Holiday times (Was: Christmas at Hogwarts (Was Re: Faith Education))

[annemehr]

> Iggy here:
> 
> Well, speaking for myself as a Neo-Pagan, I don't celebrate Christmas
> from a religious point of view, but instead from a traditional one.  (If
> I did it completely the Pagan way, I'd be celebrating the Solstice...
> which I do try to honor separately... usually by doing Ritual.  It's
> dropped off a little down here, because I don't really have a private
> place outdoors to do it.  *sigh*)

Annemehr:
That's too bad -- I just got a lovely mental image of a little garden
surrounded by high hedges (yew? or holly would be nice -- something
evergreen) and, well, whatever you need inside it...

Iggy:

> Now, if we want to have some fun, we can go off in another direction and
> point out a few theories that are out there...
> 
> 1: I have read a few different articles that astronomers have calculated
> when Christ would have been born, and it would actually have been late
> August, or early September... not at the end of December.
> 
> 2: Christmas was "moved" to not only be closer to the Pagan celebration
> of the Solstice... but also closer to the celebration of one of the gods
> (I can't remember which one) that most of the Roman Empire's soldiers
> worshipped, that was traditionally near where Christmas is.  This was
> done to be able to bring the Christian religion into these areas without
> inspiring mass riots... especially by Rome's own army... and make it
> more palatable to those groups.

Annemehr:
I didn't have the impression that Christmas was *moved* so much as
that by the time they began to really celebrate it, no one actually
knew when it was.  So they just picked what seemed to be the most
appropriate time -- a solstice feast that celebrates getting past the
darkest day (in the N. hemisphere, anyway!) and the hope of the coming
of the light.  Why shouldn't they pick a time when the people were
used to feasting?  It's a great time for a party!

Iggy:
> 3: Easter is pretty close to the Pagan's very important Spring Rites.
> It's also supposed that Easter was moved closer to this for a similar
> reason as item 2, above.  This is especially interesting when you take
> into account that eggs and rabbits are symbols of fertility... something
> to do with Spring, but not to really connect with the death and rebirth
> of Christ.

Annemehr:
Well, Easter always was in the Spring -- it happened at Passover time.
 Though they don't use Passover to set the date of it for some reason,
it's still in the same general time.  As for eggs and rabbits (and the
name "Easter" itself), why shouldn't the people keep them?  They're
fun and harmless and Christians like fertility, too. :-)  The
Fundamentalists might object, but they're a relatively small number. 
Come to think of it, Christians do use the egg to symbolise new life
-- the new kind we can have because of the resurrection, so that works.
> 
> 
> Just another two centaurs worth...
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

I'll see your centaurs and raise you a pixie!

Annemehr