Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets Blog

Posts Tagged ‘gifts’

We've added a line of Pink Ribbon Gifts!

At Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets, we've added a whole new line of gifts and gift baskets that incorporate pink ribbons for Breast Cancer Awareness month.  With gifts starting at just $20 and a huge variety of treats such as gourmet cookies, brownies, chocolate covered oreos, and gourmet nuts, we've got something for everyone.  Part of the profits from some of these gifts will be donated to various cancer foundations in the U.S.

The pink ribbon has come to symbolize the solidarity behind the breast cancer movement and to support the thousands of women diagnosed with breast cancer each year.  In 1991, the Susan G. Komen foundation first passed out pink ribbons to wear in their New York City race for the cure.  A breast cancer awareness stamp featuring a pink ribbon was incorporated on a U.S. stamp in 1996.  Most Breast Cancer Research Fundraisers are held during the month of October when many groups including the NFL in 2009 wear pink and buy pink items in support of the movement.

Click here to view all of the Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Ribbon Merchandise available from Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets.

Back in his palace at Jerusalem the cruel King Herod waited. Every day he looked for the three wise men to return from Bethlehem.

"They will find that baby and will tell me where he is," the jealous man thought. "I can soon get rid of a little baby boy."

Mary and Joseph did not know of this danger to the baby. They were very happy.

Joseph had paid the taxes. Mary was rested. She had her lovely baby.

She had strange and wonderful things to remember, too. She thought of the shepherds who had come in and knelt by the manger.

She remembered the grave and richly dressed wise men with their fine new baby gifts.

She held the baby close in her arms and smiled lovingly at the tiny boy.

"You have a cradle waiting for you at home, my baby," she whispered as she laid him back in the manger. "It is a beautiful wooden baby cradle, made of the finest wood, carved and polished. Your kind father, Joseph, made it for you."

Joseph and Mary looked again at the rich gifts which the wise men had brought.

"These are very unique gifts for a small baby," said the mother. "They will make our home look very rich!"

Joseph and Mary felt happy as they lay down to sleep in the stable.

Hardly had Joseph gone to sleep before something wakened him.

He sat up, opening his eyes.

"Who called me?" he asked. He saw nobody.

"Did somebody call me?" he asked.

Mary slept on quietly. She had not called him.

There seemed to be a great brightness in the room. From this brightness Joseph seemed to hear a voice speaking to him.

"Arise at once, Joseph," said the voice.

"Now. Tonight. This very minute," said the voice. "King Herod is hunting this baby. He wishes to kill him. But fear not. Only do as you are told. The Lord is with you!"

The brightness disappeared. Again it was only a dark night in a gloomy stable.

Joseph wakened Mary.

"Come, dear wife. We are going now!" "Now, at night?" said Mary, somewhat surprised. But she did not complain.

Quickly she climbed to the back of their faithful small donkey. She sat there, holding the baby in her arms.

Softly, silently, without a word Joseph led the donkey from the stable. The small animal walked softly. He made no sound. Nobody saw the family leaving town.

"Has anybody seen a young baby here?" asked Herod's messengers. "We are seeking a new born baby. We have gifts for him."

"There were some people here, a man and a woman looking for a room," said the innkeeper. "I told them they might sleep in the stable."

The messengers rushed out to the stable. They looked all around. There was no baby in the manger. The messengers were angry and also afraid. How could they face King Herod?

"Where is the baby who slept in this manger?" they shouted to anyone who might hear.

But the cows and the sheep only looked quietly at the angry soldiers. A quiet donkey raised one ear and then went on eating hay. The doves over the doorway cooed gently but told nothing.

The animals could not talk to these angry men. They could not tell them about the beautiful little baby and his mother who had sung to him and the kind man who had sat in the stable.

They could not tell of the wonderful visitors, and the bright star, the strange brightness and the sound of singing. They kept the secret of the wonderful night. The soldiers galloped back to Herod's palace.

"It is not true. There is no baby there," they told the king.

One day a messenger from the Governor went up and down the streets of Galilee.

