A dear friend of mine posted a great story.  Go to Katydid's blog to read it!

The Oak King and the Holly King 

By: Pythia (I just found this out!)

I have always loved the Greenman and especially this aspect of the myth:

The Holly King and the Oak King are part of Celtic mythology, and they represent two sides to the Greenman, or Horned God.

They battle twice a year, once at Yule and once at Midsummer (Litha) to see who would rule over the next half of the year. At Yule, the Oak King wins and at Litha, the Holly King is victorious. In other words, the Oak King rules over the lighter half of the year, and the Holly King over the darker half. The change from one to the other is a common theme for rituals at Yule, and also at Midsummer.

Another version of the Holly King and Oak King symbolism, is that they do not directly switch places twice a year, but rather both live simultaneously. The Oak King is born at Yule, and his strength grows through the spring, peaks at Beltane and then he weakens and dies at Samhain.

The Holly King lives a reverse existence, and is born at Midsummer, waxes more powerful through the summer and fall, to his peak at Samhain. His influence then lessens until Beltane, when it is his turn to pass away. In this perspective, the two Kings enjoy a more intricate interplay of power and is perhaps a better illustration of their duality. At any given time, they both exist but have varying levels of influence throughout the year.

Either way, each King represents different ideas. The time of the Oak King is for growth, development, healing, and new projects. The Holly King's time is for rest, reflection, and learning.

Swiped from: http://pythorium.com/sabbats/yule/holly_king_oak_king

More about the Greenman:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenman

I found this on one of my Yahoo groups.  It's a sweet little story.

The Yule Faeries - A Winter Solstice Story
(author unknown)

A group of little Faeries huddled in their home deep under the roots of a giant oak tree. They were safe and snug in their tiny underground cave lined with dandelion fluff, bird feathers, and dried moss.

Outside, the wind blew cold and the snow fell softly down to cover the ground. "I saw the Sun King today," the faerie named Rose said as she pulled her mossy cloak tighter about her. "He looked so old and tired as he walked off through the forest. What is wrong with him?

"The great oak said he's dying," answered Daffodil.

"Dying? Oh, what will we do now?" Little Meadow Grass started to cry. "If the Sun King dies, our little plant friends will not grow. The Birds will not come and sing again. Everything will be winter for ever!"

Lilac, Dandelion and Elder Blossom tried to comfort their friend, but they were all very sad. As they huddled together, there was a knock on the tiny door.

"Open up, Faeries," called out a loud voice. "Why are you hiding instead of joining us in our Solstice celebration?" Rose opened the door and the little gnome Brown Knobby pushed inside, shaking the glistening snowflakes off his brown coat and hat.

"We are too sad to celebrate," Daffodil said wiping her eyes. "The Sun King is dying, haven't you heard?"

"He is dead you silly Faeries." Brown Knobby's round dark eyes sparkled with laughter. "Now hurry, or we'll be late for the celebration! "

"How can you be happy and laughing?!" Elder Blossom stamped her little foot and frowned at the gnome. "If the Sun King IS dead, it will be winter always. We will never see the Sun again!"

"Silly little child-Faeries. " Brown Knobby grabbed Dandelion by the hand and pulled her to her feet. "There is a secret to the Winter Solstice. Don't you want to know what it is?"

The Faeries looked at him in surprise. "Secret?" they all said. "What secret? We are only new little Faeries, you silly gnome. We've never been to a Solstice celebration before."

"Come and see. Come and see. Get your capes and come with me." Brown Knobby danced and jigged around the room. "Hurry, Hurry, don't be slow! To the Sacred Oak Grove through the snow!" He danced out of the door and disappeared.

"What did that gnome mean?" Rose asked as she gathered up her cloak of dried rose petals held together with cobwebs and lined with goose down.

"I don't know, but the Lady lives in the Sacred Grove." Meadow Grass pulled on her hat.

"Perhaps if we go to see the Goddess, She can explain what Brown Knobby was talking about".

The Faeries left their snug little home and trudged off through the snow toward the sacred oak grove. The forest was dark with only the light of the Moon shining down through the thick fir branches and bare limbs of maple and hawthorn. It was very difficult for them to get through the
snow because they were very, very small. As they waded through the wet snow and shivered in the cold wind, they met a fox.

