, we tend to act, floundering at times and unsure what to do, but we don’t ignore it.  We rage. We cry. We wonder why. So perhaps we should appreciate our grief. For once upon a time it was only the mother’s of Rama who wept for the children. Now we all do. We no longer consider it normal, or the cost of normal kingdoms and rulers, of soldiers and politics. We no longer consider acceptable or unchangeable and hide under the bed and hope we are overlooked.

After a horrific tragedy and mass shooting, lots of people start battling it out about gun control. In point of fact, it’s safe to say what little the Founding Father’s put into the Constitution and Bill of Rights, was based on weapons without modern capability of fast reloads and massive destruction of auto fire. They couldn’t imagine a database of criminals who would misuse the weapons, so how could they plan whether to sell a gun based on it’s information?  It’s also safe to say they weren’t perfect or there would’ve been no civil war later to end slavery, it would’ve happened right then.

I don’t claim to know what will make us safer. Better gun control for automatic weapons, keeping them out of criminals hands, better mental health care. But I know we must care, that the Herod’s of the world should shudder. For no longer do we stand by and accept the norm. One thing we should do is remember that while gun control is an issue debated in our borders, there our other children in the world’s danger zones too.  And we shouldn’t let issues like political red tape or economy prevent us for caring. For once upon a time, Jesus was one of those children too. So was Einstein, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Madame Curie, Charles Dickens, Billy Graham,…..a world of unknown potential waiting to be uncovered. It shouldn’t be stopped by bullet, sword or a rock to the head.

As for where was God?

He was in the Principle challenging the gunman and every other adult in that school who defended and hid the children. He was with every policeman and fireman who runs into the line of fire, whether little or figurative to defend them. He was with children around the world, urging their protection. He was with every soldier who hesitates at the sight of a child and tries to defend his troops and his country without harming the innocent.

In other words…. He’s probably asking where are we. Because you don’t need to be a preacher or a pastor, just a believer whose read about Jesus, to know that he called on us to do the defending. He gave us power to care and pray and act.  And I believe the power has already succeeded in changing us partway. Because now, instead of just crying for the few children in our family or neighborhood we find it in our hearts to cry for them all.

I Care Teddy Bear
I Care Teddy Bear

References:

Principle trying to stop Gunman when Killed – Regarding the recent events in Conneticut

Fair Trade Policy for Chocolate – Did you know slave labor is used in making some chocolate?

Save the Children – Dedicated to the welfare of children around the world.

Prostitution of Children – Wiki of the facts. But there are lots of articles and blogs on the subject around the world. Just Google it.

 

A Tragic Merry Christmas

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A Story Inspired by Reality. This is how I imagine it….

by T.A.Paxton

On Earth parents are weeping. Angels hover close by, offering comfort. They don’t show their wings or glow. They don’t offer empty words of  “This was God’s will” or “If prayer were in schools…” No, they just say, “I’m so sorry. I don’t understand either.” And they offer to help in small ways, for there are no big ones to offer. To do the dishes, watch the other kids while sad arrangements must be made. They bring food to the grief stricken and offer hugs as families contemplate what to do…oh what to do…..with the already bought gifts whose children will never receive them. The Christmas lights seem to dim and they stare at the baby in it’s tiny mini manger and ask why?

Somewhere in heaven, God is weeping. Angels hustle to open the gates as children are ushered in by other angels. One angel stands even sadder than the others. “I could not dissuade him. Why do they misuse the gift of freedom so?”

Children are led straight to God who wraps them in strong arms and says “It’s all right now. You are safe forever.” He dries their tears but doesn’t hide his own.  “You are here earlier than we hoped. As long as you are early will you help us decorate?”
The children peer around in awe at the beauty of heaven. They are led to a room with the greatest Christmas tree of all.
“Would you like to help decorate it?”
One child asks in awe “There are no Christmas trees in the Bible. Do you like them too?”
“Well of course. I invented trees and lights. I think putting them together is wonderful. This is the father of all those trees.”
So the children begin putting balls on the tree, and carved ornaments.  When they are too short, an angel lifts them up.
“I was told you don’t like carved images.” Another child suddenly piped up, looking at God.
“Well, it depends on what it’s for. It’s silly to bend down and worship it. But I love stories. I like telling stories, it helps people learn. And these images tell stories. Look close.”
The child gasped. Others did as well. They could now see the ornaments told the stories of their lives.
“I can see Mom and my brothers hanging ornaments in this one!” One boy held up a bright red ornament amazed by the odd reflection.
“This has my Dad  holding my sister at the beach!”
“This one is a roller coaster….the first one I rode…and I’m in it!”
“Look, it’s my dog and he’s looking right out of this blue ball at me, like he’s carved inside! It looks like he can see me!”
God smiled. “All good things are remembered. And all the bad will be like grains of sand in comparison.”
“This one is moving!” One child looked close. For they weren’t moving like a store bought, battery operated ornament, or TV, but like life in miniature. “Hey! It’ s my family! Right now! They are crying…oh”  Another ball of glass popped out of the ornament, a string…..and the child looked up and saw it becoming a string and a garland.
The others found the same.  “Look, they are surrounded by angels.”
They hung the garlands. “But…it’s so sad. It’s their tears.”
“For every sad tear today, they will have many tears of joy again.” God assured them. “The hurt will poison them if it stays inside, so it comes out through tears instead. So I draw it out, if they will let me, and turn it into beauty.”

