Celebrating Easter

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1. One of the best parts of Easter/Pascha(Orthodox Christian term) celebrations for me is hearing the announcement of the Resurrection in many languages. The conquering of death by the God-man is for all people.

2. Re fairy tales, I (also) was one who thought it sometimestoo cruel for kids until I came across a book “The Uses of Enchantment -The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales” by Bruno Bettelheim and now I indiscriminately read fairy tales to my 3 children. (Before I knew this though, I thought I was doing the right thing. An example of how knowledge is power.)

   During the church sermon last Sunday I was reminded how dreadful it all must have been for Jesus to have been betrayed, denounced, mocked by the crowds and beaten to an inch of his life even before he was crucified. What utter courage to accept reality and to stand for what you believe in. And what a victory!

   1. `Ordered the book.Thanks!

3. Praying for peace, health and happiness for my Solari Family, Happy Easter! Love, Jennifer

4. Easter is about rebirth and renewal, hence held in spring. The birth of Christ is 3 days after the winter solstice to symbolize New beginning. Many religious celebrations tie in with nature and have been around probably 1000’s of years in one form or another.
   Today at around 16:20 we had a localized thunderstorm and it was said on Good Friday(day before the Jewish Passover) that when Christ died there was a thunderstorm.
   Thought my life, on Good Friday, I have notice Thunderstorms foretelling difficult times ahead.
   I now listen to that foretelling and will step may level of preparedness.
   In God’s love and light may we all live

   1. Thinking similar thoughts here Yes, time to up preparedness

5. Best Practice in Fairy Tales

   Fairy Tales/myth, speak of things that never were revealing truths that always are… Show me your fairy tales and I’ll show you your culture.
   Jean Houston. PhD

   Ballads, limericks and oral tradition preserve our collective wisdom. Passed from age to age, the stories are meant to help us see human nature and the world more clearly. The best address the human dilemma: Why am I here? What am I supposed to do?

   To be relevant the stories require updating, revising and retelling .

   For example, one of the oldest themes concerns the “pot that never runs dry”. Through the ages the pot evolved from cauldron to Grail.

   “We can interpret fairy tales as answers to the ultimate questions about our outer and inner needs.” -Rudolf Steiner

   Violence is a hallmark of classical tales, Murder, mutilation, cannibalism, infanticide, incest as well as all manner of deception and chos abound. The Brothers Grimm Cinderella is a good illustration, contrary to Disney’s interpretation, this story about child abuse and parental neglect.

   Cinderella is the only child of a prosperous widower. Her childhood is full of heartache and loneliness
   compounded by her stepmother’s cruelty, her stepsisters’ hostility and her father’s indifference. Her only consolation comes from the birds and a hazel tree that she waters with her tears.

   When Prince Charming comes to find the mysterious owner of the slipper he deals with
   Cinderella’s father. The father makes no attempt to advocate for his own child but allows the step mother’s ambition to dominate.

   The wicked stepmother mutilates her daughter’s feet to fit the slipper. The prince is completely taken in by the scam not once but twice. In both instances the prince is returning to the castle with his false bride when he is alerted to the deception by a dove nesting in a hazel tree. “Back again! back again! look at the shoe! The shoe is too small, and not made for you! Prince! prince! look again for thy bride, For she’s not the true one that sits by thy side.”

   The prince confronts the father.’ This is not the true bride. Don’t you have any other daughters?’

   At this point Cinderella steps forward to claim her shoe. It fits perfectly but the prince has to draw near and look into her face. ‘This is the right bride.” Then he took Cinderella on his horse and rode away. And when they came to the hazel-tree the white dove sang— “Prince! prince! take home thy bride, For she is the true one that sits by thy side!”

   CS Lewis cautions against minimizing the terrors of these tales. He reasons that doing so banishes all that ennobles the heroine’s suffering or makes it endurable. The best Fairy tales present witches and monsters side by side with comforters and protectors. Radiant champions surmount their pain. They use their wits, magical allies and their attunement with nature to right wrongs and restore order.

   Storytellers /readers are cautioned against dramatizing the narrative. Approaching the material with restraint allows the listener’s creative imagination to more fully engage.

   Here is a Russian fairytale for your consideration. An old man and an old woman have two daughters; one was fairly unattractive, but the younger, Nastya, was skilled and beautiful. The mother did not love them equally. She wanted her favorite daughter, the less attractive one, to marry. However all the potential husbands instantly preferred Nastya.

   The old woman decides to send Nastya away. She tells her husband to take her to the forest in the middle of winter and leave her there to die. The inhabitants of the forest, including Father Frost, decide to help Nastya because of her kind heart,

   Fairy tales are found in every culture throughout the world. R. J. Stewart, author of 40 titles on Celtic mythology, Faery Tradition, maintains Fairy lore is the source of all religions.

   This Japanese folktale is an example.
   One night, the Man on the Moon came down to earth disguised as a beggar. He chanced upon a Fox, a Monkey, and a Rabbit (usagi) and asked for some food. The Fox brought him fish from a stream, and the Monkey brought fruit from the trees, but the Rabbit could only offer grass. So he told the beggar to build a fire, and when it was built, threw himself onto the flames to offer himself to the Man.

   Amazed by the Rabbit’s generosity, the beggar transformed back into the Man on the Moon and pulled the Rabbit from the fire. To honor the Rabbit’s kindness, the Man on the Moon carried the Rabbit back to the moon to live with him. Now, if you look at the full moon, you can see the outline of the Rabbit pounding mochi on the moon.

   Fairy tales aid the moral development of a community. C. S. Lewis says they “combine the richest spiritual wisdom with the simplest manner of expression,” Good fairy tales provide profound moral lessons in a form that delights and inspires. The best of these stories addresses both head and heart by providing instruction in right and wrong while exciting the imagination.

   The human soul has an inextinguishable need to have the substance of fairy tales flow through its veins, just as the body needs to have nourishing substances circulate through it.” -Rudolf Steiner

   Key elements of a fairy tale:
   Noble heroes /heroines worthy of emulation.
   Talking animals optional
   Fairies (optional)
   Vegetable and mineral kingdoms influence the plot
   Simple story told in simple language
   Magic is an essential element to the story
   Hero/heroine should be beautiful and cunning
   Conclude with a happy ending.

   Primary themes:
   Courage
   Love/Friendship
   Forgiveness/Redemption
   Survival

   1. Catherine:

      Wonderful. What a fascinating overview. We need more fairy tales in our lives now.

      Catherine

6. Thanks for all your support and kindness, Sue! What a beautiful Easter this was.

7. Happy Easter blessings to you Catherine. I am more than grateful for your wisdom and faith. You feed my soul on many levels .

8. Happy Easter a day later!

   1. And to you!

9. Love the new website! Have a Blessed Easter

   1. 🙂

10. Happy Easter

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