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#secular trees
tanyaluca · 1 year
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Old Olives…
Tanya Luca
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secular-jew · 5 months
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Tunnel Palms, Israel 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱
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br1ghtestlight · 4 months
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my elementry and middle schools didn't really do christmas activities bcuz we had a lot of muslim/buddhist students and they were secular public schools so celebrating a christian holiday would be kinda weird. and it's always surprising when I see people nostalgic about christmas activities at school like trees in the classroom or secret santas making decorations etc because those were NOT a thing at my school. american public schools are kinda crazy
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the-njnb · 5 months
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thelibraryiscool · 1 year
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the thing about a holiday tree is that it is an entertainment all on its own. i could lie there on the floor and watch the lights cast shadows on the wall and glimmer round the ornaments and that's my evening
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freedom-shamrock · 1 year
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Geek Tree Featured Ornament
Technoblade's avatar in iconic cube form.
This one is a paper craft, ornament, and tribute to fallen nerd all in one.  
You can download the template for free from Technoblade's merch site (see link in the comments), and you can feel free to donate to the Sarcoma Foundation of America while you're at it.
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dummerjan · 1 year
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even in my thai shows and adjacent fanfiction i can't escape christmas
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scare-ard--sleigh · 1 year
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im trying to be cool and not start fights online about things that do not matter, for the sake of my blood pressure mostly, but ohhhhhohhhhohhhhhh my goddddddddd people are sooooooooooo fucking stupid sometimes oh my god ohhh my godddddddd ohhhhhhhh my goddddddddddddddddd
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skylordhorus · 1 year
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i think i like. fundamentally genuinely do not understand organised religion and i feel kinda bad abt it in case it makes me blunder and grossly offend large groups of people because i have a fundamentally different outlook on like. belief
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ponyboi-69 · 4 months
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Love y’all! From two gays and my mom
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despite-everything · 1 year
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i'm on air for the next 3 hours if you want to tune in here
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are Hanukkah sweaters a Jewish thing? i've seen them before but 90% of the time, they're people trying to make christmas displays more "inclusive." so are they legit Jewish or no?
Rating: Capitalism.
Hanukkah sweaters are a prime example of what I previously characterized as "capitalism's tendency to tepidly repackage any Christmas symbols in literally or metaphorically blue-and-silver wrapping paper to appeal to a Jewish market." As the "ugly sweater" phenomenon has grown more popular, retailers saw an excellent opportunity to widen their market by having "Hanukkah" versions.
That said, there's a wide range of Hanukkah sweaters out there, some of which are more problematic than others. Ones that are literally just recolored Christmas designs with a couple Jewish-y things tacked on, like this "Shalom Gnome" design or this "Oy to the World" design are more problematic than enthusiastically tacky designed-from-the-beginning-to-be-Jewish ones. The former says "Hanukkah! It's Christmas for Jews! Jews! They're just Christians without Santa or Jesus!" while the latter says, "Oh, you're going to walk around with an eyesore sweater full of tinsel and actual little jingle bells as though anyone could possibly forget that it's Christmas season in this country? I see you, I see you, and I'm just going to casually wear this sweater with a menorah and candles that actually light up because Judaism rocks, that's why."
Then there's a whole genre of Hanukkah sweaters with, let's say, more adult content, and people's mileage may greatly vary on how they feel about them. Personally, I find the ones riffing off more secular aspects of the holiday to be largely harmless, such as this "You Spin Me Right Round, Baby" design with dreidels. On the other hand, while some may find it amusingly subversive, I find ones making fun of the religious part of the holiday (i.e., the actual hanukkiah/menorah) to be in poor taste at best. There are a plethora of "let's get lit" Hanukkah sweaters like this one that genuinely annoy me. (For one thing, Hanukkah isn't even a drinking holiday! If you want a drinking holiday, we actually have those but Hanukkah isn't it!) Ones like this that make it into a creepy pick-up line actively disgust me. And this "gelt digger" one is genuinely antisemetic, given the stereotypes about Jews and money.
