"The Kiss Curse" is a captivating novel that explores the power and consequences of a cursed kiss. Written by an acclaimed author, the book follows the story of Isabella, a young woman who finds herself unwillingly entangled in a tale of love, magic, and betrayal. The novel begins when Isabella accidentally kisses a mysterious stranger during a masquerade ball, triggering a centuries-old curse that has plagued her family for generations. As the curse takes effect, Isabella discovers that she now possesses the ability to steal memories with a single kiss. Haunted by her newfound powers, Isabella embarks on a quest to break the curse, seeking answers from an enigmatic fortune teller and a reclusive sorcerer. Along the way, she encounters a cast of intriguing characters, including a brooding prince, a charming thief, and a loyal friend who vow to help her in her journey.

Facts of the Winter Solstice, Dec. 21

Along the way, she encounters a cast of intriguing characters, including a brooding prince, a charming thief, and a loyal friend who vow to help her in her journey. As Isabella delves deeper into the origins of the curse, she uncovers dark secrets and twisted truths that threaten to tear her world apart. She must navigate a treacherous web of love and lies, not knowing who to trust or who may have ulterior motives.

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Holly and evergreens are some of the many symbols for the Winter Solstice. ILLUSTRATION/DEBORAH ANN TRIPOLDI

The Winter Solstice, which is known as the shortest day of the year, happens this year at 11:28 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 21. Here are some things to know about it. A holly wreath for the Winter Solstice. ILLUSTRATION/DEBORAH ANN TRIPOLDI

1. The winter solstice is when the North Pole is farthest away from the sun.
The Celtic holiday begins at sundown on Dec. 20. The solstice, which has the least amount of daylight, also sometimes falls on the 20th and, somewhat rarely, on the 19th.

2. The festival is called Alban Arthan in Druidry —the Celtic Pagan religion.
Alban Arthan means “Light of Arthur” or “Light of Winter.” It is also called Mean Geimredh, which is midwinter in Irish. It is also known as Yule in many other Pagan paths.

3. Druids light bonfires and candles on the solstice to celebrate.
It is an important turning point for all Pagans acknowledging the rebirth of the sun.

4. Celtic deities are associated with the solstice.
Goddesses Brid and Cailleach, and the god Dagda are associated with the sabbat.
Brid, also known as Brighid the triple goddess, is a fire goddess and the bearer of the flame of inspiration breaking through darkness just like the sun begins to break through again. Dagda’s cauldron symbolizes the promise that nature will again grow and bear fruit. Cailleach is the crone goddess of winter and the weather.

5. The Yule log is a religious symbol.
A big piece of wood burned in the central fireplace. Traditionally it is lighted with a piece of the previous year’s log; this symbolizes the light passing from one year to another. The log is burned slowly for 12 days before it is extinguished. The ashes are held until spring and mixed with seeds to be planted. The Yule log should be given, not purchased.

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6. The Oak and Holly kings held a battle
Folklore says that the Oak King and the Holly King battle, and the Oak King wins. He rules until defeated by the Holly King at the Summer Solstice. The Oak King is known as the divine child; the god of the waxing light. The Holly King is the god of the waning light.

7. Plants are associated with the solstice.
Evergreens, holly, mistletoe, oak and wheat are all symbolic.
The greenery is a reminder that nature will again be green and life will return in the spring. It’s Irish tradition to decorate a house with evergreen branches to offer nature spirits a place to rest from the cold and dark. Holly symbolizes the old solar year, the waning sun in Druidry. It’s also for good luck and protection. Wheat is associated with abundance, fertility and good luck.

8. Mistletoe is a symbol of peace.
It’s the Druid symbol of joy and peace. In Gaelic it’s called Uil-ioc, meaning all heal. According to folklore, it protects against lightning, fires, disease and bad luck. It’s also considered a fertility charm. It is said that when enemies met under mistletoe they would put down their weapons and form a temporary truce for a day.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, 67 Church St., is holding a Winter Solstice celebration Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in UUCM’s Fletcher Hall. For more information, call 973-744-6276.

