In about 10 and a half hours...
Dec. 21st, 2003 03:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
capri0mniThe sun will pass through the Tropic of Capricorn.
Or, to be more accurate, the Earth will have moved to such a place in its orbit that the sun will appear to be about 23.7 degrees south of the equator.
This is the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere and the Summer Solstice in the southern hemisphere.
For the ancient Norse, this was their new year, and, just as the new year for the neighboring peoples, the Celts (who celebrated their new year on what is now November 1), it was as much a feast for the dead as it was a fire and light-the-lights feast.
According to Phyllis Siefker, in her book Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men, the figure we know fondly today as "Santa" actually has more in common with the demonic figure of "Black Pete" than the Patron Saint of children and sailors, Nicholas, and a mere two or three centuries ago, naughty children were threatened with being eaten alive rather than mere lumps of coal or socks. Some may recoil at the harshness of that, but many kids today love being scared on Halloween, so who are we to turn up our noses?
Personally, I see "Santa Claus" (or Furry Nicholas, to translate one early German name for him) as the personification of Nature itself: Generous without bounds if we are good (i.e. working with nature and its cycle), but willing and able eat us alive if we are greedy or careless.
This time of year didn't get associated with Christ's birth until 300 years after his death, when the sect of Christianity that held that Jesus the Christ was both divine and human succeeded in surpressing other interpretations of who He was.
Assuming the New Testament account of his birth is accurate, Jesus the actual baby was probably born around the ides of March, when Cesear held the census for the empire, and the ewes were lambing (the only time of year when shepards had to "watch their flocks by night". But December 25th was already a widely celebrated birthday for the god Mithras -- the Persian god of light and goodness, and it was easier to simply rededicate the day to a different God than ban one festival and create a new one... Though, personally, I'd like to believe that the spiritual and symbolic meaning of this time of year was taken into account, too -- that the aspect of Jesus as "bringer of light" was recognized.
Of course, that's not what's going on in the southern hemisphere, today... but "Santa" is still dressed in fur, and drives a sleigh over fake snow... But by the time the northern Europeans brought Christmas with them when they settled there, it was mostly a day to remember what dear ol' Grandma used to do... and that's fine, too...
So whatever your season, and whatever your faith, here's wishing the best of joy and generosity to you!
Or, to be more accurate, the Earth will have moved to such a place in its orbit that the sun will appear to be about 23.7 degrees south of the equator.
This is the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere and the Summer Solstice in the southern hemisphere.
For the ancient Norse, this was their new year, and, just as the new year for the neighboring peoples, the Celts (who celebrated their new year on what is now November 1), it was as much a feast for the dead as it was a fire and light-the-lights feast.
According to Phyllis Siefker, in her book Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men, the figure we know fondly today as "Santa" actually has more in common with the demonic figure of "Black Pete" than the Patron Saint of children and sailors, Nicholas, and a mere two or three centuries ago, naughty children were threatened with being eaten alive rather than mere lumps of coal or socks. Some may recoil at the harshness of that, but many kids today love being scared on Halloween, so who are we to turn up our noses?
Personally, I see "Santa Claus" (or Furry Nicholas, to translate one early German name for him) as the personification of Nature itself: Generous without bounds if we are good (i.e. working with nature and its cycle), but willing and able eat us alive if we are greedy or careless.
This time of year didn't get associated with Christ's birth until 300 years after his death, when the sect of Christianity that held that Jesus the Christ was both divine and human succeeded in surpressing other interpretations of who He was.
Assuming the New Testament account of his birth is accurate, Jesus the actual baby was probably born around the ides of March, when Cesear held the census for the empire, and the ewes were lambing (the only time of year when shepards had to "watch their flocks by night". But December 25th was already a widely celebrated birthday for the god Mithras -- the Persian god of light and goodness, and it was easier to simply rededicate the day to a different God than ban one festival and create a new one... Though, personally, I'd like to believe that the spiritual and symbolic meaning of this time of year was taken into account, too -- that the aspect of Jesus as "bringer of light" was recognized.
Of course, that's not what's going on in the southern hemisphere, today... but "Santa" is still dressed in fur, and drives a sleigh over fake snow... But by the time the northern Europeans brought Christmas with them when they settled there, it was mostly a day to remember what dear ol' Grandma used to do... and that's fine, too...
So whatever your season, and whatever your faith, here's wishing the best of joy and generosity to you!
