As Easter nears, no Easter in Annie's story or the BM movie?? But??

[Artiste]

Thanks delalluvia!

Annie does not know what the futrue holds, therefore, and hints nevertheless that danger is around the corner for gays?

To me, that is maybe how she describes Easter!!

Hugs!

[Front-Ranger]

Thanks delalluvia!

Annie does not know what the futrue holds, therefore, and hints nevertheless that danger is around the corner for gays?

To me, that is maybe how she describes Easter!!

Hugs!

I'm not sure Annie was as all-knowing and prescient as you think, Artiste. But, nevertheless, there is the fact, sad as it is, that Matthew Shepherd was beaten, tied to a fence, and left for dead only one year after the publication of the story Brokebake Mountain, and in Wyoming, no less. What was his crime? He came on to a person or persons in a bar in Laramie, Wyoming. Certainliy, this world remains ignorant and full of fear, and we have much to regret. But, every spring, hope springs eternal, even though there is no reason to expect it. Why? I don't know. But, I celebrate and welcome the return of spring, and of hope!!

[Artiste]

Thanks Front-Ranger!

You say:
...Matthew Shepherd was beaten, tied to a fence, and left for dead only one year after the publication of the story Brokebake Mountain, and in Wyoming, no less. What was his crime? He came on to a person or persons in a bar in Laramie, Wyoming. Certainliy, this world remains ignorant and full of fear, and we have much to regret. But, every spring, hope springs eternal, even though there is no reason to expect it. Why? I don't know. But, I celebrate and welcome the return of spring, and of hope!!
........

Front-Ranger, may I say that there was likely no reason that those two beat up Matthew Shepherd except because that he was gay (and that is not reason to me) !! As far as who did come on to whom, it was likely those two who murdered Matthew who came on to him, because such coward foxes do sense when one is gay, kind, etc.; from what I have experienced! Such are foxy!! And such foxes get away with it totally or partially!!

In a way, those two murderers got away with it totally, since it was said that it was not a sexual orientation crime!!
Guess that justice was blind there?

Those two murderers will get out, if not out already, of jail. But Matthew has no life now!! WE can only miss Matthew!!

Will his two murderers miss Matthew?? Or are they now seeking another/others gays to murder?? Where is the justice ??

Since this murder happened before Annie's story, then she must have known about it?

Since Annie does write about gay(s) murdered, guess that she notes that as  Holy Friday (death upon the cross as Matthew was murdered on that fence), as well as Easter since we remember Matthew ( and  don't applaud his murderers, at least not decent persons do)!! ??

Happy Easter!! Joyeuses Pâques!!
Hugs!

[optom3]

I would like to answer you as best I can, Artiste, but this talk of crucifixion makes me queasy. I remember as a teenager that I used to babysit at a Catholic family's home and there was a crucifix on the wall that I could barely look at (me being raised Presbyterian where the crosses were bare) and even tiptoed past. The analogies are many.. .  for instance the nails that were driven into Christ's hands bring to mind the nail that Ennis drove into the closet door where he hung the shirts, the sword (as you mention) which is analogous to the tire iron, and the vinegar that the centurions swabbed in Christ's wounds, which brings to mind the horrific "baptising" that Jack received via his father pissing on him...well I could go on, but let's not!!

I will also discuss at more length the parallels between "bull worshippers" (that is a major oversimplification) and the modern patriarchal religions...but think on this for a second...why is Easter on a different date each year??

That is odd you mention the Catholic family and the crucifix.My parents are strict catholics,and I hated to go into their bedroom as they had a really "dark" picture of the crucifx over their bed.Jesus on the cross,blood nails the whole works.It used to scare the pants off me.I had forgotten all about it till I read your post.Then the memories flooded back.Not scary now,but I vividly recall how it used to make me feel.

[Artiste]

Images or sculptures of humans on a cross... sure are striking!

19 or so willingly got to be such on a cross the other day! And such photos of them... are added.
Of course, since too many persons are murdered for nothing still these days, unfortunately, we must all try to have SAFETY dominate!!

There is a facination about that to-day... I suppose because violence reigns still in the world.

And Easter tells us that Love as a Light creates Peace... may I think and say !! ??

HAPPY EASTER to you and to all too with peace and love everyday!!
HUGS!!

[Front-Ranger]

The calculation of Easter is complicated because it is linked to (an inaccurate version of) the Hebrew calendar. Jesus was crucified immediately before the Jewish Passover [or after depending upon interpretation - my comment], which is a celebration of the Exodus from Egypt under Moses. Celebration of Passover started on the 14th or 15th day of the (spring) month of Nisan. Jewish months start when the moon is new, therefore the 14th or 15th day of the month must be immediately after a full moon. It was therefore decided to make Easter Sunday the first Sunday after the first full moon after vernal equinox. Or more precisely: Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the "official" full moon on or after the "official" vernal equinox.

Thanks! This is good information. We see that Easter and Hebrew rituals were tied to the cycles of the moon. Prehistorical religions also revered the moon and carefully recorded its cycles. To ancient people, the moon is a powerful symbol of resurection and eternal life, because it disappears and is "born again" every month. As the noted Christian Theosophist, Alan Donant, wrote, "What of the stories of resurrection? These too are common. The Canaanites had their Baal -- sacred teacher, Lord of the Universe -- who was killed by monsters and resurrected to eternal life. In Egypt Osiris was born of the gods by virgin birth, and taught Egyptians their arts and skills. He was murdered by his brother, and rose from the dead with the help of Isis, his wife. A day was set aside to celebrate Osiris and the idea of resurrection and eternal life. The Scandinavian story of Odin has striking similarities to the Christian story. Odin recalls for the reader his own crucifixion from which he rose from the dead: 'I know that I hung in the wind-torn tree nine whole nights, spear-pierced. Consecrated to Odin, myself to my Self above me in the tree, whose root no one knows whence it sprang' (The Masks of Odin: Wisdom of the Ancient Norse, Elsa-Brita Titchenell, p. 126). The cross is often referred to as the tree of life.

