puff the magic dragon live by the sea

The celebration of solstice, particularly the pagan traditions, has a rich history that dates back centuries. This ancient celebration is rooted in the recognition and appreciation of the changing seasons, specifically the winter and summer solstices. Solstices are significant astronomical events that occur twice a year when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, resulting in either the longest or shortest day of the year. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice usually falls on December 21st or 22nd, while the summer solstice occurs around June 20th or 21st. Pagan solstice celebrations center around the symbolism of light and darkness, which are intertwined with the changing seasons. During the winter solstice, pagans celebrate the rebirth of the sun and the gradual return of longer days.

Locke's book burning event comes amid a growing effort to ban certain books from schools. Books about racism and sexuality are being pulled from Texas school shelves in record numbers — a majority of books targeted feature LGBTQ characters or explicit descriptions of sex. Some of the books that aren't explicit include picture books about Black historical figures and transgender children.

All four classmates are eventually brought together by persuasion or punishment to perform in Miller s classic play about the Salem witch trials and persecution, which boils away some of their abrasiveness, at least temporarily. Even the everyday crimes of witches were based around fertility a ruined crop, a poor harvest, a baby that wouldn t suckle, or a cow that wouldn t milk.

During the winter solstice, pagans celebrate the rebirth of the sun and the gradual return of longer days. This celebration is often referred to as Yule or Yuletide, and it marks the beginning of the astronomical winter. Yule celebrations usually involve various rituals and traditions, such as lighting bonfires or Yule logs to symbolize the triumph of light over darkness and the warmth of the returning sun.

Pastor holds bonfire to burn to 'witchcraft' books like 'Twilight'

Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke claimed that the church had a "constitutional right and a Biblical right" to burn "occultic materials" like the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" books.

Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church holds services in the church parking lot, in Mount Juliet, Tenn., on March 29, 2020. Brett Carlsen / Getty Images file

A far-right pastor hosted a book burning event, encouraging parishioners to toss books like "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" into a fire to denounce what he described as "demonic" materials.

Greg Locke, head pastor at Global Vision Bible Church, held a book burning event Wednesday night, and urged followers to burn "evil garbage" like young adult fantasy books, tarot cards, "voodoo dolls and crystals."

"Bring all your Harry Potter stuff. Laugh all you want haters. I don't care. IT'S WITCHCRAFT 100 PERCENT," Locke said in an Instagram post Monday. "All you 'Twilight' books and movies. That mess is full of spells, demonism, shape-shifting and occultism."

In a video livestreamed on Facebook, churchgoers hurl books and other items deemed associated with "witchcraft" into a massive bonfire on the church's parking lot in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. The burning begins about an hour into the livestream.

At least one counterprotester claimed to throw a Bible into the flames, Nashville Scene reported.

"We have a constitutional right and a Biblical right to do what we're going to do tonight," Locke said in the livestreamed video. "We have a burn permit, but even without one a church has a religious right to burn occultic materials that they deem are a threat to their religious rights and freedoms and belief systems."

This is not the first time Locke has made headlines. The pastor has been permanently banned from Twitter for spreading Covid vaccine misinformation. He previously described the vaccine as "sugar water" and said that he'd turn away churchgoers if they wore masks to his services. He also criticized Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee as a "coward. noodle. waffler" for signing an executive order that would allow the National Guard to assist overwhelmed hospitals during a Covid outbreak. Locke claimed that children with autism are possessed by demons, insisting that the diagnosis doesn’t exist in the Bible.

On Twitter, users raised concerns about the event. Some drew similarities between the book burning at Global Vision Bible Church and the ones held in Germany during the Nazi regime.

Locke's book burning event comes amid a growing effort to ban certain books from schools. Books about racism and sexuality are being pulled from Texas school shelves in record numbers — a majority of books targeted feature LGBTQ characters or explicit descriptions of sex. Some of the books that aren't explicit include picture books about Black historical figures and transgender children.

Last month, a Tennessee school board voted to remove "Maus," a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from its eighth-grade reading list over profanity and nudity.

Morgan Sung is a trends reporter for NBC News Digital.

Reading the Malleus Malleficarum today makes clear how much of these witch hunts revolved around women’s sexuality, male impotence, and infanticide. Published in Speyer in 1486 and written by theology professors and Catholic inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, it was the most notorious and popular of the European witch hunting manuals—nearly as common to find in print as the Bible and appearing ultimately in twenty-nine separate editions over a century. It describes how young girls are gang-raped and then forced into witchcraft, how witches boil infants in soup pots, and how witches engage in nighttime orgies with the Devil. The obsession with witches’ sexual relations with the Devil are of particular salacious interest. The Malleus Maleficarum sought to describe in detail “How in Modern Times Witches perform the Carnal Act with Incubus Devils” and determine “Whether the Relations of an Incubus Devil with a Witch are always accompanied by the Injection of Semen.”

Decorations like candles, evergreen wreaths, and holly are utilized to bring light and greenery into homes during the darkest time of the year. Feasting, gift-giving, and sharing meals with loved ones are also common practices during Yule. On the other hand, the summer solstice is a time to celebrate the peak of the sun's power and the abundance of light. Known as Litha in pagan traditions, this solstice marks the beginning of astronomical summer. It is a time of joy and revelry, often associated with fertility and the harvest. Litha celebrations may involve dancing around bonfires, wearing flower crowns, and gathering wild herbs. It is also a common practice to create and display colorful wreaths and Maypoles, which represent fertility and the union of male and female energies. Many pagans celebrate this time by spending time in nature, enjoying the longest day of the year, and expressing gratitude for the bountiful gifts of the earth. These pagan solstice celebrations emphasize the cyclical nature of life, the interconnectedness of humanity with nature, and the importance of honoring and respecting the changing seasons. They provide an opportunity for individuals and communities to come together, reflect on the passing of time, and express gratitude for the beauty and abundance of the natural world..

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