"Blessings"

Wilcox, Rose (ZB5646) Rose.Wilcox at PINNACLEWEST.COM
Wed Apr 11 00:04:42 UTC 2001


I was not sure how to title this post.  I am looking for resources and/or
anecdotes regarding the use of the phrase Blessings to end a letter or email
post.  Recently on a neo-pagan list, it was claimed that this was a
particularly pagan term that Christians were recently appropriating.

I posted this claim to several other pagan email lists.  Almost all
respondents (except for two on the originating list) felt that they would
consider "Blessed Be" or "Bright Blessings" to have a pagan flavor or
connotation, whereas "Blessings" would be considered more generic.

My memory is of my Free Methodist grandmother signing birthday and holiday
cards with the words "Blessings" in the 60s and 70s, but none of the
correspondence remains for me to check my memory against.

So I wanted to get a wider range of responses, to either support or refute
the claim that "Blessings" is a particular pagan saying.  In context, the
few people that have claim so have offered for backing only a story that
"Blessings" or "Blessed Be" is a phrase used to say goodbye to loved ones
who were never to be seen again because of the witch craze or Burning Times.
Since the history of the Burning Times is widely incorrect in current pagan
books (only recently have pagan authors begun to recognize the erroneous
accounts), I tend to doubt that story also.

I have searched online but as of yet, have been unable to find attributions
for the phrase "Blessings" in any context.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give,
Rosie Wilcox



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