Looking at many primary sources today as we begin weaving together Roman, Norse, and other cultural traditions as we uncover the origins of Christmas. Todays 4 big Surprises: 1. The Hunter /Gatherers gave us the Christmas tree ritual. It was all about food. They would wrap the intestines of slaughtered animals around the branches of a fir tree. They would also add small dead animals such as birds or squirrels to the tree. They would then set it on fire. You see, this is how they cooked their meat. The strong pine smell was used to flavor the meat as it cooked, as an early spice. Today we recreate this ritual each year using garland instead of intestines. Bulbs and ornaments instead of small dead animals. And the electric lights represent the fire, and the cooking of the meat. 2. The first man sounding anything like Santa Claus was none other than Thors father, Odin himself. The Kiddies also liked how much the Germans feared the Vikings. So much so that any deities, even though they did not believe in them, who could bring those massive warriors to their knees in prayer had better be celebrated for fear of earning the wrath of Gods who they did not even existed. This fear carried on for years, and is why even now that we say Yuletide greetings, and burn a Yule log, in honor of the old Scandinavian holiday! 3. We learned that the Romans celebrated their unconquerable sun God, Mithras birthday on December 25th. To the Romans this was the holiest day of the year. So the Romans celebrated Gods birthday on December 25th,and it was their holiest day of the year... Just as it is today, only this custom occurred long before Jesus was born... Coincidence? Or something more? An unanswered mystery left for tomorrow... 4. Looking at primary sources we discover that Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod. But Herod died in 4BC, and if BC means, Before Christ, then how could Jesus have been born BEFORE CHRIST??? Another mystery for tomorrow... Stay tuned
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 16:46:05 +0000
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