I like many others are getting a bit fed up of this Christmas malarkey, over priced food, presents you don't need that turn into junk and of course the guilt of to much excess
I am already classed as eccentric so adopting a new way of thinking about the so called merry Christmas wouldn't be out of character, I have been on a mission to confirm what I already believed and add clarity to my developing new beliefs, I love this time of year.
I adore the closing down, hibernation, frosty mornings, keeping warm, making things, family, feasting, gifts, snow, singing, love but most of all the start of a new year and new dawn
Logic confirms that there is no way the Jesus was born in the winter, shepherds keep there flock at home in the winter months or they are slaughtered, hence why feasting happens this time of year as there is an abundance of meat but more so if you don't go to church regularly or pray often then there's a good chance you don't believe in god or Jesus then pray, tell me - why are you celebrating his birth?
Do not worry the heathen world observed this day for thousands of years before the Messiah was even born!
I like many others don't believe in god, I believe in nature this makes me a pagan, I believe in humanity, love, healing and fate - Mother nature and being in harmony with your self and everything that surrounds you.I strongly dislike greed, arrogance and selfishness these all seem to come about more in the frenzy that leads up to Christmas, why?
Over the years our Christmases have been modest affairs and this year we have taken another dramatic step by making our presents and only buying one for each other..
I have cut the feasting back also because I feel the guilt that so many out there have nothing, if I could I would feed the world on this festive day.
Yes I am also becoming a philanthropist!
So I think in coming years I would like to practise a more yuletide celebration, adopt a more pagan view on it all and embrace my new found understandings.
Yuletide is a pagan religious festival observed by the Germanic people in the past, later becoming Christmas in Christian calendar.
The earliest references to Yule are by way of indigenous Germanic month names Ærra Jéola (Before Yule) or Jiuli and Æftera Jéola (After Yule).
Customs such as the Yule log, Yule boar, Yule singing, A similar festival called Yalda is celebrated on winter solstice in Iran.
One thing I found is to bring evergreens into the home was a symbol of life during the wintertime and the spring that lay ahead these days we bring a Christmas tree into the house and decorate it with baubles and other such ghastly trimmings, however traditionally decorated with edibles such as apples, nuts, or other foods.
The apple being a symbol of the garden of eden, In the 18th century, it began to be illuminated by candles and now fairy lights
The custom of the Christmas tree developed in early modern Germany (where it is today called Weihnachtsbaum or Christbaum or "Tannenbaum") with predecessors that can be traced to the 16th and possibly 15th century, in which devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes.
The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec. 25 comes from the second century after Jesus' birth. It is considered likely the first Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a harvest festival that marked the winter solstice—the return of the sun—and honoured Saturn, the god of sowing. Saturnalia was a rowdy time, much opposed by the more austere leaders among the still-minority Christian sect. Christmas developed, one scholar says, as a means of replacing worship of the sun with worship of the Son. By 529 A.D., after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday. The celebration of Christmas reached its peak—some would say its worst moments—in the medieval period when it became a time for conspicuous consumption and unequalled revelry.”
Greece, and all of northern Europe, operated on a solar calendar, with the new year starting on the winter solstice. When the Romans invaded Greece in the fifth century B.C.E., they realized the advantages of a solar calendar. In 153 B.C.E., New Year's Day was moved to January first, since Janus was the two-faced god of doorways and new beginnings.
For those like me who didn't know what the 12 days of Christmas was about they start on Christmas Day and last until the evening of the 5th January - also known as Twelfth Night. The 12 Days have been celebrated in Europe since before the middle ages and were a time of celebration
In many parts of the UK, people also went Wassailing on Twelfth Night!
It just happens that our little planet – the third one out from a minor star named Sol – spins on an axis that's tilted at a slight angle to its orbital plane around the sun. This means that for half of the
orbit the upper half of the planet faces the sun, and during the other half of the orbit the lower half faces the sun. This causes our solar year to have four seasons. When the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun, we have summer here in America, while those in the Southern Hemisphere are having winter, and so on. From our point of view, as summer approaches, the sun comes up a little earlier each morning, moves a little farther north each noon, and sets a little later each evening. Finally, at some point, the sun stops its northward migration and turns around and begins heading south for the winter. When the sun reaches the northernmost apogee, that is called the summer
solstice, and it is the longest day of the year. The word solstice comes from two ancient words: Sol, which was the name of a sun god, and stice, which meant "still." So it is the day when the sun stands still. The winter solstice, therefore, is the shortest day of the year. It naturally follows that midway between the summer and winter solstices, there comes a time when days and nights are equal in length. And these are called the equinoxes. "Equi" means "equal," and "nox" means "nights." These celestial points give the year four corners. It takes about six weeks for changes in the sun's position to have an effect on the weather systems of the world. So, instead of the winter solstice marking
the middle of winter, it is used to designate the beginning of cold weather. The vernal equinox marks the beginning of the spring thaw. The summer solstice marks the beginning of hot weather, and the autumnal equinox marks the beginning of harvest.
Ancient people were very dependent on the seasons. That is why all cultures in all parts of the world have held their major religious festivals on these four occasions.I already have a bond with is the winter solstice on the 21st of December and have celebrated it since a young age.
In northern Europe, the Druids and Vikings built huge bonfires on hilltops. The purpose was to give additional strength to the sun god in his nightly battle with the forces of cold and darkness. When the sun finally did come up a little earlier on the day after the solstice, there was a great celebration.
The Druids took mistletoe even more seriously. There was an elaborate ritual for gathering it, They also considered it to have magical properties; it was worn as a good luck charm and placed over doorways to ward off evil spirits. Those who entered through the doorway received a kiss as a seal
of friendship.
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