(no subject)
Merry Christmas!
Well, it's that time again, Xmas time: a confusing time for me when I look at the complexity of a date that began as a celebration of the winter solstice in Babylon as the birth day of Tammuz (Dumuzi), the god of vegetation. This was the shortest day of the year, in the latter part of December (today it actually falls on December 21). According to the pagans, the god Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it. This festival became known as the Saturnalia, and friends and family would exchange gifts.
The winter solstice was also celebrated by the followers of Mithra, (Mithra was the Persian sun-god, and his worship was widespread throughout the Roman Empire in the days of the early Christians), as the "nativity" or "birth" of the sun. When this feast was celebrated in Rome, it was called the festival of Saturn or Saturnalia and lasted for five days. In both ancient Rome and more ancient Babylon, this festival was characterized by bouts of drunkenness, wild merrymaking, and lascivious orgies that would begin with an "innocent kiss" underneath the mistletoe and would then lead to justification of all sorts of sexual excesses, perversions and abominations.
Now that's more like it!
However, the early Christian Church, in moving all of its celebrations away from Judaism (and ruining an apparently REALLY good time), without denying its followers the holidays they had come to enjoy, took the date of Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, which occurs on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, corresponding approximately with December and "Romanized" it.
Eventually this new cult/sect, Christianity, co opted the holiday and took it over with a celebration of the "birthday" of its central figure, Jesus Christ, and philosophically promotes Peace and Goodwill to men, even in a town which boasts the largest divorce rate of any town I've ever lived in, the greatest shopping spree of the whole year, the general endorsement of the killing of men, women and children across the globe who have another religious predilection and yet, we have SO MANY Christian Temples.
Don't you find it slightly ironic that we are at war with Babylon, which we know as Iraq, the same culture that originally gave us this Christian Capitalist shopping fest to start with? Confusing, isn't it?
Nevertheless, Peace on Earth, Good Will towards ALL men. Now that's a good sentiment - EVERY day of the year!
PS. What's Christmas without gifts, here's mine: a composition for you to enjoy:
http://www.carmapro.com/music/originalmusic/kalendarium/December.htm
Carlos Barrientos
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
Theodor Seuss Geisel, "Dr. Seuss"
Well, it's that time again, Xmas time: a confusing time for me when I look at the complexity of a date that began as a celebration of the winter solstice in Babylon as the birth day of Tammuz (Dumuzi), the god of vegetation. This was the shortest day of the year, in the latter part of December (today it actually falls on December 21). According to the pagans, the god Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it. This festival became known as the Saturnalia, and friends and family would exchange gifts.
The winter solstice was also celebrated by the followers of Mithra, (Mithra was the Persian sun-god, and his worship was widespread throughout the Roman Empire in the days of the early Christians), as the "nativity" or "birth" of the sun. When this feast was celebrated in Rome, it was called the festival of Saturn or Saturnalia and lasted for five days. In both ancient Rome and more ancient Babylon, this festival was characterized by bouts of drunkenness, wild merrymaking, and lascivious orgies that would begin with an "innocent kiss" underneath the mistletoe and would then lead to justification of all sorts of sexual excesses, perversions and abominations.
Now that's more like it!
However, the early Christian Church, in moving all of its celebrations away from Judaism (and ruining an apparently REALLY good time), without denying its followers the holidays they had come to enjoy, took the date of Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, which occurs on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, corresponding approximately with December and "Romanized" it.
Eventually this new cult/sect, Christianity, co opted the holiday and took it over with a celebration of the "birthday" of its central figure, Jesus Christ, and philosophically promotes Peace and Goodwill to men, even in a town which boasts the largest divorce rate of any town I've ever lived in, the greatest shopping spree of the whole year, the general endorsement of the killing of men, women and children across the globe who have another religious predilection and yet, we have SO MANY Christian Temples.
Don't you find it slightly ironic that we are at war with Babylon, which we know as Iraq, the same culture that originally gave us this Christian Capitalist shopping fest to start with? Confusing, isn't it?
Nevertheless, Peace on Earth, Good Will towards ALL men. Now that's a good sentiment - EVERY day of the year!
PS. What's Christmas without gifts, here's mine: a composition for you to enjoy:
http://www.carmapro.com/music/originalmusic/kalendarium/December.htm
Carlos Barrientos
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
Theodor Seuss Geisel, "Dr. Seuss"