My latest Spliced column:
Christmas is always a good time of year for ontological terrorism. For example, “The psychedelic secrets of Santa Claus” by Dana Larsen from Cannibus Culture Magazine is one of my favorite links to spread around Christmas time. Larsen makes the case that though Santa Claus is now a symbol of our annual collective consumer-orgy, he may originally have been inspired by amanita muscaria mushroom eating shamans. That the very same politicians that enforce and promote the war on drugs tend to also whole heartily endorse a religious figure birthed of ancient drug culture amuses me to no end. Larsen’s idea, apparently taken from Jonathan Ott, might not pass skeptics’ muster. But most, if not all, of Christmas traditions stem from pagan practices.
1 response so far ↓
1 TiamatsVision // Dec 19, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Great article and I like your idea. If you look at the procession of the holidays metaphorically it makes a lot of sense. We have Samhain, the final harvest festival and the Celtic New Year. When the veil is the thinnest between the worlds and contact with the ancestors is encouraged. Then we have the American festival of Thanksgiving where we celebrate the fruits of our harvest(some do this at Samhain) and give thanks with our loved ones. And here is Yule with the materialistic manifestation of abundance celebrated with gift giving, and the return of the light after the darkest time of the year. Perfect time to honor the origins of the human species.
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