snippets to follow:
In fact, almost all of the trappings of what we call Christmas — the tree and decorations, the mistletoe, Santa (originally the Horned God or the Lord of Misrule or any number of male Pagan fertility gods), the holly and the ivy — are all lifted from Pagan Yule traditions. Yes, folks, that little tree that graces this post is Pagan through and through! Just about the one thing that isn’t lifted straight from pre-Christian traditions is Santa’s red suit — and that comes to us courtesy not of the church, but from the Coca-Cola corporation, which mad
e sure in the 1930s that his raiment was dyed not just any old shade of red, but Coca-Cola red.
e sure in the 1930s that his raiment was dyed not just any old shade of red, but Coca-Cola red.The Puritans, the ultimate Christian Fundamentalists, certainly knew all about this. (Well, they didn’t know about the Coca-Cola angle, as it hadn’t happened yet, but it wouldn’t have surprised them one bit.) That’s why they outlawed keeping Christmas wherever they controlled the local governments, either in England or America. It had almost died out in England until a concerted effort was made in the early 19th century to ressurect it, once the power of the Puritans had long since receded and the ruling Anglicans had got over their fears that bringing back Christmas would lead to the Catholics getting out from being trod underfoot (Catholics in England weren’t quite as lacking in civil rights as were Jews or women, but they weren’t far from it). The repression was even more pronounced in America, particularly in Puritan-founded New England; it wasn’t until 1870 that it was made a public holiday in the US.
The link goes back to Wikipedia, which is amply foot-noted and contains a few gems of knowledge like this:
The identification of the birth date of Christ did not at first inspire feasting or celebration. Tertullian does not mention it as a major feast day in the Church of Roman Africa. In 245, the theologian Origen denounced the idea of celebrating Christ's birthday "as if he were a king pharaoh." He contended that only sinners, not saints, celebrated their birthdays[3].
snip
During the Reformation, some Protestants condemned Christmas celebration as "trappings of popery" and the "rags of the Beast". The Roman Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in an even more religiously oriented form. Following the Parliamentary victory over King Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas, in 1647. Pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities, and for several weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[9] The Restoration of 1660 ended the ban, but many of the Nonconformist clergy still disapproved of Christmas celebrations, using Puritan arguments.
Hmmmm.....curious ....curious indeed....
It is noted earlier in "Wiki" that according to legend and prophecy, the birth of the Messiah was supposed to be the same date as his death which was placed around March 15. So combining it with other religious holidays around December 25 seems to be a certain man-made device.
But back to Phoenix Woman's post....she puts it in an interesting perspective...
snip
So, then, what is the meaning of Christmas? Not really sure what it is now, other than as the chief means by which US retailers stay afloat. Originally, it wasn’t about Christ at all. And nowadays, among the wingnuts, it’s not really about Christ at all either, except when He can be used as a means to score points off of Democrats, the college-educated, or anyone else they don’t like.
I guess the moral here is this: Christmas is what you make of it. Let’s see if we can make it into something good. Oh, and if you ever have the chance to debunk a right-wing e-mail smear being circulated all over the place, grab that chance with both hands.
I guess the moral here is this: Christmas is what you make of it. Let’s see if we can make it into something good. Oh, and if you ever have the chance to debunk a right-wing e-mail smear being circulated all over the place, grab that chance with both hands.
Interesting....
"...Christmas is what you make of it..."
So I can be depressed if I want to....I can disdain the commercialism if I want to...I can decorate my home...or not...if I want to.. because....CHRISTMAS IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.
I'll have to think about that for a while....
