| On Christmas: |
| Mankind began observing the celestial cycles thousands of years ago. We know this because several monuments from prehistoric times still stand, such as Stonehenge in England, that illustrate their knowledge of the summer and winter solstice. So it's safe to assume that a celebration of those events is a long-standing tradition. One could almost say that they are wired into our DNA. In any event, they predate Christianity and certainly Christmas in its modern form by many centuries.
Today in America there is a notion that the secular world had declared a "war on Christmas" by attempting to isolate the celebration of this time of year and the specific date of December 25th from the event of the birth of Jesus. However, when pressed, they will admit that nowhere in the Christian Bible is that date linked to the birth date of Jesus. As a matter of fact, his specific birth date is not mentioned at all. A brief study of the history of the holiday we in modern times call Christmas reveals that the early Christian church actually imposed a Christian meaning onto a holiday season that long predated their religion. So what the secular world is in fact doing is returning the aforementioned holiday season to its original non-religious roots. The items below are a collection of thoughts regarding Christmas collected from various sources. Feel free to add your own. Isaac Newton argued that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the winter solstice, which the Romans called bruma and celebrated on December 25. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the nativity in combination with the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Armenian churches customarily use the Gregorian calendar, but some use the Julian calendar and thus celebrate Christmas Day on January 19, and Christmas Eve on January 18 (according to the Gregorian calendar). The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. King Edmund the Martyr was anointed on Christmas in 855 and King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066. In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England shared radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas. Celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. By the 1820s, sectarian tension had eased in Britain and writers, including William Winstanly, began to worry that Christmas was dying out. These writers imagined Tudor Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive the holiday. In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote the novel A Christmas Carol, that helped revive the 'spirit' of Christmas and seasonal merriment. Its instant popularity played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion. Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a family-centered festival of generosity, in contrast to the community-based and church-centered observations, the observance of which had dwindled during the late 18th century and early 19th century. Superimposing his secular vision of the holiday, Dickens influenced many aspects of Christmas that are celebrated today in Western culture, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games, and a festive generosity of spirit. A prominent phrase from the tale, 'Merry Christmas', was popularized following the appearance of the story. In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas). The poem helped popularize the tradition In 1870, Christmas was formally declared a United States Federal holiday, signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant. Source: extracted from various articles on Wikipedia The American search for the perfect Christmas tree goes back to the 19th century and Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of “Godey’s Lady’s Book,” the first mass-market women’s magazine. In the 1850s, when Hale came into her own, only the Germans celebrated Christmas with a decorated tree. Hale introduced her American readers to the Next Big Thing by taking a picture of Britain’s Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who was German, standing around the tree that Albert had introduced at the castle. Hale performed a 19th-century version of photoshopping, blotting out Victoria’s crown jewels and Alfred’s royal sash until — presto! She had her cover, a typical American family clustered around their traditional — although hitherto unknown — Christmas tree. Source: "The Tannenbaum Chronicles" By GAIL COLLINS - NY Times - December 24, 2010 |
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| Comments | Contributor | Date Submitted |
| All very true,but I still want my week off from work. | Linda Denton |
12/14/2011 |
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