"Where are you going, Faeries?" the fox asked.

"To the sacred grove," they answered, they were cold and shivering.

"Climb on my back and I will take you there swiftly."

The fox knelt down so the Faeries could climb up. Then he raced off through the dark.

"Listen!" Lilac said as they neared the Grove of Sacred trees. "Someone is singing happy songs. A LOT of someones."

The beautiful music carried over the cold, still, moonlit air. It was the most beautiful music the Faeries had ever heard. The fox carried the Faeries right to the edge of the stone altar in the center of the grove, then knelt down.

"Look!" said Elder Blossom as they slid to the snow covered ground. "There is the Maiden and the Mother and the OLD Wise Crone, and many other Little People."

"They are all smiling and happy," said Lilac as she looked around at all the creatures.

"All the animals are here too," whispered Dandelion. "Why are they all looking at the Mother?"

The Faeries moved closer to the three Ladies seated on the altar stone. The Mother held a bundle close in Her arms, smiling down at it. The Maiden reached down and took the Faeries gently in her Hands. She held them close to the Mother so they could see what She held.

"A Baby!" the Faeries cried. " A new little Baby! Look how he glows!"

"He is the newborn Sun King," said the Maiden smiling.

"But Brown Knobby and the old oak tree said the Sun King was dead," the Faeries answered her. "How can this little baby be the Sun King?"

"That is the great secret of the Winter Solstice." The Old Wise One touched the baby's cheek with her wrinkled hand. "Every year the Sun King must come to the sacred grove during the darkest days of winter where he dies. I take his spirit to the Mother who gives him new life again. This is the way for all creatures, not just the Sun King."

"You mean everything lives and dies and lives again?" The Faeries looked down in wonder at the baby Sun King, nestled in the arms of the Mother.

"Yes, Little Ones," answered the Old Wise Crone. "There is never an end to life. This is the great mystical secret of the Winter Solstice."

The Faeries laughed because they were so happy.

"I think the little Sun King should have gifts," said Rose. "I will show him where the wild roses bloom in the early summer."

"And, I will teach him to call the birds and listen to the songs of the wind," exclaimed Dandelion.

"When he is older and stronger, " said the Mother, "then the flowers will bloom at his touch, the birds will return to sing their songs, and the air will be warm from his breath, and winter will be gone for a time. Then the Sun King will run and play with you in the forest."

The little Faeries sang to the Baby Sun King, songs of the coming spring, the sweet smelling flowers, the bumbling bees, and all the secrets of the forest. And all the creatures within the sacred grove sang with them. Then the fox took them back to their snug home under the
roots of the giant oak tree where they dreamed wonderful dreams, waiting for the warmth of spring and the fun they would have with the little Sun King.

Holiday Memories:

Heather's photo of her girls with Santa inspired today's post (and because I'm scraping the bottom of the holiday barrel), so here's a blog from last year, along with some photos.  See if you can pick me out of the crowd ...

None of these photos are dated (they're actually prints of scans), but I'm guessing I was about 3 or so in this one.  My sister Beth is in red and we're coloring with our dad.  (I get my dashing good looks and unibrow from him!)  Oh, and if you look closely in front of me, you'll see a little paper fairy.  She's wearing a white dress and hat with red polka dots.  I still have her!  She's showing her age, alas ...

We always spent Christmas eve at Nana's (my dad's mom) house.  From left to right, cousin Amy, Beth (she doesn't always look like such a goober, I swear!), cousin Jeni, and me.  I remember the monkey puppet I'm holding.  The face part was made of rubber and it smelled funky.  Not sure how old I was here - maybe 5?

My sister has the misfortune of sharing her birthday with JC, so her cake was always a hodgepodge of icing that was left over from making cut-out cookies.  She hated it but I was secretly jealous of those patchwork cakes.  Funny, huh?  (I swear, my sister is NOT a goober!  She looks so frail in this photo.  Not at all like the bully she really was.) 

 Do you see me here?  I'm the one in front, silly!  (I'm short; I'm always in the front in group photos!)