 "Listen, everybody," he called. "It is time to pay your taxes. Everybody must go to the city and pay his taxes. Every man and his wife must go!"

 Joseph laid down his tools and the trough he was making. He went into the house where Mary was weaving.

He told her about the messenger. "The law says that all must travel to the city and pay taxes."

Bethlehem since I am of David's family. Bethlehem is called the city of David."

Mary went on with her weaving. She was making a blanket of soft wool. Her face was happy and peaceful. As she worked on the little baby blanket she remembered the angel's promise.

The promise was beginning to come true. Before long she would have a baby. She could hardly wait to see her little son and hold him in her arms.

"How far is it to Bethlehem?" she asked.

Joseph told her, "It is a long trip and will take us several days. I do wish you did not have to go. The road will be rough and crowded. There may be robbers."

"I am not afraid," said Mary cheerfully.

"You will take good care of me, and the Lord will watch over us both."

Soon Mary and Joseph set out for Bethlehem.

Mary had packed food and fruit in a box for the journey.

She had bread and figs and olives, fruit and cheese in a basket. She carried water in a leather jug.

"What is in the other bundle?" Joseph asked.

Mary showed him a soft woolen blanket and some strips of snow white cloth. They were the clothes for her little baby.

"Will you need to take them along," asked Joseph? "Surely you will not need them in Bethlehem."

"I like to have them with me," answered Mary, wrapping the third bundle in a piece of blue cloth. "I like to look at them".

The little gray donkey made the trip with them. Mary rode on his back while Joseph walked ahead, leading the animal.

Mary was cheerful as they went along.

Her eyes had a faraway look.

"Soon this trip will be over and we will be back in our home," she said to Joseph. She loved her little house with the furniture which Joseph had made.

The thing she liked best was a little cradle which was ready and waiting. Joseph had made it of fine wood. He had carved it carefully and polished it with oil.

Joseph pointed out the interesting sights along the way. He showed her the olive orchards with the bare, twisted trees. They looked at oxen out in the fields. Now and then a tall, proud looking camel went past.

On the hillsides were flocks of sheep, with shepherds close by. Many of the sheep were lying down to rest. The young wife wished she could be with them.

"Their wool looks soft and warm," she said. "I would like to change places for awhile with those gentle sheep."

"We will get to Bethlehem presently," Joseph said cheerily. "I will get a good room for you at the inn. Then you can lie down and have a fine rest."

"I will like that," said Mary.

They went past a wine press where several people were working. Some were carrying baskets of grapes. Others were pressing the grapes to squeeze out the juice.

One of the men brought a small cup of the fresh grape juice for Mary to drink.

"The young woman seemed so tired," he said when the travelers had gone on.

"But did you notice what a beautiful face she had?" said another. "And how sweet her voice as she thanked you?"

After their long travel, Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem.

What a crowd there was! What rushing and pushing!

"We may be here for several days," said the carpenter, looking around. "It will take a good while for all these people to pay their taxes."

"I do not mind waiting," said Mary. "A long rest will be good."

Mary was very tired and her back ached from the long, jogging ride.

"But Joseph is tired, too," she thought.

"He walked all the way. I am sure his feet are tired."

"Now we will get a room at the inn and have a fine rest," said Joseph.

Mary pulled her cloak about her shoulders. The evening air was cold. She could hardly wait to get in bed and cover herself with a warm blanket.  

The older woman is respected in many cultures as the wise woman, the one to be revered whose advice and opinion is sought out by younger women. With the emphasis on youth in our own culture, this vital dimension of the older woman is often disregarded and ignored. As we each age, we must be mindful of the gifts women with age can offer. She can counsel with sage advice, she can lead and guide, and she can teach many of life's lessons. It is equally important for the older woman herself, the crone, to feel valued, appreciated and powerful. The aging each year is simply a birthday gift from nature.

Hold up a mirror and look closely at your face. Take your time, and take a careful look. Come to see the inner strength that you possess. Acknowledge your wisdom, your love and your beauty. You have earned this respect, from others and from yourself.

