Topic Tuesday #23 2012/12/25 - "Happy Holidays!"
Clarification of the term 'Happy Holidays' seems to be needed nearly every year. Given that I reside in the United States of America where we are graced with the Constitution and its amendments, there is plenty of reason to call attention to this. Certain media outlets insist that there is a war on Christmas every time someone says something other than, "Merry Christmas". The origins of celebrations during this time of year date back to when man realized that the longest night/shortest day of the year occurred, the Winter Solstice. Since the axial tilt of the Earth is considerable (approximately 23 degrees 27 minutes) the sun does not rise high at high latitudes in (local) winter. Those that found themselves in more northern latitudes, would experience significantly longer nights to the extent of a twilight lasting 20 hours to 179 days at the poles. This was a big deal to early agrarian and hunter gatherer cultures in the northern hemisphere. Additionally humans are not designed for this kind of environment. The period of polar night can trigger depression in some people. Cases of SAD or seasonal affective disorder are generally exacerbated by these conditions. The polar night may also be implicated in some instances of solipsism syndrome. It's easy to see why traditions would get setup around such a pivotal time of year. The harvest was in, the snow lay thick, and travel was ill advised. Best to just stick with your family and close neighbors and as we say in the south, hunker down. The combination of events fostered traditions of feasts and reverie. Myths and fairy tales of ghosts, and vampires and werewolves are also said to have their origins in the longest nights.December 25th was a pretty popular day! The following list celebrate the day as a festival or birth or both.
- Zoroaster - Persia - c 6000 - 10,000 BC
- Osiris - Egypt - Father of Horus Pre- 5th Dyanasty C3000 BC|
- Horus - Egypt - c.3000 BC
- Mithra - Persia - c.1200 BC AKA "deus sol invictus" (Unconquered sun god)"
- Festival of natalis Invicti [Birth of the Unconquerable (Sun)] c.1200 BC
- Attis - Greece - c.1200 BC
- Krishna - India - c.900 BC
- Dionysus - Greece - c.500 BC
- Saturnalia (December 17-25) The day marked the dedication of the Temple to Saturn in the Roman Forum in c.497 BC
- Marduk Sumerian sun god of Babylon
- Wittoba Of The Bilingonese
- Gentaut
- Tammuz
- Quexalcote Of Mexico
- Thor Son Of Odin
- Xamolxis Of Thrace
- Apollo
- Winter Solstice (Julian calendar Dec 25th from 45 BC until it was superseded by the Gregorian calendar commencing in 1582)
- Jesus** - Roughly 1 AD
- Boxing Day - Current calendar - December 26th
Iconography:
Yule Log: English historian Henry Bourne, who, writing in the 1720s, described the practice occurring in the Tyne valley. Bourne theorized that the practice derives from customs in 6th to 7th century Anglo-Saxon paganism.
Ginger Breadmen: Saturnalia, local custom primarily in the more Germanic regions. Biscuits shaped like humans, dating back to some of the more colorful human sacrifice rites that were often performed.
Caroling: As part of Saturnalia, there was often drunken and naked singing though the streets. This was "adjusted" by the church when Saturnalia was co-opted into singing hymns.
Mistletoe: Norse mythology recounts how the god Balder was killed using a mistletoe arrow by his rival god Hoder while fighting for the female Nanna. At some point it gets twisted into kissing under the mistletoe from a combination of the debauchery of Saturnalia and the traditions of some druidic sects.
Caroling: As part of Saturnalia, there was often drunken and naked singing though the streets. This was "adjusted" by the church when Saturnalia was co-opted into singing hymns.
Mistletoe: Norse mythology recounts how the god Balder was killed using a mistletoe arrow by his rival god Hoder while fighting for the female Nanna. At some point it gets twisted into kissing under the mistletoe from a combination of the debauchery of Saturnalia and the traditions of some druidic sects.
Christmas Tree: The Asheira cult, worshiped trees. At the time of the Winter Solstice, they would decorate the very trees they worshiped. In another attempt to win the pagans over to Christianity, the practice of bringing a tree into your home and decorating it was incorporated into the newly formed celebration of Christ’s birth.
Gift Giving: The emperors of pre-Christian Rome compelled their citizens to bring offerings and gifts during the Saturnalia (in December) and Kalends (in January). This ritual/tradition expanded to include gift-giving among the populace. Christian flavor was added by re-rooting it in the gift-giving of Saint Nicholas. Boxing Day is also a gift giving celebration.