I would be remiss not to mention what I personally think is the best of the Hanukkah sweater subgenres: animal puns. My fiance owns this Meowzel Tov sweater with a truly garish design. What does "mazel tov" have to do with Hanukkah, you may ask? Absolutely nothing, but hey, cats! Can't be upset about Jewish cats! Similarly, llamas? Not Jewish at all! But Happy Llamakka? Okay, cute pun, cute graphic, I'm reluctantly charmed. Your Menorasaurus would not be kosher for actual use as the candles are all different heights, but you know what, that actually makes me smile.
So, basically: If you get joy out of being loudly Jewish during a season where everything is yelling about Christianity all the time, go ahead and wear your ridiculous ugly sweater to the company party. Just take a close look at the design to make sure it's not actually full of Christmas trees, not pretending something extremely Christmas is Jewish because it's a pun now, doesn't use Charedi men as a cartoon stand-in for anyone Jewish, and doesn't makes being Jewish primarily about not being Christian.
In sum: RIP my browser history, I'm going to be getting such terrible ads for the next several weeks. Click the links at your own risk.
~Mod Leora
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The "religious liberty" angle for overturning the overturning of Dobbs
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Frank Wilhoit’s definition of “conservativism” remains a classic:
There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.
https://crookedtimber.org/2018/03/21/liberals-against-progressives/#comment-729288
Conservativism is, in other words, the opposite of the rule of law, which is the idea that the law applies equally to all. Many of America’s most predictably weird moments live in the tension between the rule of law and the conservative’s demand to be protected — but not bound — by the law.
Think of the Republican women of Florida whose full-throated support for the perfomatively cruel and bigoted policies of Ron Desantis turned to howls of outrage when the governor signed a law “overhauling alimony” (for “overhauling,” read “eliminating”):
https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/this-is-a-death-sentence-for-me-florida-republican-women-say-they-will-switch-parties-after-desantis-approves-alimony-law-34563230
This is real leopards-eating-people’s-faces-party stuff, and it’s the only source of mirth in an otherwise grim situation.
But out of the culture-war bullshit backfires, none is so sweet and delicious as the religious liberty self-own. You see, under the rule of law, if some special consideration is owed to a group due to religious liberty, that means all religions. Of course, Wilhoit-drunk conservatives imagine that “religious liberty” is a synonym for Christian liberty, and that other groups will never demand the same carve outs.
Remember when Louisiana decided spend tax dollars to fund “religious” schools under a charter school program, only to discover — to their Islamaphobic horror — that this would allow Muslim schools to get public subsidies, too?
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/louisiana_n_1593995
(They could have tried the Quebec gambit, where hijabs and yarmulkes are classed as “religious” and therefore banned for public servants and publicly owned premises, while crosses are treated as “cultural” and therefore exempted — that’s some primo Wilhoitism right there)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-francois-legault-crucifix-religious-symbols-1.4858757
The Satanic Temple has perfected the art of hoisting religious liberty on its own petard. Are you a state lawmaker hoping to put a giant Ten Commandments on the statehouse lawn? Go ahead, have some religious liberty — just don’t be surprised when the Satanic Temple shows up to put a giant statue of Baphomet next to it:
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/17/639726472/satanic-temple-protests-ten-commandments-monument-with-goat-headed-statue
Wanna put a Christmas tree in the state capitol building? Sure, but there’s gonna be a Satanic winter festival display right next to it:
https://katv.com/news/offbeat/satanic-temple-display-installed-at-illinois-capitol-next-to-nativity-scene-menorah-decorations-snake-serpent-satanic-temple-springfield-christmas-tree
And now we come to Dobbs, and the cowardly, illegitimate Supreme Court’s cowardly, illegitimate overturning of Roe v Wade, a move that was immediately followed by “red” states implementing total, or near-total bans on abortion:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/15/paid-medical-disinformation/#crisis-pregnancy-centers
These same states are hotbeds of “religious liberty” nonsense. In about a dozen of these states, Jews, Christians, and Satanists are filing “religious liberty” challenges to the abortion ban. In Indiana, the Hoosier Jews For Choice have joined with other religious groups in a class action, to argue that the “religious freedom” law that Mike Pence signed as governor protects their right to an abortion:
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/21/legal-strategy-that-could-topple-abortion-bans-00102468
Their case builds on precedents from the covid lockdowns, like decisions that said that if secular exceptions to lockdown rules or vaccine mandates existed, then states had to also allow religious exemptions. That opens the door for religious exemptions to abortion bans — if there’s a secular rule that permits abortion in the instance of incest or rape, then faith-based exceptions must be permitted, too.