The Agony of Struggle

The word "agony" connotes extreme pain and long suffering; mortal agony is the futile struggle that comes before death. The word agony stems from the ancient Greek word meaning "struggle." The Greek word, however, also contained the sense of competition at philosophical debates, public issues, beauty contests, literary and musical events, and especially the athletic games. These contests pitting rival against rival were called agones - fights or struggles for supremacy, for survival and conquest. The most ancient agones were sacred competitions following funerals, especially of heroes or leaders, as Homer describes in the Iliad to honor the death of Patroc1es, friend of Achilles.

November 4-17, Plebeian Games

The Plebeian Games, or "Games of the People," were held in Rome. They were first mentioned in 216BC and firmly established as an annual event by 220BC. The central event was the Feast of Jupiter on November 15, or the Ides.

Funeral games following religious services at the grave site were customarily held by the Etruscans, the early settlers of the Tuscany region of Italy, who passed on the custom to the Romans. Contest and rivalry for the sports gift prize in such events as the foot race, boxing, wrestling, long jump, javelin throwing, and chariot racing may have been a way to express and channel the strong emotions of anger, rage, and grief among the friends of the deceased. Though the origin of the games, the "Agones," or Ludi as the Romans called them, was funereal, they grew in size and popularity as
Rome itself grew. Annual games to honor deceased heroes were instituted and even added to the religious calendars combining athletic events with competitions in poetry, drama, and music. Eventually, games were established to celebrate events not associated with a funeral, yet they always maintained their religious character, including sacrifice to a deity During November, the Plebeian Games, the "Games of the People," offered Roman citizens two weeks of clever theatrical presentations juxtaposed with athletic competition. These games were a tribute to the best minds and bodies of the times; they were a religious ritual in November.

The Games of the People were established in the third century BC and held for several weeks in the first part of November. They marked the second most popular and impressive games held during the Roman year, the first being the Roman Games in September. The focal point of these games was the Feast of Jupiter, held on the Ides.

The first week, November 4-12, was set aside for theatrical and scenic performances. The last three days, November 15-17, were given over to the athletic games held in the Circus Maximus. The two-week event began with a solemn procession led by Rome's magistrates and high priests from the Capitol through the Forum along the Sacred Way to the Circus Maximus.

The eight days of theatrical events were a busy time for art patrons in ancient Rome. Plays, both drama and comedy, were important aspects of Roman religion. A number of religious rites that we have already discussed were always accompanied by games: the festival of Dea Dia in May, Magna Mater in April, Apollo in July, and Jupiter in September. Both the Greeks and Etruscans held funereal games in honor of the deceased, while the regular Greek games such as those held every four years at Olympia (actually there were four or more pan-Hellenic games) were in honor of a deity. At the New Age, or saeculum, of Augustus in 17BC, very special Saecular Games were only part of the ritual for the New Order of Ages and the millennium.

November 13, Jupiter

The Feast of Jupiter was held on November 13, marking a transition point in the Games of the People from the theatrical to the athletic. There was a solemn rite to Jupiter and a banquet.

November 13, Feronia

Feronia is a most ancient goddess associated with agriculture, for she received the first fruits as her offering. Feronia was especially popular throughout central Italy, yet she also had a sacred grove and temple in Rome. Feronia was also seen as a patroness of freed slaves, the "Goddess of Freedom" she was called. An inscription on her temple at Terracina, where slaves were freed and given the symbolic cap of the freedman, read, "Let the deserving sit down as slaves and rise as freemen."

November 13, Pietas

Pietas was a goddess who embodied the quality of respect and duty to the gods, Rome, and one's parents. The quality of devotion exemplified by a child's piety and respect for the mother or father was honored by the Romans. Pietas was depicted as a young women often accompanied by a stork representing the loyalty of child to parent Pietas warns us to be dutiful to parents, country, and the gods.

