Sidu (Traditions)
Sidu is an Old Saxon word meaning "traditions". Some of our clan's traditions trace back to the Germanic cultures, other traditions of ours have differing origins, and we will likely even invent small traditions of our own as time passes. Celebrating traditions brings people together, and even more so perhaps if tradition is created together.
Principalia
Principalia (also called Chalica) is a seven-week affirmation of the seven principles of Worth, Compassion, Encouragement, Philosophy, Democracy, Community, and Ecology. Each of the seven weeks focuses on one of the seven principles. Starting on the first Sunday of a new year, a chalice is lit and that week's principle is discussed and contemplated, and then acted upon in the following days. On the next Sunday the actions of the previous week are discussed, then a chalice is lit and the next principle is discussed and contemplated, etc.
Pi Day
Pi is a geometric constant representing the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter; pi is useful in calculating various geometric areas. The value of pi is approximately 3.14, and as such Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (which also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday). Pi Day is homophonically celebrated by preparing and subsequently ingesting delicious pie, especially ones adorned with mathematical notations which include pi. (See also Tau Day below.)
Boondock Saints Day
As a nod to the Celtic clans in our family tree, on St. Paddy's Day we gather with family and friends, watch Boondock Saints, badly practice Irish accents, and ingest green food and beverages. Deeply green and nutrient-rich spirulina powder goes well sprinkled on spicy dishes; our preferred dish for this at present is a curry-roux rice dish.
Aprilsnar
Aprilsnar, also called April Fool's Day, is a day for lifting the spirits of those around you by playing good-natured pranks upon them.
Easter
Easter is a Germanic fertility celebration. The ancient West Saxon name for the morning star (the planet Venus) was Eastre, whom the Anglosaxons worshipped as a goddess of dawn, spring, and fertility. A month in their calendar, Eastremonath, was named in honor of the goddess, and in that month they held a fertility celebration in her name. The ancient month of Eastremonath overlaps partially with the modern months of March and April. The Catholic Church attempted to christianize this pagan fertility festival into a celebration of their deity's supposed resurrection, but the fact that a bunny and an egg, both pagan fertility symbols, are currently the most prominent symbols of Easter is evidence that the attempted christianization ultimately failed. The most significant lasting impact of the Catholic Church's attempt to christianize Easter is that they moved the date to a Sunday and based the date on inaccurate predictions of the vernal equinox and the full moon. The Catholics' bizarrely defined and computed date for Easter is firmly entrenched in our calendar and our surrounding culture though, so the alternative would be to schizophrenically have two Easter celebrations, one astronomically accurate and one not. Some neopagans did indeed opt to reconstruct a more traditional Easter that was not polluted by Christian invasiveness; such neopagans use an Old German spelling, Ostara, to differentiate what they regard as the unpolluted form of the two Easters, and they set the date of Ostara to be the vernal equinox. Regardless of what you call it or when you celebrate it, Easter is a celebration of life itself.
Earth Day
Earth Day is effectively "Thanksgiving Part 2", in that it is a day for giving thanks to the Earth for what it provides for us. Unlike Thanksgiving, the warmer spring weather of Earth Day permits us to actually show thanks to the Earth by planting at least one tree.
Tau Day
Tau is a trigonometric constant representing the ratio of a circle's circumference to its radius; tau stands for "turn" and is useful in trigonometric calculations involving angles. The value of tau is approximately 6.28, and as such Tau Day is celebrated on June 28th. As the earlier Pi Day is celebrated by ingesting pie, and tau equals two pi, Tau Day is celebrated by preparing twice as much delicious pie (especially ones adorned with mathematical notations which include tau) and gifting the second pie to someone.
Halloween
Halloween, due to its pangenerational playfulness, is perhaps the best holiday of all. Halloween started out centuries ago as a Celtic harvest festival called Samhain, wherein it was believed that spirits emerged to walk among the living. The Catholic Church attempted to christianize Samhain into a three-day celebration called Hallowmas, from which we derived the word Halloween. The fact that most people who playfully celebrate Halloween do not even realize that Halloween has any Christian significance is proof that the attempted christianization largely failed; managing to change the name of the celebration is really the only lasting impact of the attempt.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a day that we explicitly bring into our conscious minds a gratitude for the source of our life and sustenance: the Earth. If you eat a meal and vocalize gratitude for it, and your gratitude does not explicitly include the Earth, then you have failed to see a vital aspect of life on Earth (which includes your own life). (See also Earth Day)
Yuletide
Yuletide is a Germanic solstice celebration held on the days surrounding the hibernal solstice. The Catholic Church attempted to christianize it into a "Christ Mass" (Christmas), but the fact that the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) has a more central role in "Christmas" than Christ shows that the attempt was yet again mostly a failure. Further, note that Sinterklaas is a partially christianized permutation of the Norse god Jólnir (Jól = Yule). The changing of the popular name of the celebration is the greatest impact of the attempted christianization, but even that is diminished by the fact that well-known "Christmas" carols contain lines such as "Toll the ancient Yuletide carol, fa la la la la la la la la". The nineteenth century poet Tennyson wrote of the "merry bells of Yule" reminding him of ideals such as "goodwill to all mankind"; let it be so.