And now, the blog:

When I was a child, my cousins, my sister, and I spent quite a bit of time at my Nana's house. It was a great place for a kid. Her basement was filled with dress-up clothes, shoes, purses, books ... she even had a swing and a teeter-totter for us! Her garage held a fleet of assorted bicycles - each of us had our own. My sister's had a banana seat and butterfly handlebars. How I envied her that bike! Mine, naturally, was the tiniest of the lot. I hated it.

Nana would ride bikes with us, too, taking us to the blackberry bushes, where we'd stuff ourselves but never manage to take any berries home. She'd also take us to the house with the footbridge and the sign that read "Beware of trolls". Once we went on a picnic at Ye Olde Mill in Utica, where Velvet ice cream is made. We tied our lunches up in bandannas and hung them on sticks. She made us march around the grounds before we could eat. We pretended we were hobos, which earned Nana the nickname of "Nappy", short for Knapsack.

One of our favorite things to do was to make up plays. We'd spend hours in the basement working on dialogue and costumes. Regardless of the storyline, we'd always work a drunken bum into the story because it drove Nana crazy. At Christmas, Nana would have the whole family over for tons of food and carol sing-alongs and the kids would always do some sort of holiday themed play.

Being the youngest, I always got the supporting roles. Apparently one year, I was scheduled to be a sheep. Everything was fine until it was time to perform and then I balked. "I not no sheepie!" I loudly protested. Nothing would convince me to be a sheep. I don't really remember this myself, so I don't know how the story ended, but my dad loved to tell me that story and sometimes called me "Sheepie". I think he told it to me every time I saw him. I also think he was proud of my mutiny - he always rooted for the underdog.

Funny the things one reflects on during the holidays, huh?

Can you get free shipping on the turtle doves?
This year cost of gifts in ‘Twelve Days of Christmas' rises to $78,100

PITTSBURGH - While the origins of the Christmas carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" may be a mystery, one thing is certain: It's getting more costly to buy your true love all the items mentioned.

It would cost $78,100 to buy the 364 items, from a single partridge in a pear tree to the 12 drummers drumming, repeatedly on each day as the song suggests, according to the annual PNC Christmas Price Index compiled by PNC Wealth Management. The cost is up 4 percent from $75,122 last year.

Buying each item in the song just once would cost $19,507, up 3.1 percent from last year's $18,921. And shopping online would be costlier, with the total for the 364 items costing $128,886, up 2.5 percent from last year's $125,767. You would spend $31,249 online for each item just once this year.

Though a humorous look, PNC said the index mirrors actual economic trends. PNC has been calculating the cost of Christmas since 1984.

Helping push the cost up this year is the minimum wage hike, which bumped the cost of eight maids a-milking from about $41 to nearly $47.

"They have not had an increase since 1997," said Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investment for PNC Wealth Management. "The good news is, if you're a maids a-milking, they will also see an increase in 2008 and 2009."

Higher food costs pushed the six geese a-laying from $300 to $360. And reflecting higher gold prices, those five gold rings will cost $395, up 21.5 percent from last year's $325.

"The cost of the gold rings in this year's Christmas Price Index reflects the general trend of increasing commodity prices in the Consumer Price Index, including gold," Dunigan said. "In addition, increased fears about inflation and the value of the dollar may have led investors to turn to gold as a safer place to invest their money."

Not everything is more costly. The price of a partridge ($15), two turtle doves ($40) and three French hens ($40) remained the same, as did seven swans a-swimming, at $4,200, and nine ladies dancing, at $4,759.

PNC checks jewelry stores, dance companies, pet stores and other sources to compile the list, Dunigan said.

If one had $78,000 to splurge for Christmas, there's "probably a Mercedes or a Hummer in there someplace," Dunigan said. "The key there is you'd lose the romantic value."

"I'm sure there's something on the list for everybody," he said. "If it was my wife, she'd probably go for five gold rings."

As for the origins of the carol, which has been around for hundreds of years, some contend the song was a coded way to teach aspects of Catholicism. According to such claims, the six geese a-laying represent the six days of creation and the 10 lords a-leaping represent the 10 Commandments.

Snopes.com, an Internet urban legend-debunking Web site, says there's no substantive evidence that the carol was used to preserve tenets of Catholicism.

12 days PAYING FOR IT

Prices of items in the Christmas carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas," according to PNC Wealth Management:

            * Cost per performance

The Christmas Price Index  has graphs and a ticker.