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Most are religious holy days, and are linked in some way to the winter solstice in the Northern Hempsphere.
In pre-historic times, winter was a very difficult time for Aboriginal people in the northern latitudes. The growing season had ended and the tribe had to live off of stored food and whatever animals they could catch. The people would be troubled as the life-giving sun sank lower in the sky each noon. They feared that it would eventually disappear and leave them in permanent darkness and extreme cold. After the winter solstice, they would have reason to celebrate as they saw the sun rising and strengthening once more. Although many months of cold weather remained before spring, they took heart that the return of the warm season was inevitable. The concept of birth and or death/rebirth became associated with the winter solstice. The Aboriginal people had no elaborate instruments to detect the solstice. But they were able to notice a slight elevation of the sun's path within a few days after the solstice, perhaps by December 25. Celebrations were often timed for about the 25th. Religious folk worldwide observe many seasonal days of celebration during the month of December.
Hundreds of years ago, a Roman culture celebrated its major festival on the Winter Solstice. When Julius Caesar instituted a new calendar in Rome, the festival fell on December 25, a date that was retained for many years. About 1600 years ago, Pope Julius I chose this date for Christmas in order to replace the pagan tradition with a Christian one. Ancient Egyptians held ceremonies during the solstice. And more than 4,000 years ago in Ireland, people built a tomb designed to let in light only during the solstice.
In ancient Greece the winter solstice ritual was called Lenaea, the Festival of the Wild Women. In very ancient times, a man representing the harvest god Dionysos was torn to pieces and eaten by a gang of women on this day. Later in the ritual, Dionysos would be reborn as a baby. By classical times, the human sacrifice had been replaced by the killing of a goat. The women's role had changed to that of funeral mourners and observers of the birth.
The solstice is the time of the death of the old sun and the birth of the dark-half of the year. It was called "Alban Arthuan by the ancient Druids. It is the end of month of the Elder Tree and the start of the month of the Birch. The three days before Yule is a magical time. This is the time of the Serpent Days or transformation...The Elder and Birch stand at the entrance to Annwn or Celtic underworld where all life was formed. Like several other myths they guard the entrance to the underworld. This is the time the Sun God journey's thru the underworld to learn the secrets of death and life. And bring out those souls to be reincarnated."
The ancient Incas celebrated a festival if Inti Raymi at the time of the Winter Solstice. It celebrates "the Festival of the Sun where the god of the Sun, Wiracocha, is honored." 16 Ceremonies were banned by the Roman Catholic conquistadores in the 16th century as part of their forced conversions of the Inca people to Christianity. A local group of Quecia Indians in Cusco, Peru revived the festival about 1950. It is now a major festival which begins in Cusco and proceeds to an ancient amphitheater a few miles away.
Shabe-Yalda (a.k.a. Shab-e Yaldaa) is celebrated in Iran by followers of many religions. It originated in Zoroastrianism, the state religion which preceded Islam. The name refers to the birthday or rebirth of the sun. People gather at home around a korsee -- a low square table -- all night. They tell stories and read poetry. They eat watermelons, pomegranates and a special dried fruit/nut mix. Bonfires are lit outside.
Jews celebrate an 8 day festival of Hanukkah, (a.k.a. Feast of Lights, Festival of lights, Feast of Dedication, Chanukah, Chanukkah, Hanukah). It recalls the war fought by the Maccabees in the cause of religious freedom. Antiochus, the king of Syria, conquered Judea in the 2nd century BCE. He terminated worship in the Temple and stole the sacred lamp, the menorah, from before the altar. At the time of the solstice, they rededicated the Temple to a Pagan deity. Judah the Maccabee lead a band of rebels, and succeeding in retaking Jerusalem. They restored the temple and lit the menorah. It was exactly three years after the flame had been extinguished, at the time of the Pagan rite. Although they had found only sufficient consecrated oil to last for 24 hours, the flames burned steadily for eight days. Once a minor festival, it has been growing in importance in recent years, perhaps because of the pressure
By the beginning of the 4th century CE, there was intense interest in choosing a day to celebrate Yeshua's (later known as Jesus Christ) birthday. The western church leaders selected December 25 because this was already the date recognized throughout the Roman Empire as the birthday of various Pagan gods. Any record of the date of birth of Yeshua of Nazareth (later known as Jesus Christ) has been lost. There is sufficient evidence in the Gospels to indicate that Yeshua was born in the fall, but this seems to have been unknown to early Christians.
Native Americans had winter solstice rites. The sun images at right are from rock paintings of the Chumash, who occupied coastal California for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived. Solstices were tremendously important to them, and the winter solstice celebration lasted several days.
Ukrainians celebrate the return of Shchedryk, the Generous One, the Dazh Boh, the Giver God, who is the sun. The feast of Dazh Boh honors both the God and the Ancestor spirits, who are considered to be benevolent when properly respected, and bring good fortune to the living. The feast always includes a place for the deceased family members, whose souls come to partake of the food.
Babylonian and Persian solstice celebrations last for 12 days during which masters and slaves exchanged places. In each household, one slave was picked to be the master. In the palace, a mock king ruled in place of the true king. The Greeks also celebrated Sacaea, but added their own unique twist. The failing light of winter gave rise to the legend of the Kallikantzaroi, the monsters of chaos who, during most of the year, were forced to live underground. During the 12 days of the solstice celebration, however, they were free to roam the earth, perpetrating malicious practical jokes. To scare them away, the Greeks burnt the equivalent of the Yule log. They also burned old shoes, in the belief that the smell would keep the Kallikantzaroi away.
The Indian winter solstice has traditionally been celebrated as Sankranti or Pongal, though somewhere down the centuries an 'astronomical' mistake had been made and it is now celebrated on 14th of January every year. This day is called Uttarayan, which means "Northern journey", and marks the beginning of the sun's ascent. Mesopotamians celebrated the solstice by supporting the god Marduk in his annual battle with the powers of chaos. At the Zagmuk festival celebrating Marduk's success, gifts were exchanged.
Winter solstice celebrations are also part of the cultural heritage of Pakistan and Tibet. And in China, even though the calendar is based on the moon, the day of winter solstice is called Dong Zhi, "The Arrival of Winter." The cold of winter made an excellent excuse for a feast, so that's how the Chinese observed it, with Ju Dong, "doing the winter."
Likewise, the date of December 25th, celebrated in most Northern societies as the birth or feast day of the solar deity, resurrected king or savior, is indicative of a 6,000 year old tradition. |
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