Some of the challenges to abortion rules seek to carve out religious exemptions, but others seek to overturn the abortion rules altogether, because the lawmakers who passed them explicitly justified them in the name of fusing Christian “values” with secular law, a First Amendment no-no.
As Rabbi James Bennett told Politico’s Alice Ollstein: “They’re entitled to their interpretation of when life begins, but they’re not entitled to have the exclusive one.”
In Florida, a group of Jewish, Buddhist, Episcopalian, Universalists and United Church clerics are challenging the “aiding and abetting” law because it restricts the things they can say from the pulpit — a classic religious liberty gambit.
Kentucky’s challenge comes from three Jewish women whose faith holds that life begins “with the first breath.” Lead plaintiff Lisa Sobel described how Kentucky’s law bars her from seeking IVF treatment, because she could face criminal charges for “discarding non-viable embryos” created during the process.
Then there’s the Satanic Temple, in court in Texas, Idaho and Indiana. The Satanists say that abortion is a religious ritual, and argue that the state can’t limit their access to it.
These challenges all rest on state religious liberty laws. What will happen when some or all of these reach the Supreme Court? It’s a risky gambit. This is the court that upheld Trump’s Muslim ban and the right of a Christian baker to refuse to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. It’s a court that loves Wilhoit’s “in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”
It’s a court that’s so Wilhoit-drunk, it’s willing to grant religious liberty to bigots who worry about imaginary same-sex couples:
https://newrepublic.com/article/173987/mysterious-case-fake-gay-marriage-website-real-straight-man-supreme-court
But in the meantime, the bigots and religious maniacs who want to preserve “religious liberty” while banning abortion are walking a fine line. The Becket Fund, which funded the Hobby Lobby case (establishing that religious maniacs can deny health care to their employees if their imaginary friends object), has filed a brief in one case arguing that the religious convictions of people arguing for a right to abortion aren’t really sincere in their beliefs:
https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20230118184008/Individual-Members-v.-Anonymous-Planitiff-Amicus-Brief.pdf
This is quite a line for Becket to have crossed — religious liberty trufans hate it when courts demand that people seeking religious exemptions prove that their beliefs are sincerely held.
Not only is Becket throwing its opposition to “sincerely held belief” tests under the bus, they’re doing so for nothing. Jewish religious texts clearly state that life begins at the first breath, and that the life of a pregnant person takes precedence over the life of the fetus in their uterus.
The kicker in Ollstein’s great article comes in the last paragraph, delivered by Columbia Law’s Elizabeth Reiner Platt, who runs the Law, Rights, and Religion Project:
The idea of reproductive rights as a religious liberty issue is absolutely not something that came from lawyers. It’s how faith communities themselves have been talking about their approach to reproductive rights for literally decades.
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The Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop (I’m a grad, instructor and board member) is having its fundraiser auction to help defray tuition. I’ve donated a “Tuckerization” — the right to name a character in a future novel:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/clarion-sf-fantasy-writers-workshop-23-campaign/#/
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If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/11/wilhoitism/#hoosier-jews
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[Image ID: Moses parting the Red Sea. On the seabed is revealed a Planned Parenthood clinic.]
