Christmas

CHRISTMAS
Hi,
We worked a bit during the holidays, searched the net, visited websites and this is what we found out about the Christmas festival.

The following is just an introduction to the festival: why 25th? What’s the origin of Xmas? What is Advent ?
The Gospels do not mention the date of Jesus' birth. In the 4th century AD Pope Julius I set 25th December as the date for Christmas. This was an attempt to Christianise the pagan customs and celebrations that already took place at this time of year.

What were these pagan celebrations?
The pagan celebration of Winter Solstice is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world.
The seasons and weather played a very important part in ancient times. The Norsemen of Northern Europe saw the sun as a wheel that changed the seasons. It was from the word for this wheel, houl, that the word yule (another name for Christmas) probably came. At Winter Solstice the Norsemen lit bonfires, told stories and drank sweet ale.
The Romans also had a festival to mark the Winter Solstice. Saturnalia (from the God Saturn) ran for seven days from 17th December. The festival also involved processions, decorating houses with greenery, lighting candles and giving presents.
The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year (21st December) and was celebrated in Britain long before the arrival of Christianity. The Druids (Celtic priests) used to cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing. Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months.
It was also the Druids who began the tradition of the yule log. The Celts thought that the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter and during this time a log was lit to defeat the darkness and bring luck for the coming year.
In pagan customs holly, one of the symbol most associated with Christmas, represented the Sun God and it was used to decorate windows and doors for protection.
Many of these customs are still followed today. They have been incorporated into the Christian and secular celebrations of Christmas. In fact it was easy to substitute the material sun of the solstice with Christ, the Light of the world.

THE PERIOD OF ADVENT
Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus and begins four Sundays before Christmas day. The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus meaning coming. People no longer fast during the advent but they get ready for the arrival of Jesus. Christians think about preparing to celebrate Xmas at their own home , with their family and about the need to prepare one’s inner self to receive Jesus in spirit.

Within the period of Advent there are several Saints’ Days and the saint that has become associated with Christmas is Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. We know very little about his historical figure but a lot of legends celebrate his generosity. His feast day is December 6 and in many tradition this is the day children receive their presents. In modern times the figures of Father Christmas and Santa Claus are indistinguishable.

The visual image of Father Christmas that we have today is the one popularised by American card-makers in the nineteenth century. Some traditions surrounding Father Christmas pre-date Christianity for example his sleigh, pulled by reindeer, comes from Scandinavian mythology.

Francesco and Sergio