The smallest child went up solemnly and climbed in God’s lap, holding one of the ornaments. Looked up at the tall, tall tree, and back at God.
“Will our families remember us? We don’t have ornaments like this on Earth.”
“They will. Right now they hurt terribly. But one day, they will look at your favorite teddy bear ornament and say “oh how he loved this one.”  God looked at another. “Or at that favorite snow globe, or doll, or action figure and say “He or she played with it all the time. And they will smile, for they will miss you, but they will be oh, so glad that they had known you.”

And with that. they all went back to decorating the tree. And God smiled. Here in heaven at least all was well. Someday, He promised, someday it would be on Earth as well.

 

 

Comfort Angel Bear
Comfort Angel Bear

 

If you want to say Happy Holidays, lets say it all Year.

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It's called Christmas

It's not that I have a problem with Happy Holidays. It's the fact that some people use it to discriminate. Truth be told just about every day of the year is someone's holiday, from the national Independance, to a birthday to a human rights day or national teddy bear or maple syrup days. Yes, those really are holidays. You could say happy holidays every day of the year, for that very reason. So why now? Because now is when the gear up for Christmas (albeit an overcommercialized one) is. And Christmas involves Christ.

Yes, I am Christian. Yes, I celebrate Christmas.  And if I say Merry or Happy Christmas I am wishing you a wonderful, peaceful, light filled season of joy. I am not whacking you on the head with a baby Jesus figurine and saying believe or else, nor sending a Santa in a tank to force a conversion. Believe it or not, when the Old Kris Kringle or Saint Nick or Santa in 'A Night Before Christmas' says Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas, he isn't even quoting the Bible!

I wouldn't object if you told me Happy Hannukah or Kwanzaa.  I may not believe in them, or know much about them, but I wouldn't figure you meant it as an insult. Happy usually doesn't imply insult no matter what it precedes.

Holidays Are All Year

What's more, you don't say happy holidays on valentine's day or halloween. Saint Valentine and Saint Nicholas and even Saint Patrick were catholic saints. I'm not catholic, but I can still enjoy the holidays without insisting someone say 'happy holidays instead of happy st nicholas or saint valentine or saint patrick.. And I wouldn't assume the person doing the wishing was catholic, though it wouldn't matter much to whether I liked them or not if they were. It's a holiday, what's not to like? Some christians don't like halloween. I say, dress up and eat the candy. The candy will be on sale anyway and costumes bring out people's creative side. If you think dressing as a witch or zombie offensive, you can always dress as a teddy bear or a robot.

I wouldn't be offended to be told 'Happy Saint Patrick's Day' even though I'm not Irish.

Happy New Year might give me pause if it wasn't January first, but explain it's the mayan or hebrew or muslim calendar and I'll go happy new year right back.

As for the fourth of July: for all I know the person wishing me happy independence day could be from canada or australia. Or the person I'm wishing it too could be from Austria or Bulgaria. Just because they aren't a citizen doesn't mean they can't enjoy the fireworks.

Yet for some reason, all these holiday well wishes are 'acceptable' and Christmas is not. Ironic, how everything is tolerated….except being a christian, whether practicing or not.

 

So Happy National Brownie Day. And National Ice Cream Day, Human Rights Day, Poinsettia Day, National Maple syrup day……….should I go on?  So if we are going to go 'Happy Holidays'……then lets just say it all year. It's probably easier than saying Happy pop goes the weasel day, happy flip a coin day and all that. It's easier on the fatherless not to hear happy fathers day and the childless woman desperate for a baby to hear Happy Holidays than a Happy Mother's day. 

Besides it's a sure fire way to see who is paying attention. Say Happy Holidays in May and someone will probably do a double take.

So lighten up people. Enjoy the Christmas or Hanukkah lights.  No commitment required. Just an open heart and a childlike sense of wonder. But I'll bet without Christmas you wouldn't have all those holiday lights. We started it. And you can't take that away.

Sources:

http://www.theultimateholidaysite.com

http://www.holidayinsights.com

http://www.squidoo.com/Christmas-GoFish