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Don't really know. It's close to a Jewish Holiday too.
They set Dec 25 as the day to celebrate. But was also formerly a pagan tradition before that, pagan roots, no?
Don't really know. It's close to a Jewish Holiday too.
It's been calculated two ways. One uses the Hebrew calendar and priestly order from the Old Testament and calculates forward to determine when Zacharias served in the temple immediately before Elizabeth became pregnant. This method gives a Sept-Oct birth date.
The other method uses the historical knowledge of which priests were serving in the Temple when it was destroyed in A.D. 70 and counts backwards. That method gives a Dec-Jan birthdate.
For certain parts of it, sure. For example, the Christmas tree, holly, mistletoe, garland, snowflakes, red and green.
The ornaments on the tree are a vestige of the citrus fruits and nuts Germans used to hang on it. The citrus often came from Spain, and were meant to symbolize the knowledge that longer and warmer days would return.
The birth of Christ itself is not a pagan tradition. The concept and iconography of Madonna and Child is passed down from pagan faiths.
Hanukkah is a minor Jewish celebration that has been hyped way out of proportion in order to compete with Christmas. Their big holidays are the Day of Atonement (Rosh Hashannah), New Year (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).
Extra Stout, thanks. I'll also post some things that might differ a little. But good post.
Doesn't The Da Vinci Code say its late February?
Christmas is a time when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ.
Came across this.
Was Jesus born on 25th December? There is no historical evidence as to the day or month of Christ's birth and some uncertainty exists as to the actual year. "St. Clements of Alexandria refers to calculations which placed it in April or May. Some such dates would better accord with the Gospel statement that 'shepherds were watching their flocks by night' than 25th December which falls in the cold and rainy seasons in the hilly country of Judaea".
The 25th of December could not have been the birthday of Jesus. The Bible shows that at the time "Shepherds" were still in the fields at night. As the Encyclopedia Britannia (1907, Vol. V, p. 611) acknowledges, they would not have been there in the cold, rainy season of winter (Luke 2: 8-12)." Accordingly, Jesus was not born in the winter season. We have seen that when he was born "there were, in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night."
Could this have occurred in Judaea in the month of December? "The shepherds always brought their flocks from the mountain sides and fields and corralled them not later than October 15, to protect them from the cold, rainy season that followed that date. Notice that the Bible itself proves, in songs of Solomon 2 : 11 and Ezra 10 : 9, 13 that winter was a rainy season not permitting shepherds to abide in open fields at night." It was ancient custom among Jews to send out their sheep to fields and deserts about the Passover in early spring and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain. During the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. As the first rain began early in the month of Marchesvan, which answers to 'part of our October and November' (begins sometimes in October), we find that the sheep were kept in the open fields during the whole summer. And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields, nor could He have born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night.
All religions?
You didn't get it.
Aren't we forgeting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa.
Rep. John D. Dingell (MI-15) recited the following poem on the floor of the US House of Representatives concerning House Resolution 579, which expressed the sense of the House of Representatives that the symbols and traditions of Christmas should be protected.
LinkMadam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this resolution.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the Dean of the House.
(Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I have a little poem.
‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the House
No bills were passed ‘bout which Fox News could grouse;
Tax cuts for the wealthy were passed with great cheer,
So vacations in St. Barts soon would be near;
Katrina kids were nestled all snug in motel beds,
While visions of school and home danced in their heads;
In Iraq our soldiers needed supplies and a plan,
Plus nuclear weapons were being built in Iran;
Gas prices shot up, consumer confidence fell;
Americans feared we were on a fast track to…well…
Wait--- we need a distraction--- something divisive and wily;
A fabrication straight from the mouth of O’Reilly
We can pretend that Christmas is under attack
Hold a vote to save it--- then pat ourselves on the back;
Silent Night, First Noel, Away in the Manger
Wake up Congress, they’re in no danger!
This time of year we see Christmas every where we go,
From churches, to homes, to schools, and yes…even Costco;
What we have is an attempt to divide and destroy,
When this is the season to unite us with joy
At Christmas time we’re taught to unite,
We don’t need a made-up reason to fight
So on O’Reilly, on Hannity, on Coulter, and those right wing blogs;
You should just sit back, relax…have a few egg nogs!
‘Tis the holiday season: enjoy it a pinch
With all our real problems, do we honestly need another Grinch?
So to my friends and my colleagues I say with delight,
A merry Christmas to all,
and to Bill O’Reilly…Happy Holidays.
Has anyone, besides me, every heard the term: Dingellberry?
You mean like when you don't wipe your ass good enough?
Yeah, that is what you get when you don't. Dingell-berry, a hanging thingy.
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