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Image: Nina Paley (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moses-Splits-Sea_by_Nina_Paley.jpg
CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
 — 
Kristina D.C. Hoeppner (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/4nitsirk/40406966752/
CC BY-SA 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
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freedom-shamrock · 1 year
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New Geek Tree Topper
Many years ago we decided we needed a second Christmas tree specifically for all our nerdy ornaments that were starting to take over the regular tree.  The Geek Tree was born.  For the past nine years we used a Galadriel action figure as our tree topper.  Last year she suffered some weird chemical breakdown, making her disgustingly tacky to the touch.
We struggled all year to find something else that would suit.  And we found it.  The MOST perfect tree-topper ever.
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I’d embed a YouTube short on it, but my embed video feature is hit and miss on Tumblr these days.  But you can head over and see it here: https://youtube.com/shorts/rCuyXXI8jVQ if you so desire.
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breelandwalker · 2 months
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Snow Moon - February 23-24, 2024
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Boots and mittens on, witches - it's time for the Snow Moon!
Snow Moon
The Snow Moon is the name given to the full moon which occurs during the month of February. Despite what certain groundhogs will tell you, February is the month that sees the highest rates of snowfall across much of North America, according to the National Weather Service, and many alternative names for the moon and the month in which it falls reflect this.
As with many full moon names, we find the roots of the Snow Moon among the indigenous peoples of North America. In this particular case, a colonist explorer noted in 1760 that the Naudowessie (Dakota) people called this month Snow Moon specifically due to the tendency for snowstorms to come during that month. Some other indigenous names for this moon and month refer to commonly-sighted animals. Some examples include Eagle Moon (Cree), Bear Moon (Ojibwe), Groundhog Moon (Algonquin), and Goose Moon (Haida). Another notable example is Hungry Moon (Cherokee), denoting the scarcity of available food in deep winter.
The Snow Moon this year is what is known as a "micromoon" - basically the opposite of a supermoon. Where a supermoon brings our beloved satellite closer to Earth, at the perigree (or zenith) of its' elliptical orbit, a micromoon is at the apogee (or nadir), placing the moon at a point comparatively farther away. The moon will be at peak illumination at 7:30am EST on February 24th, meaning the moon may appear to be full on the 23rd and the 24th, depending on where you live.
What Does It Mean For Witches?
February is a month of change and transition. Though winter still holds on, many places may be showing early signs of spring. Little buds may be coming out on the trees, certain species of birds are beginning to migrate back, and hibernating animals start to wake up and reappear.
As we begin to turn toward the end of our long winter's rest, it's a good time to think about how we prepare for oncoming change and how we care for ourselves and our practices during times of stagnation.
With the moon in apogee, we might also contemplate the concept of distance as it relates to our practices, be it keeping long-distance bonds fresh, doing things remotely either alone or as part of a larger group, or feeling distant from your craft or your deities. And yes, such things are normal and cyclical. Our inspiration and motivation wax and wane just as the moon does. If it feels like you've been far away from your craft for too long, perhaps it's time to bring it back into your orbit.
What Witchy Things Can We Do?
Gather fresh snow or icicles for moon water, or make your own moon ice by leaving a bowl of water out overnight to freeze, if the temperature drops low enough.
If it snows in your area, you can wish upon a snowball. Grab a handful of powdery snow, whisper your wish to it, and throw the whole thing up in the air to release the wish into the universe
With winter scarcity in mind, practice creating a minimalist spell as an exercise. Create a workable spell with as few components, words, movements, or ritual elements as possible. This is more of a challenge if you're used to using material components or rituals in your spellwork. Many witches cast spells with focused thought or energy work alone.
Explore the concept of self care as magic. Use your routines to create moments of rest and harmony, make a point of being kind to your body and your mind, and cultivate a more positive relationship with yourself - it's the only one guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Connect with your local biome by looking for any early signs of spring in your area. Feed the returning birds and identify the plant and animal species you see around you as they appear one by one.
Happy Snow Moon, witches! 🌕❄️
SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
Bree’s Lunar Calendar Series
Bree’s Secular Celebrations Series
Snow Moon: Full Moon in February 2024, The Old Farmer's Almanac.
Snow Moon: The Extraordinary Full Moon of February 2024, The Peculiar Brunette.