Santa Claus: Nicholas was born in Parara, Turkey in 270 CE and later became Bishop of Myra. He died in 345 CE on December 6th. He was named a saint in the 19th century.
Nicholas was among the senior bishops who convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE and created the New Testament.
In 1087, Nicholas remains were moved Turkey to a sanctuary in Bari, Italy. In Bari, Nicholas supplanted a female boon-giving deity called The Grandmother, or Pasqua Epiphania, who used to fill the children's stockings with her gifts.
The adopted Nicholas gift giving spread north. It was adopted by groups who worshiped a pantheon led by Woden –their chief god and the father of Thor, Balder, and Tiw. Woden had a long, white beard and rode a horse through the heavens one evening each Autumn. When Nicholas legend merged with Woden, he shed his Mediterranean appearance, grew a beard, mounted a flying horse, rescheduled his flight for December, and donned heavy winter clothing.
The Catholic Church adopted the Nicholas legends and traditions and taught that he distributed gifts on December 25th instead of December 6th.
In 1809, Washington Irving wrote a satire of Dutch culture entitled Knickerbocker History. The work refers several times to the white bearded, flying-horse riding Saint Nicholas using his Dutch name, Santa Claus.
Dr. Clement Moore, a professor at Union Seminary, read the book and in 1822 he published a poem based on the character Santa Claus: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hope that Saint Nicholas soon would be there…” Moore innovated by portraying a Santa with eight reindeer who descended through chimneys.
The Bavarian illustrator Thomas Nast elaborated the imagery of Santa Claus with more than 2,200 illustrations appearing in Harper's Weekly from 1862 through 1886. Nast gave Santa a home at the North Pole, his workshop filled with elves, and his list of the good and bad children.
In 1931, the Coca Cola Corporation contracted the Swedish commercial artist Haddon Sundblom to create a coke-drinking Santa. Sundblom modeled his Santa on his friend Lou Prentice, chosen for his cheerful, chubby face. The corporation insisted that Santa’s fur-trimmed suit be bright and Coca Cola red. The Modern Santa was born – a blend of Christian crusader, pagan god, and commercial idol.
Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope your day was as enjoyable as mine, no matter what you believe or celebrate.
Santa Claus: Nicholas was born in Parara, Turkey in 270 CE and later became Bishop of Myra. He died in 345 CE on December 6th. He was named a saint in the 19th century.
Nicholas was among the senior bishops who convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE and created the New Testament.
In 1087, Nicholas remains were moved Turkey to a sanctuary in Bari, Italy. In Bari, Nicholas supplanted a female boon-giving deity called The Grandmother, or Pasqua Epiphania, who used to fill the children's stockings with her gifts.
The adopted Nicholas gift giving spread north. It was adopted by groups who worshiped a pantheon led by Woden –their chief god and the father of Thor, Balder, and Tiw. Woden had a long, white beard and rode a horse through the heavens one evening each Autumn. When Nicholas legend merged with Woden, he shed his Mediterranean appearance, grew a beard, mounted a flying horse, rescheduled his flight for December, and donned heavy winter clothing.
The Catholic Church adopted the Nicholas legends and traditions and taught that he distributed gifts on December 25th instead of December 6th.
In 1809, Washington Irving wrote a satire of Dutch culture entitled Knickerbocker History. The work refers several times to the white bearded, flying-horse riding Saint Nicholas using his Dutch name, Santa Claus.
Dr. Clement Moore, a professor at Union Seminary, read the book and in 1822 he published a poem based on the character Santa Claus: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hope that Saint Nicholas soon would be there…” Moore innovated by portraying a Santa with eight reindeer who descended through chimneys.
The Bavarian illustrator Thomas Nast elaborated the imagery of Santa Claus with more than 2,200 illustrations appearing in Harper's Weekly from 1862 through 1886. Nast gave Santa a home at the North Pole, his workshop filled with elves, and his list of the good and bad children.
In 1931, the Coca Cola Corporation contracted the Swedish commercial artist Haddon Sundblom to create a coke-drinking Santa. Sundblom modeled his Santa on his friend Lou Prentice, chosen for his cheerful, chubby face. The corporation insisted that Santa’s fur-trimmed suit be bright and Coca Cola red. The Modern Santa was born – a blend of Christian crusader, pagan god, and commercial idol.
Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope your day was as enjoyable as mine, no matter what you believe or celebrate.