Long before the birth of Jesus, our ancestors honored the changing of the seasons. Many of our customs today have a basis in those early traditions including Yule logs, mistletoe and Christmas trees – having their roots in the pagan celebrations of the winter Solstice.
The Winter Solstice was a major pagan celebration,with rituals of rebirth having been celebrated for thousands of years.
December 24, 2016 at 10:16 pm
That video tends to paint a rather positive image of all those pagan gods. A romanticized portrait. Our European ancestors were savages because they worshiped savage gods.
What that video does is enumerates some of the customs that were pleasant enough that we kept them. Now many people have little idea where those customs came from. Few are silly enough to worship those gods. At least for the time being.
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December 24, 2016 at 10:35 pm
The Catholic Church in reality in order to absorb the pagans usurped many of their so called Holidays and incorporated them into specific Christian holy days. It is unlikely that Jesus was born in December. But the promise of light and renewal and rebirth resonates with me. I agree with you that many of the Gods worshipped were savage. But it was Jesus who brought us a loving god. The old testament could be quite rugged as well.
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December 21, 2016 at 5:42 pm
Informative and gorgeous images!
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December 21, 2016 at 5:45 pm
Glad you enjoyed it. Hope this was a good day for you. 🙂
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December 21, 2016 at 4:39 pm
Wishing you all the joy of the season!!!
( Gotta love the name of the band >;-) )
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December 21, 2016 at 5:15 pm
Lovely. Great name indeed! Happy Solstice to you as well. 🙂
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December 21, 2016 at 11:26 am
Best day of the year…gets longer here on out. I added you to my blog. Trade links?
http://guncraft.blogspot.com/
Jerry
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December 21, 2016 at 11:31 am
Thanks Jerry. Sounds great to me. Yes,,,, the wheel has turned…. 🙂
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December 21, 2016 at 10:55 am
Happy Winter Solstice, Bunk.
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December 21, 2016 at 11:00 am
Same to you Adrienne. The earth starts its new year, and we are blessed.
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December 21, 2016 at 8:44 am
I love history, especially medieval British Isles history and have read a lot of books on what my Celtic ancestors used to consider important. You can see how the Romans (i.e. Catholic church) took an already established pagan holiday and coheres people into their practices. I know this time of year has nothing to do with Christianity. Actually, many Christian Jews have said that our Messiah was probably born in the Spring time. That really makes more sense.
Anyway, I really like the Winter months (and Fall and early Spring). Summer, however, is my Nemesis. It’s too dadgum hot and humid in the Southeast to enjoy anything. But back to this being the first day of Winter, hope your day is a happy one too. ~:)
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December 21, 2016 at 10:59 am
Same to you Sparky. A blessed new year to you and your family.
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December 21, 2016 at 8:03 am
A very Merry Solstice to you…down there in 80*. {{{giggling}}}
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December 21, 2016 at 8:21 am
Thanks Linda….. its beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but not the feel here.
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December 21, 2016 at 8:30 am
….and that is why I can not live in the south anymore, wink. smiles
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December 21, 2016 at 7:18 am
Reblogged this on hocuspocus13 and commented:
MERRY🕯SOLSTICE
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December 21, 2016 at 7:26 am
Thanks! Merry solstice to you as well. 🙂
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