Halloween
It's almost Halloween and that got me thinking about why we mark occassions such as this one. All Hallow's Eve originated with the Pagan Celts of the British Isles and Europe at the time of their harvest festival. In a treatment common with many Pagan festivals, the Christian feast of All Saint's Day was moved to November 1st to give Halloween a more Christian interpretation. So does this kind of treatment hold true for other festival days?
Christmas, Christ's Mass, 25th December, the birth of Jesus Christ. In fact it was timed to coincide with the Pagan winter solstice festival of Yule, and the Roman winter festival of Saturnalia. The true date of birth for Christ remains unknown, but by timing the celebration to coincide with other festivals the early Christians were able to popularise their own.
Even Easter, the most important event in the Christian calendar, is not without controvesy. It has been claimed that this feast may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon celebration of the spring equinox and its goddess Eostre.
Ever since the first Council of Nicea in 325AD the Christian church has hijacked Pagan festivals to suit there own purposes and further the message that Christianity sought to deliver. Whether this is a good or bad thing is not for me to say but for you, the reader, to decide for yourself. Bear it in mind though the next time you're tucking into the Christmas turkey or chomping on a chocolate egg.
Christmas, Christ's Mass, 25th December, the birth of Jesus Christ. In fact it was timed to coincide with the Pagan winter solstice festival of Yule, and the Roman winter festival of Saturnalia. The true date of birth for Christ remains unknown, but by timing the celebration to coincide with other festivals the early Christians were able to popularise their own.
Even Easter, the most important event in the Christian calendar, is not without controvesy. It has been claimed that this feast may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon celebration of the spring equinox and its goddess Eostre.
Ever since the first Council of Nicea in 325AD the Christian church has hijacked Pagan festivals to suit there own purposes and further the message that Christianity sought to deliver. Whether this is a good or bad thing is not for me to say but for you, the reader, to decide for yourself. Bear it in mind though the next time you're tucking into the Christmas turkey or chomping on a chocolate egg.
posted by Texas Ian at 7:40 PM
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4 Comments:
It seems that it doesn't take long before the subject of religion rears up. What a controversial subject it is, too. I try not to get too excited about it all but I must admit that when it is used as an excuse for turmoil throughout the world for centuries ... well words fail me. I appreciate people saying they 'keep an open mind' on the subject but I'm sure that some of them have opened their minds so much that their brains have fallen out. Ask yourself, Ian(?) how many people do you know? Quite possibly over a thousand if you really count. How many of them are in favour of war? The usual answer is ... NONE. If this is true, then why has the planet been awash with war for millennia?
Always a good ice-breaker when the party slows down a bit! (LOL)
As you possibly saw from my profile, one of my interests is 'crop circles'. Now if that's not asking for an argument, I can't imagine what is. I feel an article on the subject forming in my open mind to add to my blog!
Ah yes, religious debate does tend to stir up the feelings, I suppose because any form of attack or comment on what we hold to be true often feels like an attack on ourselves.
I'm certain that very few people are in favour of war, but that is not to say that the reason for going to war are not valid and justified. Indeed there may be no other option that will offer a solution, and history has certainly borne that out.
War for religious or political reason have, and always will, happen all the time that man cannot see beyond the black and white of his beliefs, and accept that another's views are as valid as his own whether he agrees with them or not.
To say that the early church 'hijacked' Pagan festivals is perhaps a bit strong. The timings of the main festivals - Christmas and Easter - are fairly obvious, coinciding with the darkest period of the year and the start of spring, which is why the Pagans used them and the Christians after them in turn. If there hadn't been any Pagan festivals I reckon these most distinctive periods in the calendar year would still have been adopted by the early church.
I think you are probably right Daniel, however there is no denying the fact that the early church chose to coincide their own festivals in order to promote them and undermine existing pagan festivals. It meant it was not easily possible for the pagan religions to celebrate both festivals equally and, inevitably, this and other pressures meant that christianity took over and the old ways died out.
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