'Tis the Season (to discuss "stealing" traditions)

Hey, Readers,

Yule is approaching fast in the Northern Hemisphere (I don't know if that needs to be capitalized, but, oh well) and you know what that means! Pagans are talking about Christians "stealing" Yule and people are discussing appropriation. Someone I follow on tumblr said they'd been seeing a lot of those "Christians stole Yule" posts on their dash, so I reblogged with a link to a video I made two years ago on Yule:

On "Stealing" Traditions

After this, I received a question in the Ask box of my tumblr, and my answer was pretty long. It's posted on my tumblr, but I wanted to re-post it here with a little extra.

cutewitch772

xombiepanda asked:

I was just wondering, because of the "Christians stole Yule" discussion that's going on, if you equate the early church's actions as cultural appropriation. Or would it be more along the lines of cultural takeover? As always, you make the best points and have a wonderful ability to explain things in your videos. Thanks for being awesome.

I hesitate to ever use the term “cultural appropriation” because that terminology can be applied to so many things, and no matter what it is, it’s generally seen as a very negative term. But yes, to my knowledge, and in the way I think of it in my path, the resulting “blend” of Pagan traditions into Christian holidays and practices came from the process of converting Pagans to the new religion. This is also how the Horned God became equated with Satan, and many, many other things took on different meanings within Christianity. I think if I were to use only the two terms you offered, I’d think of it more as “takeover” because it was an attempt to be rid of the old practices by turning them into practices of the new religion, rather than the new religion merely “borrowing” or “taking” (or “stealing”) practices from another religion and using it for their own. Christianity didn’t want Pagan practices, it wanted the Pagans to stop being Pagans.

When you look up “appropriation” on Google, the definition given is “the action of taking something for one’s own use, typically without the owner’s permission.” In this case, the word “appropriation” would apply in the sense that the Christians certainly didn’t ask the Pagans’ permission, but I think it was more than using it for their own—it was an attempt to completely replace it with their own, which would be made easier if some things were still familiar and just took on new meaning. Their intent was not to appropriate (taking Pagan practices into their own faith), but to convert (making the Pagan practices into Christian ones, or in some cases, making them into Anti-Christian ones, when it comes to those things that became “of the Devil”). So, I think your word, “takeover” has more of the correct feeling to it when it comes to my opinion of the early church’s actions.

However, as I mentioned in my video, a good thing to remember as currently practicing Pagans is that they didn’t succeed in replacing it—it’s still here. They didn’t “steal” it—we still have it. So now the effect may feel a lot more like appropriation, as they still use it for their own despite there still being Pagans, and despite there being no need anymore to have those practices as part of Christianity in order to convert. They’ve just become tradition at this point, so people keep them, even if they don’t know where they came from.

(And think about why some things became positive while others became negative! That’s interesting to think about.)
(If anything, it’s the other way around now—Christians/Catholics beginning to practice Paganism may have an easier time because so much of the symbolism is the same, and even some of the practices, depending on your background.)

Each of these words is pretty loaded, and this is only the way I personally think of it, but I hope that explanation made some sense. Forgive the multiple tangential thoughts that sprang up—I tend to come up with new things as I think about a question, which I think is a great thing, so thank you for asking. =) I’d welcome input from anyone more versed in the actual history of these events (bearing in mind that the history is often written by the victors). I learned a lot from an art historian/Classicist recently, actually, so any kind of history that would apply to this situation could be of use.

Another question I have is this: What would you call taking something for one’s own use when permission has been given? And who is allowed to grant that permission?
(This one is tough, because we cannot generalize whole groups. Whole groups will never agree on everything, and no one should assume that everyone who shares a group identity will automatically agree with each other. While some give permission, others do not. While some respect cultures of origin, others do not. How do we solve this for ourselves? I don’t have the answers for everyone on this, but I do have a lot of questions. For another time.)

DFTBA means Don’t Forget To Be Awesome,
Blessings~
-C-

There is a lot going on in this discussion, as you can see! I really do have many other questions surrounding this topic, as I alluded to above. One other thing I find interesting is that many of the Pagans saying "Christians stole XYZ" may very well be the same Pagans who incorporate practices from other religions and aren't bothered by that. The difference probably has to do with what people think of as respectful or disrespectful use. It also has to do with the ideas of permission I mentioned here, and who we trust to grant permission, or to revoke it. As I mention in the video linked toward the start of this post, it absolutely does bother me when people refuse to learn about the origins of a practice they use in their own faith, and especially when people derogate my views and practices while at the same time using those practices themselves. This, to me, is a disrespectful use. I am not bothered by those who acknowledge the origins of practices (and even enjoy the occasional discussion about what the heck it has to do with their religion anyway) and simply keep them because they resonate with them, whether it be due to religion or just to a family connection. Similarly, I am not bothered when people of other faiths want to talk about the use of practices from their culture in Paganism, and often want to provide more accurate information for use. I am bothered when anyone assumes that no one knows anything about the origins, could not possibly be respecting them, and believes we should not be allowed to use them even if they do, in fact, resonate with us, because of who we are in this lifetime.

This, I realize, is a VERY touchy subject. It is for this reason that I generally prefer not to discuss it online. At the same time, I take every opportunity I am able to learn about what individuals personally feel about this matter when I meet them, always knowing that--again, as I mentioned above in my response--whole groups will not agree on any question. I could go on for hours on this subject and the various ways it expresses itself in the life of an eclectic Pagan, especially one who has even a remote online presence as such a Pagan. Instead, I'll wrap this up for now and hopefully bring us to some place of action.