Pagan god of winter solstice

What the Bible says about Winter solstice
(From Forerunner Commentary )

During the fourth century, the emperor Constantine "converted" to "Christianity" and changed Sabbath keeping from the seventh to the first day of the week. Sunday was the day he had worshipped the sun as his god. This made it easier for the Romans to call their pagan December 25th winter solstice festival, in which they had celebrated the birth of the sun god, the birthday of the "Son of God."

The New Catholic Encyclopedia , 1967, says:

According to the hypothesis . . . accepted by most scholars today, the birth of Christ was assigned the date of the winter solstice (December 25 in the Julian calendar, January 6 in the Egyptian), because on this day, as the sun began its return to northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the Invincible Sun). On Dec. 25, 274, Aurelian had proclaimed the sun-god principal patron of the empire and dedicated a temple to him in the Campus Martius. Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome.

Only in the fifth century did the Roman Catholic Church order that the birth of Christ be observed on December 25, the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol, the sun god. They renamed this day "Christmas."

An anonymous quotation making the rounds of the Internet this year runs, "Christmas is weird. What other time of year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?" Though it may induce a chuckle from its readers, most people either miss or ignore the larger point: Christmas is a bundle of contradictions, inanities, and outright lies.

The astounding fact is that most people are aware of this. On a Christmas Eve radio show, a local preacher substituted for the regular host. His topic of discussion centered on the greeting "Merry Christmas!" and he asked if, in our multicultural, multi-religious society, this was offensive. One caller said, no, Christianity was still the majority religion in America, but what really troubled her was the fact that Christians promoted the traditional lie that Jesus was born on December 25. The preacher/talk-show host then explained to the audience that his caller was correct, Jesus could not have been born around the winter solstice, and that, in the early fourth century, the Catholic Church had combined the Roman winter solstice festival, the Saturnalia, with a celebration of Jesus' birth to help new converts adjust to Christianity. He treated these facts as common knowledge.

His "resolution" to the conundrum, however, was revealing. The gist of his answer to the troubled caller was, "If Christians would live according to the teachings of Jesus, these contradictions would not matter." I had to shake my head. Neither the host nor the caller could see the self-contradictory nature of his answer. Did not Jesus teach that we are to be honest? Certainly, He did! He tells the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-18 that, to have eternal life, he should not bear false witness, which is the ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16). In the Sermon on the Mount, he says, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one" (Matthew 5:37). We could say, then, that keeping a celebration to Christ on a day that is not His birthday with customs and traditions that derive from paganism is from the evil one. It is a lie, and the Devil is the father of it (John 8:44).

This is what makes the oft-heard phrase, "Let's put Christ back into Christmas!" so laughable. It is another self-contradictory statement. How can we put Christ into something in which He never was in the first place? Search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and no command - not even a suggestion - to commemorate the Savior's birth will be found. It is amazing to consider that nominal Christians around the world keep days and festivals never once enjoined on them in God's Word (Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, Halloween, Christmas), yet the ones God tells them to keep (the Sabbath, Passover, God's holy days), they ignore!

What about the real central character of Christmas, Santa Claus? Today's jolly old elf - a roly-poly old man in a red suit trimmed in white; big, black boots; spectacles; long, white beard; and a "ho-ho-ho" - was the brainchild of Coca-Cola's marketing department early in the last century. He was based loosely on the English Father Christmas and the German Kris Kringle. This figure in turn has blended with the early Christian Saint Nicholas, a churchman who was known for spreading the wealth to needy members of his community, sometimes throwing sacks of coins through open windows and down chimneys. Where is the biblical basis for such a character? He may be present in the modern crèche, but no one like him appears in the gospel narratives of Jesus' birth.

And then there is the season's alternate name, Yule. Where does that come from? Check the origin in the dictionary: "a pagan midwinter festival." Another contradiction! The preacher/talk-show host made mention of this point too, laughing about how so many people do not realize that their Yule log hearkens back to the heathen practice of driving away evil spirits with bonfires on the night of the winter solstice! Now, however, it is just another way we stir up our Christmas cheer! No harm in that, right?

If these pagan, unbiblical elements are so commonly known, why does the Christmas tradition continue? Three reasons come to the fore:

1. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Romans 8:7).

2. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).

3. "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?" (Jeremiah 5:31).