Principalia
Principalia (also called Chalica) is a seven-week affirmation of the seven principles of Worth, Compassion, Encouragement, Philosophy, Democracy, Community, and Ecology. Each of the seven weeks focuses on one of the seven principles. Starting on the first Sunday of a new year, a chalice is lit and that week's principle is discussed and contemplated, and then acted upon in the following days. On the next Sunday the actions of the previous week are discussed, then a chalice is lit and the next principle is discussed and contemplated, etc.
Pi Day
Pi is a geometric constant representing the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter; pi is useful in calculating various geometric areas. The value of pi is approximately 3.14, and as such Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (which also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday). Pi Day is homophonically celebrated by preparing and subsequently ingesting delicious pie, especially ones adorned with mathematical notations which include pi. (See also Tau Day below.)
Boondock Saints Day
As a nod to the Celtic clans in our family tree, on St. Paddy's Day we gather with family and friends, watch Boondock Saints, badly practice Irish accents, and ingest green food and beverages. Deeply green and nutrient-rich spirulina powder goes well sprinkled on spicy dishes; our preferred dish for this at present is a curry-roux rice dish.
Aprilsnar
Aprilsnar, also called April Fool's Day, is a day for lifting the spirits of those around you by playing good-natured pranks upon them.
Easter
Easter is a Germanic fertility celebration. The ancient West Saxon name for the morning star (the planet Venus) was Eastre, whom the Anglosaxons worshipped as a goddess of dawn, spring, and fertility. A month in their calendar, Eastremonath, was named in honor of the goddess, and in that month they held a fertility celebration in her name. The ancient month of Eastremonath overlaps partially with the modern months of March and April. The Catholic Church attempted to christianize this pagan fertility festival into a celebration of their deity's supposed resurrection, but the fact that a bunny and an egg, both pagan fertility symbols, are currently the most prominent symbols of Easter is evidence that the attempted christianization ultimately failed. The most significant lasting impact of the Catholic Church's attempt to christianize Easter is that they moved the date to a Sunday and based the date on inaccurate predictions of the vernal equinox and the full moon. The Catholics' bizarrely defined and computed date for Easter is firmly entrenched in our calendar and our surrounding culture though, so the alternative would be to schizophrenically have two Easter celebrations, one astronomically accurate and one not. Some neopagans did indeed opt to reconstruct a more traditional Easter that was not polluted by Christian invasiveness; such neopagans use an Old German spelling, Ostara, to differentiate what they regard as the unpolluted form of the two Easters, and they set the date of Ostara to be the vernal equinox. Regardless of what you call it or when you celebrate it, Easter is a celebration of life itself.
Earth Day
Earth Day is effectively "Thanksgiving Part 2", in that it is a day for giving thanks to the Earth for what it provides for us. Unlike Thanksgiving, the warmer spring weather of Earth Day permits us to actually show thanks to the Earth by planting at least one tree.
Tau Day
Tau is a trigonometric constant representing the ratio of a circle's circumference to its radius; tau stands for "turn" and is useful in trigonometric calculations involving angles. The value of tau is approximately 6.28, and as such Tau Day is celebrated on June 28th. As the earlier Pi Day is celebrated by ingesting pie, and tau equals two pi, Tau Day is celebrated by preparing twice as much delicious pie (especially ones adorned with mathematical notations which include tau) and gifting the second pie to someone.
Halloween
Halloween, due to its pangenerational playfulness, is perhaps the best holiday of all. Halloween started out centuries ago as a Celtic harvest festival called Samhain, wherein it was believed that spirits emerged to walk among the living. The Catholic Church attempted to christianize Samhain into a three-day celebration called Hallowmas, from which we derived the word Halloween. The fact that most people who playfully celebrate Halloween do not even realize that Halloween has any Christian significance is proof that the attempted christianization largely failed; managing to change the name of the celebration is really the only lasting impact of the attempt.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a day that we explicitly bring into our conscious minds a gratitude for the source of our life and sustenance: the Earth. If you eat a meal and vocalize gratitude for it, and your gratitude does not explicitly include the Earth, then you have failed to see a vital aspect of life on Earth (which includes your own life). (See also Earth Day)
Yuletide
Yuletide is a Germanic solstice celebration held on the days surrounding the hibernal solstice. The Catholic Church attempted to christianize it into a "Christ Mass" (Christmas), but the fact that the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) has a more central role in "Christmas" than Christ shows that the attempt was yet again mostly a failure. Further, note that Sinterklaas is a partially christianized permutation of the Norse god Jólnir (Jól = Yule). The changing of the popular name of the celebration is the greatest impact of the attempted christianization, but even that is diminished by the fact that well-known "Christmas" carols contain lines such as "Toll the ancient Yuletide carol, fa la la la la la la la la". The nineteenth century poet Tennyson wrote of the "merry bells of Yule" reminding him of ideals such as "goodwill to all mankind"; let it be so.