With so many stories of virgin birth and resurrection, surely we cannot fail to see that, regardless of the forms they take or the peoples involved, these stories describe a universal process."

Annie Proulx and Ang Lee found the myth alive and well in the American West. As Proulx wrote in Brokeback Mountain, "He [Ennis] was still working there in September when Alman Jr., as he called his daughter, was born and their bedroom was full of the smell of old blood and milk and baby shit, and the sounds were of squalling and sucking and Alma's sleepy groans, as reassuring of fecundity and life's continuance to one who worked with livestock."

[delalluvia]

Thanks! This is good information. We see that Easter and Hebrew rituals were tied to the cycles of the moon. Prehistorical religions also revered the moon and carefully recorded its cycles. To ancient people, the moon is a powerful symbol of resurection and eternal life, because it disappears and is "born again" every month. As the noted Christian Theosophist, Alan Donant, wrote, "What of the stories of resurrection? These too are common. The Canaanites had their Baal -- sacred teacher, Lord of the Universe -- who was killed by monsters and resurrected to eternal life. In Egypt Osiris was born of the gods by virgin birth, and taught Egyptians their arts and skills. He was murdered by his brother, and rose from the dead with the help of Isis, his wife. A day was set aside to celebrate Osiris and the idea of resurrection and eternal life. The Scandinavian story of Odin has striking similarities to the Christian story. Odin recalls for the reader his own crucifixion from which he rose from the dead: 'I know that I hung in the wind-torn tree nine whole nights, spear-pierced. Consecrated to Odin, myself to my Self above me in the tree, whose root no one knows whence it sprang' (The Masks of Odin: Wisdom of the Ancient Norse, Elsa-Brita Titchenell, p. 126). The cross is often referred to as the tree of life.

With so many stories of virgin birth and resurrection, surely we cannot fail to see that, regardless of the forms they take or the peoples involved, these stories describe a universal process."

Annie Proulx and Ang Lee found the myth alive and well in the American West. As Proulx wrote in Brokeback Mountain, "He [Ennis] was still working there in September when Alman Jr., as he called his daughter, was born and their bedroom was full of the smell of old blood and milk and baby shit, and the sounds were of squalling and sucking and Alma's sleepy groans, as reassuring of fecundity and life's continuance to one who worked with livestock."

This is almost always true, but in this circumstance we cannot say the same for the ancient Hebrew peoples.  As Wikipedia says, "the Jewish months started on the new moon."  i.e. that's when they started counting.  Most ancient peoples used a lunar calendar because it was easier to count than a solar calendar which was more difficult to track, yet more accurate.  Their Exodus happened on a certain date, so they just started counting from the beginning of their month to get to the correct date.  It was the Christians who started the wonky calculations of Easter, and as you can tell from Wikipedia, they were no where near in agreement as to the date for several centuries.

[brokeplex]

I'm not sure Annie was as all-knowing and prescient as you think, Artiste. But, nevertheless, there is the fact, sad as it is, that Matthew Shepherd was beaten, tied to a fence, and left for dead only one year after the publication of the story Brokebake Mountain, and in Wyoming, no less. What was his crime? He came on to a person or persons in a bar in Laramie, Wyoming. Certainliy, this world remains ignorant and full of fear, and we have much to regret.

 But, every spring, hope springs eternal, even though there is no reason to expect it. Why? I don't know. But, I celebrate and welcome the return of spring, and of hope!!

words to live by!

[brokeplex]

Good question.  This is what Wikipedia says:

The calculation of Easter is complicated because it is linked to (an inaccurate version of) the Hebrew calendar. Jesus was crucified immediately before the Jewish Passover [or after depending upon interpretation - my comment], which is a celebration of the Exodus from Egypt under Moses. Celebration of Passover started on the 14th or 15th day of the (spring) month of Nisan. Jewish months start when the moon is new, therefore the 14th or 15th day of the month must be immediately after a full moon. It was therefore decided to make Easter Sunday the first Sunday after the first full moon after vernal equinox. Or more precisely: Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the "official" full moon on or after the "official" vernal equinox. The official vernal equinox is always 21 March. The official full moon may differ from the real full moon by one or two days. (Note, however, that historically, some countries have used the real (astronomical) full moon instead of the official one when calculating Easter. This was the case, for example, of the German Protestant states, which used the astronomical full moon in the years 1700-1776. A similar practice was used in Sweden in the years 1740-1844 and in Denmark in the 1700s.) The full moon that precedes Easter is called the Paschal full moon.

a calculation made in the time of the Emperor Constantine, right?

[Artiste]

Thanks Front-Ranger!

You say to quote Annie:
As Proulx wrote in Brokeback Mountain, "He [Ennis] was still working there in September when Alman Jr., as he called his daughter, was born and their bedroom was full of the smell of old blood and milk and baby shit, and the sounds were of squalling and sucking and Alma's sleepy groans, as reassuring of fecundity and life's continuance to one who worked with livestock."
...............

Front-Ranger, and to all too:

Does this mean that Alma worked with livestock ??
Or is that like just an Easter myth??

Happy Easter!!

Hugs!!