In a word, Christmas continues because human nature deceives itself into practicing things that are not right because they are enjoyable. Human nature allows people to justify self-contradictory things because they appear to produce benefits for them. In such a case, truth does not matter; what is important is that a person receives presents and has a good time. And if a religious significance - real or imagined - can be attached to it, all the better.

We should not expect people anytime soon to give up Christmas just because it has pagan origins. Human nature has a long history of explaining such pesky details away.

If there is indeed a "war on Christmas," then let Rome defend it, for it was Rome that co-opted the Bacchanalia of the winter solstice and inserted the unknown birth of the Messiah. Christ-mass is wholly indefensible when one looks beyond the traditions of men and searches the Bible.

That really is the bottom line: The citizens of this nation can only disagree on how Christmas should be kept because the nearest thing to a central authority on the issue—a powerful papacy—is long gone. Should Santa Claus be included in the same scene as baby Jesus? Should gifts be exchanged? If so, how many? Where is the line between acceptable and shameful consumerism? Should mistletoe be displayed, or is that too pagan? Is a "traditional Christmas" of today more correct than a "traditional Christmas" of 1905? Or vice versa?

In the absence of clear instruction from God, such as exists for His annual holy days, the matter is entirely up to personal interpretation and the changing traditions of an ungrounded culture. Without authentic biblical roots, there is nothing to define and describe how traditions such as Christmas should be observed. Each person has a different "reason for the season." Who is to say that one interpretation of a pagan celebration is "more right" than another?

In Matthew 15:3, 6-9, our Savior speaks emphatically on the subject of honoring man's tradition over the Word of God. We humans are creatures of habit, and traditions are not inherently evil. Sin enters the picture, though, when what man wants to do, or what he has always done, is given more credence than God's instructions.

Contrary to popular Christian belief, we are not free to worship God in any way we see fit. The story of Cain and Abel teaches us that He does not accept worship that is contrary to His instructions, and the result is disastrous. God has already defined the way He would have man venerate Him: in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). But truth is certainly absent in the celebration of Christmas.

The debate over Christmas is probably not going to end anytime soon, and no matter the outcome of the current conflagration, Satan will be the real winner. Although the specific applications may vary, the underlying "reason for the season" is man—not God. If you want to test this, try crusading for the celebrating of God's clearly defined and described holy days. The probable result will be cessation of cultural hostilities just long enough for the warriors to chase you up an evergreen tree and set fire to it. God has already given the answers to how He is to be honored. But this season, with or without the religious veneer, is all about man's insistence on doing things his own way without regard to truth.

Jesus was not born on December 25. While the Bible does not give an exact date for His birth, John Reid, in the Forerunner article, "When Was Jesus Born?" tells us that the Bible leaves clues that point to His actual birth date. The article provides a method of calculation starting with John the Baptist's father, Zacharias. Based on when Zacharias would have served in the Temple during his priestly course, John the Baptist's birth would have occurred in the latter half of March. Since he was six months older than Jesus (Luke 1:32), we can extrapolate that Jesus would have been born in the second half of September, around the fall holy days.

Lawrence Kelemen, a Jew, brings up several points about the problems people face when they attempt to justify their keeping of the holiday. He affirms that the Bible does not list the actual day of Jesus' birth anywhere. He infers that, since Mark, the earliest gospel (written a half-century after Jesus' birth) begins with the baptism of Jesus as an adult, first-century Christians cared little about His birthday.

The roots of Christmas are found in Saturnalia. Pagans in Rome celebrated this weeklong period of bedlam and lawlessness between December 17-25. During this period of anarchy, no one could be punished for their vandalism and mayhem. An "enemy of the Roman people" was chosen to represent the "Lord of Misrule." Each community selected a victim and forced him to gorge himself on food and other indulgences throughout the week. On the last day of the festival, December 25, they took vengeance against the forces of darkness by brutally murdering this victim. Kelemen writes that besides this human sacrifice, there was widespread drunkenness, public nudity, rape, and other forms of sexual license.

After Constantine converted to Catholicism, many pagans followed him once they were allowed to maintain their celebration of Saturnalia. They solved the problem of Saturnalia having nothing to do with Christianity by declaring December 25 to be Jesus' birthday, replacing the celebration of the birth of Sol Invictus (the Invincible Sun), but little changed in practice. These practices are blatant violations of God's command in Deuteronomy 12:30-31.

