Here are some things that I got of the internet to refrence.

Christmas or Christ’s Mass is one of the most popular Christian celebrations as well as one of the most globally recognized midwinter celebrations. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the God Incarnate or Messiah, Yeshua of Nazareth, later known as Jesus Christ. The birth is observed on December 25, which was the winter solstice upon establishment of the Julian Calendar. Banned by the Catholic Church in its infancy as a pagan practice stemming out of the Sol Invictus celebrations,[9] Christians revitalized its recognition as an authentic Christian festival in various cultures within the past several hundred years, preserving much of the folklore and traditions of local pagan festivals. So today, the old festivals such as Jul, ?????? and Karácsony, are still celebrated in many parts of Europe, but the Christian Nativity is now often representational of the meaning. This is why Yule and Christmas are considered interchangeable in Anglo-Christendom. Universal activities include feasting, midnight masses and singing Christmas carols about the Nativity. Good deeds and gift giving in the tradition of St. Nicholas by not admitting to being the actual gift giver is also observed by some countries. Many observe the holiday for twelve days leading up to the Epiphany.

many European solar calendar Midwinter celebrations still centre upon the night of December 24 leading into the December 25 in the north, which was considered to be the winter solstice upon the establishment of the Julian calendar

The Christmas tree today is a common custom to most of us. There are many interesting connections to ancient traditions such as Egyptian and Roman customs, early Christian practices, and Victorian nostalgia. However, most scholars point to Germany as being the origin of the Christmas tree.

One of the earliest stories relating back to Germany is about Saint Boniface. In 722, he encountered some pagans who were about to sacrifice a child at the base of a huge oak tree. He cut down the tree to prevent the sacrifice and a Fir tree grew up at the base of the oak. He then told everyone that this lovely evergreen, with its branches pointing to heaven, was a holy tree – the tree of the Christ child, and a symbol of His promise of eternal life.

Another story from Germany is about Queen Victoria. She often visited relatives in Germany and while she was there, she fell in love with Prince Albert. After they were married, they moved back to England to raise their family. Prince Albert decorated a tree and ever since that time, the English, because of their love for their Queen, copied her Christmas customs including the Christmas tree and ornaments. This story took place in the 19th century, around 1830.

Another story about the origin of the Christmas tree says that late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or just outside their doors to show their hope that spring would soon come.

Another legend that has not been proved is that Martin Luther is responsible for the origin of the Christmas tree. This story says that one Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through the snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of the snow glistened trees. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moon light. When he got home, he set up a small fir tree and shared the story with his children. He decorated the Christmas tree with small candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ’s birth.

Research into customs of various cultures shows that greenery was often brought into homes at the time of the winter solstice. It symbolized life in the midst of death in many cultures.

Mithra is additionally the protector of truth and justice and the source of cosmic light.

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I have weathered many hurricanes in the 30 + years that I have lived in Hurricane Alley and know first hand the difference between preparedness, community, self-help and whining for “goment” help. The first hurricane that I personally experienced was Frederic in 1979. At the time I was a fulltime member of the National Guard and once we had implemented our emergency procedures we took our trucks door to door in vulnerable areas offering rides to shelters. Some of our guys assisted elderly people to secure their homes prior to the storm. As the afternoon and evening wore on more and more of the “parttime” Guardsmen showed up at the Armory, after securing their families and homes they left them to be ready to assist others. In the days that followed the storm, communities came together and assisted each other. Grills were pulled out and huge neighbborhood bar-b-ques were held to use food before it spoiled. I witnessed first-hand too many heroic actions by everyday people to even begin to count. Yes, the “goment” eventually got its act together and showed up officially, but by that time we, the people, had a handle on most things.

That’s the America I want back.

I am amazed at some of the replies from the folks on here. I feel sorry for the people of that area having to endure the hardship. I also feel Proud of them for being that good ole “American Stock,” that takes on a situation and does for themselves as well as their neighbors and neighborhoods. That is, to me, the way we should all behave in times of difficulty.

It’s how I remember from my own childhood. Growing up on a dairy farm, raising crops to feed the cows. Neighbors helped neighbors to cut and haul the silage, and hay. We shared our own backs as well as our equipment.

When your cows got out, the neighbors would come help round’em back up and nobody complained. We just took care of the problem, then all went inside for coffee, hot cocoa, or cold drinks if it was in the summer. Sometimes dinner together. Pot luck, no less. Lots of laughter and friendship.

No we weren’t rich in money, but we sure were rich in ways people these days don’t recall it seems. Neighborliness………you can’t put a price tag on that!

I do understand there’s a time and a place for Government help…It just seems to many look for to much from that direction. When we’re in a mess the first place to look is in the mirror. Ask yourself what part you played in getting there first, and learn from it.

Mother Nature is unkind to everyone. She doesn’t pick and choose. WE have the ability now to know when she’s coming our direction. It’s up to each of US to determine when to stay and when to move on out of her way!

http://www.snopes.com/katrina/soapbox/dakota.asp

I’ve also lived through power outages, snow and ice storms, been without power and water… and I never had any government help either.

If you’re comparing this to Hurricane Katrina, you’re way off:
This area didn’t have 16 feet of water gushing through every square inch of your city and destroying nearly every inhabitable building either. They didn’t have all of their utilities taken out and have every source of drinking water taken away. They weren’t flooded with sewage filled water that made them sick, near death, just from wading through it.

If you’re comparing this to the major ICE storm this year in the midwest: It was ICE, there was no way to get around, no way at all. My car had 4 inches of ice on top of it. I couldn’t get into it for a week. I have a generator, and didn’t lose water, so I was able to live through it. I don’t have a 4×4 anymore, because I’ve never “needed” the one I had several years ago. Some people had no water, no power, no anything. Some people had no power and no water for OVER A MONTH. It was extremely cold, in the single digits, below zero at night. People DIED, People FROZE to death.