Happy Chinese New year!!! Lol, yeah lots of people celebrate and/or dont celebrate things, but I think we need celebrations, it helps to focus people, particularly a day like Imbolc because it is all about renewel and hope and at this time of year, at this stage of winter, I think those are good things. Personally, even if I don't do anything special, I like to try to understand special days whether they have anything to do with religion or not because they are usually rooted in our history, their origins can sometimes teach us things.
There are many days of many traditions that are celebrated, both by people who believe in the religion that it came from and those who do not. At this point in our world many holidays that contain meaning behind them (such as Halloween, Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas) have lost the meaning they once carried.
Christmas used to be a celebration of the birth of Christ, a time of peace and joy with the world, a time of togetherness and love. However now it has become a ritualistic effort to give out gifts (yes this can show the above however hear me out) that quickly turns into a holiday full of worries about bills, taking up overtime to pay for your kids' gifts, etc.
Halloween has gone from a night to celebrate the dead and protect against them (much like the Spanish Day of the Dead) to a night about getting the most and best candy, to scaring the pants off your friends, and dressing up in the most provocative or frightening way.
The same can be said of many other holidays. We do not practice them out of a wish to understand them, but rather out of a need given to us by society, something expected of us by society and the community. Because of this learning the meaning behind a widely celebrated holiday will do us no good, because we will simply fall into what society expects of us, maybe not this year or the next, but indeed we will fall to it.
This is why I do not celebrate major holidays as much as others. Significance to a particular day should be personal in my opinion, such as your anniversary, your first date, etc. These are more important than widespread holidays as they contain personal significance and foster a true sense of the event they celebrate.
Kataki, thanks for your input, however I think your viewpoint is a bit cynical. I suppose one could make a case that everything is subject to misuse. It wasn't that long ago that Christmas was not celebrated by Christians because they thought it had Pagan roots, (and they were right, it did) Personnally, I like celebrations, I like rituals, I like it when people gather to honor or remember or take joy in certain Holidays. I don't have to be Irish to like St Patricks day, or Jewish to recognize the beauty of Hanukkah, I celebrate Hanukkah, Yule, and Christmas. Luckily, I am Wiccan and we are never to far away from a Sabbat. Mankind has enough tragedy to deal with, it is good to be able to step outside oneself now and then and gather with others to celebrate.
I never said not to celebrate, just that in my opinion there is just more point in celebrating something the way it was originally intended or not at all.
Imbolc is very important in Witchcraft. It is one of the eight main Sabbats. It is also the day dedicated to the Goddess, Brigid. She was also "stolen" by the Christian (Catholic) Church and made into an Irish saint! However, one celebrates as one wishes: it is the Rede. Harm nobody, and do what you wish. Happy Imbolc, and Ostara.
Sainthood in the Catholic church is seen an honorable and respected position to hold. As such, I wouldn't consider it "stealing" the deity. In fact, it's a lot better than taking her and demonizing her.
Rilke I have to admit that I was as foxed as little simple until I came to your second post. Thank you for explaining. As mentioned in my intro, I'm not wiccan, but the idea of studing magic through different cultures and seeing the science behind it has always intrigued me. Thank you Brysing for adding to the explanation.
I would not call it important to all witchcraft as you post states, Brysing, rather I would call it important to those who follow paths which involve the holiday in some fashion.
We all have different paths we walk along, and because of this what sounds right to one or is right to one, is wrong to another. It is through these different paths that we all walk our magickal journeys together as we all go forward struggling to understand our world better, as we all go forward trying to live our lives with our heads head high, as we all go forward according to the morals we have deemed right and wrong, as we all go forward with the idea of betting ourselves.
I say this this way because even though we have different paths they are all together and to show how while we are all different we can learn from each others' paths. =)