Many of the trappings of Christmas are directly imported from paganism. For instance, the Catholic Church shamelessly welcomed the pagan tree worshippers into their fellowship. They simply called their trees "Christmas trees." Mistletoe is another example of such syncretism. The ancient Druids used its supposed mystical powers to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. In ancient Norse mythology, mistletoe was used to symbolize love and friendship. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe is a later blending of the sexual license of Saturnalia with Druidic practice.

The Catholic Church says that the practice of gift-giving was begun by an early bishop, Nicholas, who died in AD 345 and made a saint in the 1800s. Nicholas was a senior bishop who convened the Council of Nicaea in 325. Some 750 years later, a group of sailors who idolized him moved his bones from Turkey to Italy, where he supplanted a favor-granting deity called the Grandmother, who used to fill children's stockings with gifts. In his honor, his followers would give each other gifts on the anniversary of his death, December 6.

From there, his cult spread to the German and Celtic pagans. Many of them worshipped Woden, who wore a long, white beard and rode a horse through the heavens each fall. Through the process of syncretism, Nicholas and Woden were combined. Nicholas now sported a beard, rode a flying horse, wore winter clothes to battle the elements, and took his trip in the last month of the year instead of in the fall. As it evangelized in Northern Europe, Catholicism absorbed the Nicholas cult and persuaded its adherents to give gifts on December 25 instead of December 6.

In 1809, novelist Washington Irving satirically wrote of this Saint Nicolas using his Dutch name, Santa Claus. Thirteen years later, Clement Moore wrote a poem based on this Santa Claus, The Night before Christmas. The poem incorporated the giving of gifts, added his descent down the chimney, and replaced the horse with a sleigh and eight reindeer.

Our modern image of Santa Claus was provided by a Bavarian cartoonist, Thomas Nast, who drew over 2000 pictures in the late nineteenth century for Harper's Weekly. Before Nast's cartoon, Saint Nicholas had been depicted as "everything from a stern looking bishop to a gnome-like figure in a frock." Nast provided many of the traditional details: He gave him a home at the North Pole and a workshop with elves who made toys.

The creation of Santa was completed in 1931 when the Coca-Cola Corporation developed a marketing campaign for a Coke-drinking Santa. Swedish commercial artist Haddon Sundblom modeled a chubby Santa, dressed in a bright Coca-Cola red outfit. Kelemen states, "[The modern] Santa was born—a blend of Christian crusader, pagan god, and commercial idol."

December 25 has traditionally been the day when pagans marked the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. It is a day venerated every year by worshippers of the sun god. Egyptians celebrated Horus' birthday on December 25. Other cultures also worshipped their gods on this day: the Mesopotamians, the ancient Greeks, and the Persians. Winter solstice traditions stretch back long before Jesus Christ entered the world.

Christmas is all about commercialism. Many people struggle with low wages and debt, yet they spend hundreds of dollars to buy Christmas gifts. The average American family will spend $882 this year on Christmas presents. An article in US News and World Report, "Commercialism Only Adds to Joy of the Holidays," avers that Christmas is a spiritual holiday whose main theme is personal, selfish pleasure and joy, claiming that the season's commercialism is integral to it. The article cites Ayn Rand, who said that Christmas' best aspect has been its commercialization: "The Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors . . . provide the city with a spectacular display, which only 'commercial greed' could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle."

This supposed worship of Christ is based on falsehoods. From rebranding pagan sun worship as worship of the Son of God to people telling their children that Santa will withhold their presents if they are not good, everything is a fabrication. Try as they might, people cannot make the unclean clean or the unholy holy.

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The Pagan Spirit of Winter Solstice

Solstice arrived earlier today, December 21st, at 03:27 UTC, manifesting as Winter Solstice north of the Equator (and the beginning of astronomical winter) and as Summer Solstice south of the Equator (marking the beginning of astronomical summer). At sunrise, over several days, the sun appears to stand still, arising in the same spot each day as the energies shift from waning to waxing in the north and from waxing to waning in the south.