Moon Info - Full Moon Dates for 2024
Calendar-12 - 2024 Moon Phases
Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison, Llewellyn Publications, 2004.
(If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar, check out my monthly show Hex Positive, and find my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)
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buckets-and-trees · 4 months
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Imagine Bucky coming home to see you wearing nothing but a red ribbon tied in a bow around your waist and can’t help but stare at you while licking his lips. You stand there and say “are you just gonna stand there or are you going to unwrap your present?”
Well...
Would you complain if I added one more thing to this little ask, too?
And this was undoubtedly meant for Christmas, but... my Christmas tree is still up, so maybe other people still have their decorations out, as well...
Fandom: MCU Collection: The Brooklyn Boys Title: Big Red Bow Characters/Pairings: Bucky x female reader x Steve Word Count: 593
Content Warnings: Steve stays post-endgame, established threesome, periphery/secular reference to the Christmas holiday, nudity, kissing, light fingering
Logistical Notes: Probably fine to read if you haven't read any of the series, because this is legit just spicy fluffy stuf, literally no plot. We just haven't seen these boys in a LONG long time, and I thought this might be nice for them. Dividers from @firefly-graphics and @saradika-graphics.
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You take a deep breath as you hear your boys come in the front door. Steve walks past the doorframe, heading down the hallway, his arms laden with bags from their supply run. Bucky, however, glances into the living room, then turns his head back and stops dead in his tracks. He sets his bag down and quietly straightens back up, stepping into the room, eyes riveted on you.
You had been waiting for them, for this, and yet your stomach still flips and your cheeks heat as you see the hungry look wash over him.
He licks his lips, but continues to stare, unmoving from his place in the doorframe.
Your heartbeat is racing, but you will yourself to remain still, kneeling next to the Christmas tree, in front of the fireplace, hands folded delicately in your lap, in nothing but a large red ribbon, painstakingly tied in a bow. You had tied it around your chest, below your breasts so that the large loops of the bow just covered your nipples.
"Did you hear me?" Steve calls back down the hallway to Bucky. "I asked if you know where the–"
"Steve, come here," Bucky cuts him off.
You hear Steve's steps coming back down the hallway. "What? What is - oh," his voice drops when he turns up behind Bucky and spots you waiting for them. "Oh," this time more of a groan, and his tone sends a shiver down your spine.
But when they don't move, you bite your lip and drop your eyes. "Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to unwrap your present?"
"It's past Christmas and New Years, honey," Bucky teases.
You huff. The last two weeks had been so busy, and you'd just thought when you saw the discarded bow from your nephew's bike that it might be fun to play with, but today had presented the first possible moment you finally had time for something like this. "Sorry, it's a little corny."
"Ow." Steve thumps Bucky from behind, and you start to move, but Bucky says, "Stop!" and you do, surprised by his abrupt command. "'I like corny. I'm looking for corny in my life.'"
Immediately comfortable again, you grin and giggle at the very apt quote from The Holiday, which you'd watched twice with them - once after Thanksgiving, and again a few days before Christmas.
They both swiftly approach you now. Steve gets to you first and kneels in front of you, leaning in to capture your lips in an kiss. Kneeling next to you, Bucky trails his fingers over your shoulder and down your arm. He presses his lips along your shoulder and back up to your neck, nudging his way in until Steve moves away, and Bucky steals the chance to claim your lips.
Bucky is quick to lay back on the floor, pulling you to lay on his his chest. You can hear Steve quickly undressing.
"Who says we need to unwrap you in order to play anyway?" Steve asks. Then he's settling in behind you, kneeling in the space between your and Bucky's legs, spreading them wider to accommodate him. He draws his hand down along your spine, over your lower back, and he lets a finger tease down between your cheeks.
You gasp, and Bucky chuckles. "Always so responsive for us, and so pretty like this."
"Mhmm," Steve agrees.
"But I can think of quite a few ways we can use this bow tonight," Bucky adds, grinning over your shoulder up at Steve.
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