Do I understand where the "Christians stole Yule" feeling comes from? Absolutely. Did I feel this way at one time, myself? I did! Do I think it's an appropriate or necessary response at this point in my path? No, I do not. I don't believe we benefit from it in the long run at all. It is helpful only in the sense that it allows us to feel a bit righteous, and other than that, it is just negativity. I'm not saying don't be angry about it if you have to for a bit--as I said, I was, at one point, especially when I was just learning about all this. I felt like I should have known! Why didn't I know this before now?! If someone had taught me about it earlier, maybe I wouldn't have been as shocked and angry when I learned about it myself (often from the exact people saying "Christians stole Yule!" on the internet). It's important to acknowledge feelings like this in order to work through them, in any situation. Believe me, after one particular year of my life, I KNOW that to be true, and I fully believe it. You can't just ignore feelings and expect them to go away.

But why do so many Pagans hold onto this, year after year? Why do I meet Pagans at local events who, from start to finish, talk only about how they dislike other faiths for derogating us, and then when they've finished, start telling the story again? What do we gain from these negative feelings? And what about those of us who are so angry about this, but have no understanding of how some people from other cultures feel about us? It's not all people, it's not all of us, it's not all of the others. But it's people. This happens. Why? When? How long? What could we do to change this?

What could we do to change this, and for the better? I have some ideas. We could take any opportunity we have to educate, in a respectful manner. We could live by example. We could enter into discussions with people, always respectfully, and learn more about their point of view, as well (even if you don't really get a chance to put forth your/"our" point of view, learning about other viewpoints can help a lot, too. For one example of that in my life, you may choose to check out this video). We could also spend some time thinking about our own reasons for these feelings. Sometimes just understanding why we feel a certain way helps to start breaking it down, seeing where we feel it's justified and necessary and where we can do without it.

What do you think? Why does this happen, and how can we make it better for everyone?

Thank you for reading,
Blessings~
-C-

A little while after I posted the "On 'Stealing' Traditions" video, I wrote this blog, stemming from a comment someone left about how we can't be happy that we "still have" Yule because unless we're reconstructionists, it isn't ours to "still have" in the first place. Please read Neos & Recons.


If you liked this post, you may also want to check out these other blog posts of mine, some of which link to the videos that accompany them:

• The Hand of Protection (My Hamsa hand shirt, and why I wear it.)
• Doesn't It Drive You Crazy?! (that people are under-informed all the time)
• Inversion Aversion (About the inverted pentacle)
• Belief in a Bookstore (When a woman tried to "save" me. Accompanying blog to the video linked above)
• Atheists and Me (about learning from Atheists' questions)
• Reaffirmation & Relativism (about reaffirming faith by experiencing others)
• Rights to Terms (Wiccan) (on being "allowed" to call myself a Wiccan)
• Dear Fox News (blog) or go direct to video (about that time Fox News said Wiccans have 20 holidays and stuff)
• Spirit Animals -- Racist? (One of my most popular blog posts. Links to video toward the end.)
• Briefly Bristled (Hey, this is a good example of when I do get pretty angry about ignorance!)
• LABELS (video) or read the blog (About attempting to clear up labeling misconceptions because some people don't want some people to use certain terms)
• What's SO Wrong With It? (An earlier blog of mine, in response to people on tumblr being very upset about a certain graphic)

And here is the search result when you look up "appropriation" as a keyword on Pagan Perspective, so you may see some of the other videos the other hosts and I have done on the subject!

https://www.youtube.com/user/paganperspective/search?query=appropriation

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EDIT: 22 Dec. 2014
I wanted to share this Huffington Post article that describes a few winter solstice celebrations:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/20/winter-solstice-2014_n_6336518.html

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Ways to Donate: Limited Time Offers!

*Edit: 10 Dec. These offers have now ended.*
*The link to my Etsy shop is still there, as there are still items for sale. The Readings link has been removed and the page returned to private for the time being. Thank you!*
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Hey, Readers!

As you probably know by now if you watch my channel or Like my page on Facebook, Pentacles of Pride, International has been doing a fundraiser to raise money to reach tax exempt status. The fundraiser is selling t-shirts for $25, and we need to sell 100 minimum in order to meet their goal. Well, the fundraiser ends in eight days, and we've only sold seven shirts. There's still time!

I've come up with two ways for people to help out while spending less money, just in case cost is a factor.

1) Cara's Creations on Etsy
First, for the duration of the fundraiser, 50% of the sale price of pentacle items sold through my Etsy will go toward the fundraiser. I still have to post more items I have, but several have been posted for a little while now, and many people have added them to their favorites. Prices there are a range, all under $25.00. Think of gifts for loved ones this holiday season, as well!

2) Readings
Second, for the final eight/nine days of the fundraiser, I am offering readings for a range of prices ($5, $10, $15, and $20), the full proceeds from which will benefit the organization. The page goes into detail about the decks you can choose from for me to read, and about the spreads. My viewers tend to know that I don't read for other people very often, if at all, so this is a very rare opportunity! That's how important supporting this fundraiser is to me.


Thank you for reading, and thank you for supporting--not only Pentacles of Pride, with your donations, but me and all my endeavors, as well.

Blessings~
-C-