If you’re a new reader and don’t understand why I specifically honor St. Nicholas on his day, I suggest you reread my 2014 column for this day, and don’t skip the links. And if you wish to honor the jolly saint yourself, I suggest you reread my column from November 24th and proceed accordingly; I’ve provided ways you can help several of the saint’s favorites at the same time. And if you already know what this is about, what are you waiting for? I know you don’t want to end up on his naughty list.
Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category
St. Nicholas Day 2023
Posted in Holidays, tagged holidays on December 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Yuletide 2023
Posted in Holidays, Miscellaneous, tagged activism, games, holidays, Presents, Toys for Tots on November 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Every year on this day, the traditional beginning of the Yuletide season in the US, I remind my readers that the real spirit of the season involves giving to others rather than literally fighting to get more for yourself. Children and whores are St. Nick’s two favorite groups of people; you can help the latter by donating to a sex worker charity such as SWOP Behind Bars, or you can help both by booking a session with a sex worker you know has kids. If you don’t know any, you can help by participating in my annual toy drive! Regular readers know how it works: from today until Tuesday, December 12th, I’m collecting donations with which to buy toys, which I then donate to Toys for Tots. Send your donation via PayPal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net, and please put “Toys for Tots” in the subject line so I’ll know it’s not a regular blog donation; I can also accept donations via Zelle if you prefer not to use PayPal. If you’re not hurting economically yourself, please consider donating (either to my drive or to one near you); rising inflation is taking a bite out of many people’s income, so there will be less money for toys this year. And while we adults can understand that, it can be heartbreaking for very young children to think Santa Claus has forgotten them or bypassed them because they were naughty. Please help if you can!
Thanksgiving 2023
Posted in Holidays, tagged holidays on November 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Armistice Day 2023
Posted in History, Holidays, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged Austria, holidays, Hungary on November 11, 2023| 2 Comments »
The best way to actually honor deceased veterans is to stop making so damned many of them. – Maggie McNeill
Day of the Dead 2023
Posted in Holidays, Philosophy, tagged Day of the Dead, holidays, paganism on November 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Though all things must pass, none are so ephemeral as those good times with good friends that, in retrospect, seem almost magical.
– “Day of the Dead 2022”
“Every single thing in the Cosmos is mortal, and will pass away in its time. [Organisms and empires alike] rise, thrive, decline, and fall, to be replaced by younger ones which then decline and fall in their time…crumbling into dust and passing first into memory, then legend, and eventually beyond the horizon of sentient knowledge.”
Halloween 2023
Posted in Holidays, tagged holidays, paganism on October 31, 2023| 2 Comments »
Mabon 2023
Posted in Holidays, tagged holidays, paganism on September 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The apparent path of the sun crossed the celestial equator southbound at 06:50 UTC today, making this the first day of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and the first of spring in the Southern. This is the time of harvest, when plans come to fruition; it is also the harbinger of the time of rest, especially for Daughters of Darkness like myself who are exhausted and overstimulated by the long days of summer. But even if you’re not a fan of the growing gloom, I hope you can enjoy the cooler days and hold summer in your heart while waiting for its return, just as I wait patiently through the long, bright days for the time that best reflects my inner landscape.
Blessed Be!
Lammas 2023
Posted in Holidays, tagged holidays, paganism on August 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Magdalene’s Day 2023
Posted in Holidays, tagged Catholicism, holidays on July 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Every year on her feast day, I honor St. Mary Magdalene; even though the Church does not officially recognize her as the patron of whores, she certainly is in the public imagination. And if beliefs have power, that recognition of sacred whoredom in the minds of millions has far more metaphysical and philosophical weight than any official Church designation.
Independence Day 2023
Posted in Holidays, tagged holidays on July 4, 2023| 1 Comment »
“The United States is but the latest in a long succession of great Western empires…[whose successors] will admire America for the ways in which she was great, and criticize her for the ways in which she was awful, just as Americans do the civilizations which came before her. And tourists from that future nation will one day visit the ruins of the great American cities…” – “Successor“