The roots of the word “solstice” come to us from the Latin words meaning “standing still Sun” — and much around me here in Vancouver truly is standing still! We typically do not get a lot of snow but we are currentlly inundated with a heavy blanket of snow, closing roads and airports and wreaking havoc on the city streets. But it truly is still . . . few cars on the road, barely any wind so the branches are still heavy with snow, and there is more quiet without the additional roar of planes arriving and departing at the nearby airport.

Here are some snow scenes from our balcony:

It truly is feeling like a “time of no time”, which is how this time of winter solstice was celebrated in earlier times.

A time of no time

For me, Winter Solstice has always had a witchy and pagan essence to it. Winter Solstice was celebrated for thousands of years by our ancestors long before organized religions developed. At its most fundamental, Winter Solstice is a time to celebrate the return of the light and Father Sun, connect with the energies of Mama Earth and — for many — a time to honour our Ancestors in those months of the long nights. It was a deeply spiritual time, with each culture developing their own traditions for rest, renewal and rebirth with the rebirth of the Sun.

And during these festivals, it truly was a “time of no time” as many cultures inserted days into the various lunar-solar calendars to bring them back into balance (much as we do with a Leap Year day at the end of February every four years), and traditional work was abandoned or minimized.

The Roman Empire celebrated this time as Saturnalia, in honour of the god Saturn (and likely rooted in the early Greek festival Kronia honouring the god Cronus), with a week of merry making, feasting, gift giving and a time of mis-rule (associated with many a festival in the wheel of the year) where masters served their servants, etc. Sounds rather like some Christmas traditions to me!

Some of my English pagan ancestors likely celebrated the Solstices with the Oak King and the Holly King, dual aspects of the Horned God. At Winter Solstice, those practising those Druidic traditions welcomed the rebirth of the Sun (the Oak King) and at Summer Solstice, the Holly King would begin his reign with the the waning cycle of Father Sun.

The period between Samhain and Winter Solstice was recognized as a time when the veil between this physical world and the Otherworld were thinner, when communication was between the worlds was easier and more accessible, a time to hear the whispers of one’s ancestors. Some believed that spirits roamed the night on Solstice Eve and Christmas Eve, just as they do at Samhain.

"The Kiss Curse" is a spellbinding blend of fantasy, romance, and adventure, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with its unpredictable twists and turns. The author masterfully creates a vivid world filled with magic, intrigue, and complex characters, making it impossible to put the book down. Throughout the story, the themes of love and sacrifice are explored, as Isabella must make difficult choices that can impact not only her own fate but also the fate of those she holds dear. The novel raises thought-provoking questions about the nature of love, the power of forgiveness, and the lengths one would go to break free from a curse. With its rich storytelling, evocative descriptions, and memorable characters, "The Kiss Curse" is a must-read for fans of fantasy and romance novels. It will transport readers into a world where magic and reality intertwine, and where love can be both a curse and a blessing..

Reviews for "Unlocking the Secrets of 'The Kiss Curse': An Enthralling Novel"

1. Jane - 1/5 stars - I found "The Kiss Curse" to be extremely disappointing. The plot was weak and predictable, with no real surprises or twists. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked depth, making it difficult to connect with them on any level. Additionally, the writing style was bland and uninspiring, leaving me uninterested and detached from the story. Overall, I would not recommend this novel to anyone looking for an engaging and captivating read.

2. Mark - 2/5 stars - While "The Kiss Curse" had an interesting premise, the execution fell short. The pacing of the story was uneven, with long stretches of boredom followed by rushed and confusing plot developments. The dialogue felt forced and unrealistic, making it difficult to fully immerse myself in the story. Furthermore, the character development was lacking, and I couldn't connect with any of the main characters. Overall, I was left feeling unsatisfied and wouldn't recommend this book to others.

3. Emily - 2/5 stars - "The Kiss Curse" was a letdown for me. The romance aspect of the story felt forced and contrived, lacking any genuine chemistry between the characters. The dialogue was often cheesy and unrealistic, making it difficult to take the story seriously. Additionally, the pacing was slow, and the plot itself did not offer anything new or exciting. I was hoping for a captivating love story, but instead, I found myself bored and unengaged. Overall, I would not recommend this book to those looking for a well-executed romance novel.

Fate and Redemption in 'The Kiss Curse': A Gripping Novel