If you landed as an alien in Scotland who, or what, would you think was worshiped at this time of year?
The ancient world made the invisible, visible, by carving idols. People wore charms or wrote sacred texts on their door frames. Modern society in scotland went through a purge where this was burned from the popular consciousness. Has this component of human behaviour vanished though, or can it be bottled up in one religious format? Have the popular countryside small gods of the ancient world been dressed in the new clothes of capitalism so that they can be hidden in plain sight in homes and churches?
There is a growing number of people who are turning to pre-christian practice, much of the information they need was recorded and handed on by christians throughout the Middle Ages . What can we learn from this process that will help us understand where we are now, and shape a better future? This is an underlying theme of the “Making Christmas” activity in the Loreburne centre. (Volunteers through Quartz are helping this process of #SensingSpirituality while the whole activity is an introduction to heritage and making offered freely and without hidden demands).
As part of your advent journey, why not take a moment to reflect on these questions as you go about your daily life.
- What special seasonal images do you see displayed?
- What values are made visible and promoted?
- Which of your emotions are triggered – and for what purpose?
Everything that is natural changes, even seeds need to be buried so that they can transform and bring forth life.
Through reflection we can better understand the way in which things are changing, and perhaps become better able to cope with the change – or even adapt to bring about Gods kingdom within it!
For an encounter with change, this site has a description of how the UK understanding of Santa Clause has changed over the years.
https://starkeycomics.com/2018/12/17/the-evolution-of-father-christmas