cute but no. the origin IS pre-christian celtic though. wareas the birth of the man jesus, could have been in late october, but certainly no later, and not mid-winter. remember, december was origeonaly two months earlier in the year.
I get sooooo fed up of this ... YES there was a pre-Christian pagan midwinter festival. So? That doesn't mean that Christmas is not a Christian celebration. The clue is in the first 6 letters, guys. God loves hiding things in open view, ya know? When whole populations convert from one religion to another (as happened in early 7th century Kent and East Anglia, for example), it is not uncommon for the festivals of one to be adapted to the other because that is when people are in the habit of celebrating. Indeed, if you read Bede's Ecclesiastical History you'll see that this is PRECISELY what Pope St Gregory the Great advised Augustine to do. But when an Anglo Saxons stopped worshipping Woden at mid-winter and started celebrating the birth of Christ instead, he was most emphatically NOT turning a Christian celebration into a pagan one. He was doing the exact opposite, in fact: turning a pagan celebration into a Christian one. As for public displays of Christianity at the time of the great Christian festivals, why not? (Although they're generally pretty lacking at Easter ...). At other times of year we see public displays of Hinduism at Divali, and of Judaism at Passover. What's the problem? The rest of the year, those who have no faith and worship Mammon have plenty of opportunities for THEIR public displays of consumerism, don't they?
There are many connections that are relevant in their own way. For instance, Christmas being based on the equinoxs is muchhhh older then any Pagan religion. "The astronomical aspect of the Hiramic legend must not be overlooked. The tragedy of CHiram is enacted annually by the sun during its passage through the signs of the zodiac. Capricorn has for its symbol an old man with a scythe in his hand. This is father time-- a wayfarer-- who is symbolized in Masonry as straightening out the ringlets of a young girls hair. If the weeping Virgin be considered a symbol of Virgo, and father time with his scythe a symbol for Capricorn, then the interval of ninety degrees between these two signs will be found to corresspond to that occupied by the three muderers (in the Hiramic Legend) . Esoterically, the urn containing the ashes of CHiram represents the human heart. Saturn, the old man who lives at the north pole, and brings with him to the children of men a sprig of evergreen (Christmas Tree), is familiar to the little folks under the name Santa Claus, for he brings each winter the gift of a new year. the martyered Sun is discovered by Aries, a fellow-craftsman, and at the vernal equinox the process of raising him begins. The procession of the equinoxes cause various signs to play the role of the murders of the sun; such is the cosmic story of Chiram." -- http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta18.htm Satan very well could be an anagram of Santa, which simply represents the hidden wisdom of the snake, for Satan is not evil.
I'm struggling with that one, A. How can a personification of anything ever not be that thing which he or she personifies?? It seems to me that it is axiomatic that they must be, is it not? I mean, you could hardly have an ugly personification of beauty, or an intolerant personification of tolerance, could you???
Its a esoteric personification; a belief started by Christianity. theres more to it then that, i think Satan represents the duality of nature and the universe of Gods will. God being good and love/ satan being the opposite, but its necessary; so really Satan should be loved as one of Gods creations
I think when you say a personification of something it is implied that it is not a real person but a concept (in this case evil) turned into a person. If I'm wrong, that was at least how I ment it edit: so something doesn't have to actually 'be' in order to be described as a personifcation
whats the difference between person and being. Who's to say Satan isnt actually a myth based on an actual being.
Well maybe he was, but when we are talking in the present tense (as we did) Satan is regarded as the personification of the abstract concept that evil actually is. So not an actual person or being. I could say fictional but it seems that term angers you sometimes..
I believe that the point is that most Christian doctrines related to Christmas come from pagan origins. You are correct to say that it became a Christian holiday. Yet if you look at the motives behind such transformations the reasoning behind them is quite clear. How better to boil a frog than to stick it in some nice warm water and slowly turn up the heat?
It does not make it less christian though. Maybe to people with pagan preferences it does because they like to claim those pagan origins... The holiday has adapted quite well so to say it is not christian because it once wasn't seems silly. It wasn't Christmass back then either
I am not saying that it is not Christian, but to fully understand why it is one must first understand it's roots yes?
If you want to know why it is/has become a christian holiday it is useful to understand the proto-christian holy day, if you're in it for the christian tradition and your own personal beliefs it seems it is not needed. So to fully understand the christian meaning of Christmas I think it is not needed to understand the pagan roots.
I'm tired of this false image of santa being pulled along by his reindeer - this is his true image.... http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/gallery/0924geryon.jpg Hotwater
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTHfSSSolFs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTHfSSSolFs The Story of Saturn, Satan, and Santa Claus
cute, but satan is a myth, saturn is a planet, and santa clause is a marketing ploy. as a roman god, saturn was something of a jolly one, where as mars was the militant and therefore satanic one. at any rate, a real god doesn't need enimies and is not at war with anyone. nor does anything 'satanic' lack for completely human origin. as for christermass, its real origens are innocently pagan. having nothing to do with any 'satan', but with people once upon a time thinking trees were pretty cool. then of course, the real christerism was supposed to have been about pacificism and socialism. anybody remember that?