Politics and religion, two things that tend to get people very angry. Why is that? Well, I tend to stay away from politics as much as I can in this journal because there are way too many opinions, mine included. But what also incites people is talk of religion, especially when it differs with someone’s beliefs. Because of this, I’m not going to talk about religion here, right? Not!
First off, I want anyone reading this to understand that I am not bashing anyone’s beliefs. I feel that everyone has a right to the faith of their choice, and that whatever they decide is right for them is, whether it is the same as mine or not. Where I draw the line is when someone tries to force their beliefs on me, and it has happened more times than I can count.
I read something that set me off one day, and although I have an idea where I want to go with it, I may get waylaid on my path. There are several things that bother me, and they include pushy people trying to tell you what is right for them is right for everyone, and gross stupidity. Somewhere along the line, I’m going to cover those, but before I started writing this, I did some research as I wanted to have a more substantial clue to back up my feelings.
Now this post may extend over a couple days as I don’t think it will be short. So first let’s look at some education, and keep in mind that I use my Methodist upbringing to supply some of this.
There are and have always been many religions on this planet, and I’m not talking about Christian religions. Christianity in all of its various versions is only one type. There are many Pagan religions as well as Judaism and Buddhism. There were faiths in the Greek Gods, the Egyptian Gods, and the Roman Gods. There were faiths in the elements which is what many Pagan religions are based on going back to the Celtic tribes and before.
Many of these Pagan beliefs (which include Wicca and Druidism) honored the four elements and spirit. (When you think about Polarity Theory, it is a type of energy healing that works with the four elements of energy and ether, effectively the same thing.) They follow the seasons and the cycles of the moon which brings about death and rebirth in nature.
Then 2,000 years ago, a man named Jesus was nailed to a cross where he died. A few days later he rose from the dead and went to live at the side of God (Yahweh) the father. This is the basic belief of Christianity. History tells us that his execution was politically motivated. People of that time, not having the technology that we do, believed that he did die, and was resurrected. Although there are conflicting stories in other places, history can not prove or disprove what has been passed down (the key source of which is the Bible).
Since Jesus’ death, his apostle (follower), Paul, started a church to further the teachings that Jesus had done. Eventually this religion became known as Christianity. Over the past couple millennia, it has grown to be one of the most predominate religions on the planet, but not the only one. Many Pagan religions still exist , along with Muslim, Buddhist, and Judaism, and who knows how may others.
Now Christianity spread probably because of some good media and mass marketing ideas (mostly based on the beliefs and convictions of its followers). Once Christianity got established, its followers, believing that their way was the only way, spread the word that any other faith was wrong and the followers of such faiths were to be known as Pagans. (Yes, Pagan was a word Christians came up with to refer to any non-Christian religion. Today, the term is used by the non-Christian religions to define themselves. In truth, Muslim and Buddhist faiths fall under that category as well if you take the initial definition. The only reason Judaism is not considered Pagan is because Jews believe in the same God as Christians. Where the difference occurs is that Christians recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed one, the son of God. Jews do not. They believe that the Messiah is still coming.)
As Christianity slowly replaced other Pagan religions as the main faith (as decreed by too many governments) the Christians realized that they still had problems with other faiths and their holy days (now known as holidays). Here was the masterstroke of marketing. The Christians made their holy days to coincide with Pagan holy days.
For instance Christmas, a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, is December 25th. (Many historians believe that Jesus was actually born in the spring.) Since Pagans followed the seasons and changes in the earth and lunar time table, their holy day Yule (or Yuletide) is on the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) which falls around December 22nd. (Since the planets change, and things are not perfect, this is not a set date as the solstice changes based on the movement of the planet.) It is the returning of the sun to the land. Many of the traditions significant of Yule are the decorating of the Yule tree, kissing under the mistletoe, and exchanging gifts. Special fragrances were Frankincense and Myrrh. Prominent colors were red and green. It is interesting to see how many or those traditions are still around only in other forms and names. (I read another snippet that stated that Christmas was fading as a holiday in the mid 1800s. The 12 day feast and holiday was being ignored as businesses were staying open and people ignored the time. That is until one author who wanted to see the celebrations that they had when he was a child, wrote a book that ignited people who again renewed interest in Christmas. That author was a man named Charles Dickens, and his book, A Christmas Carole.)
In the spring, Christians celebrate Easter signifying Jesus’ death and then resurrection. Before that, the Pagans celebrated Ostara around March 21st at the spring equinox. The mythology involved the return of certain deities from the underworld that were banished at Halloween. Sort of like a death and rebirth. Symbols of Ostara involve bunnies, chickens, and eggs (probably signifying the rebirth and fertilization of the land). Hmmm, Easter eggs? Could this be the origination of the Easter bunny? (I have always wondered why the date of Easter changes. It makes sense that if we would know the date of someone’s birth, why not his death? The date of Easter changes to keep it aligned with Ostara.)
If we’re talking Halloween, it is obvious that this was a Pagan holiday. It signified the old God dying, and the Goddess mourning him until he is reborn at the spring equinox. In Celtic tradition it was believed that on this one night the dead could, if they chose, return to the world of the living and celebrate with their friends and family. Extra places were set at the table or food and drink were left on the doorstep of a home for the returning spirits. Here is where going from door to door came from.
Christians created All Saints Day which is November 1st. It wasn’t until moving to the south that I saw any difference in what happened. Here, many Christians do not let their children go Trick-or-treating. Instead, they celebrate the Christian holiday at the local churches where they dress up as saints and other religious figures. It was during this mass marketing campaign that Wicca practitioners became witches, and those were ugly evil things.
Years ago, we used to observe May Day, not as a holiday, but as an observance. Back in the 1960s, students in high school would do some type of pageant where they would dance around the May Pole. There would be many ribbons tied to the top of the pole in two colors, usually pink and blue. Everyone participating would dress in very nice clothes. The males would walk around in one direction and the females in the other. They would move in and out thus creating a weave effect in the ribbons. This would continue until all the ribbon was used.
What this actually was is a tamed down version of the Pagan festival of Beltane. The dance around the May Pole was sensual as this was a fertility dance. It would honor the Goddess of Fertility. In ancient times, it was the preamble to several days of sexual intercourse. May Day is no longer celebrated except by Pagan groups and is not what it was back in ancient times.
Here’s one that might surprise you, Groundhog’s Day. Although this is not really celebrated, nor is it a Christian holy day, it was originally part of Candlemas (or Imbolc). It is celebrated on February 2nd, a date where spring is starting to show itself. There were superstitions about weather prediction based on the antics of a hedgehog. As people migrated to North America, the local wildlife made it necessary to change to a groundhog. So remember that one next time Punxsutawney Phil makes his prediction about the end of winter.
So as you can see, many of the holidays that we celebrate today actually came from other religions. Just like in the writing of history, whatever is popular at the time is what rules what we are taught and what we think (at least to some extent). Religions come and go. Some withstand the test of time, others get pushed away as something new comes along. Sometimes all it takes is a little common sense, some new teachings, and stories about miracles, and of course a good marketing campaign.
I hope you have enjoyed this history lesson. Tomorrow comes the semi-rant that this has set up. Take care.