Quote:
Originally Posted by basjoos
Before there was such a thing as a Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Saturnalia, there were winter solstice celebrations. This celebration goes way back into prehistory in the temperate parts of the world celebrating the change from progressively shorter days to the start of progressively longer days and the eventual return of summer. The only technical advance needed for the winter solstice celebration to occur was the creation of a standing stone (or wood) circle so they could pinpoint that shortest day from the rest of the short days flanking it. All of the traditional evergreen vegetation decorations associated with this time of the year originally derived from winter solstice celebrations. The "Christmas" tree originated from the winter solstice celebrations in the Germanic regions of Europe. The holly, ivy, and mistletoe likewise from winter solstice celebrations in Celtic regions (Britain and France)
|
What you said is mostly accurate, historically. But Christmas has been around for the better part of 2000 years, because Christianity was built upon what beliefs and rituals came before it and were already present among barbarian and pagan cultures. Christianity incorporated those beliefs into a more predominant culture. (The Channuka celebration, a relatively minor holiday of Judaism, is an attempt to participate in our modern holiday season of a predominantly Christian culture. Kwanzaa is a
very recent invention, created in 1966.)
It may be politically correct only to wish "happy holidays" or "happy solstice" and ignore Christmas. But to those who celebrate Christmas, I wish all of you a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS! And to
everyone a
Happy New Year too!
The new year is something we all have in common and that we
all must observe. (We're all another year older, whether we like it or not...)