Geb, the Great God of Earth, and Nut, the Supreme Goddess of the Sky, produced their first offspring, Isis and Osiris, who, while still in their mother's womb, had fallen in love and mated. Isis and her brother/ husband, Osiris, formed a perfect union and ruled the world in peace.

Osiris traveled across the lands bearing volunteer gifts to all people. It was Osiris who sent forth the sun's rays to all parts of the world both on land and sea.

Osiris evoked anger and jealously in his brother, Seth, who plotted revenge. Seth attacked Osiris and treacherously murdered him.

Isis deeply mourned the loss of her brother’s husband, Osiris, traveling the land for many days in search of his body, when she learned that Seth had savagely dismembered the corpse and scattered the parts in various places. She grieved and mourned his loss openly. The unconstrained flood of tears down her divine cheeks fell gently into the Nile
River, causing the annual inundation so essential for the continuity of all life forms, vegetal, animal, and human. Divine Isis found and retrieved all the parts of her beloved except the phallus. She miraculously mated with the dead Osiris, conceiving the child Horus in a union with her dead husband. Osiris was brought back to life by the magic of Isis, who breathed the wind of life into his nostrils. Osiris was reborn and resurrected in the image of his own posthumous son Horus. Thus, the great god Osiris was reborn through the child Horus and continued the struggle with the evil Seth, finally vanquishing his powerful enemy and rising to rule the world once again.

It was the wish of Isis that all people living in Egypt honor Osiris. So she made out of spices and wax many replicas of the body of Osiris. The goddess then called together all the priests from all the regions of Egypt and instructed them to take a waxen image of Osiris back to their various districts and bury it with the rites of mourning.
Isis told the priests to worship Osiris as a great god and at the same time to sanctify an animal native to each of their districts. Therefore, each region in Egypt claimed to possess the tomb of Osiris and venerated a variety of animals held sacred to the god.

We learn from this story about endings and death; we learn of faith and commitment; and we come to understand the promise of salvation. The goddess Isis teaches the capacity to feel deeply and to express outwardly the pain brought on by immeasurable grief. We learn to face those difficult moments in our lives when we become separated from our loved ones or when we face the conclusion or ending of something special such as a job, a project, or a relationship. We learn that the aging process and death itself are integral components of the natural cycle. Together, we can grieve with this goddess, knowing that she understands: "
Isis cries out with a loud voice and the earth quakes" (Pyramid Texts 1270).

From Isis we also learn forgiveness and acceptance and to cherish those close to us. Isis offers the blessings of faith, hope, and love. Isis teaches us to honor the earth and respect all forms of animal life, for they are manifestations of the divine. The powers of Isis, too, are rooted within the natural world. Her tears over Osiris initiated the yearly inundation of the Nile's water, so vital to all life in Egypt. Isis was the soil of Egypt commingling with the
Nile waters to bring fertility. As Life-Giver, Isis was the goddess of all animals, yet the cat, held sacred in ancient
Egypt, was special to her. Her cult creatures also included the cow, falcon, vulture, ibis, crocodile, gazelle, goose, and swallow. On her head she wore the crown of her sacred snake, the asp. Cleopatra, who envisioned herself as the goddess Isis incarnate, chose to die by the bite of the asp.

The many components of the natural world are each sacred, entwined, and interrelated-the seed, the tree, the animal that feeds from the tree, human that feeds from the tree and the animal. Each goes through similar phases of life-birth, growth, death, and return to the eternal womb (the earth), an endless cycle of rebirth and renewal. For those who believe devoutly in the goddess Isis, nature may be manifest in the various gods and goddesses, but in essence they are really only One. By whatever path you take, whatever name you invoke, whatever rite you perform, you honor the One Divine Feminine.

The ancient Greeks called me Minerva; those living on the island of Cyprus worship me as Venus; the people of
Crete hail me as Diana; the Sicilians call me the ancient goddess Ceres. Some call me Juno; some call me Hecate; some Ramnusia or Bellona. Let those who are enlightened by the earliest rays of the divine sun, those who exceed all others in ancient lore and worship me by the customs of their ancestors, the Egyptians call me Queen Isis.