Christmas 2013

11/26/2013


                        We'll here it is my Christmas tree finishedaytime.

                                           Cheers..Joe..

11/26/2013

                            Here's the tree at night.

                             Cheers....Joe.... 

11/26/2013

                         Here's a hall wall I did for Christmas..

                              Cheers..Joe.......... 

11/26/2013

                              Here's the Christmas Wreath close-up over the fireplace.


                                        Cheers.....Joe.......... 

Beautiful, Joe.

11/26/2013

                            Abe..

                                    " Thak You," I always loved an old fashion Christmas.

                                                              Cheers..Joe.........

HOW CHRISTMAS REALLY STARTED:

The pagans, before the birth of Jesus, Celebrated the Birth of Tammaz. This is the legend of Tammaz; Nimrod, a grandson of Noah, wanted to be a God. He made himself into the Sun God Tammaz. Other Gods wanted to destroy him, so he hid himself in the form of a Yule Tree. The other Gods found him, cut him down, set him on fire, and cooked their supper over his flames. The next morning, Tammaz resurrected himself in the form of a pine tree. At the top of the tree were the rays of the sun, called a Nimbus. (Halo.)

On the date Nimrod resurrected himself as the God Tammaz, December 25^th, the pagans would celebrate his birth by chopping down a tree, and putting a candle at its top (for the nimbus) and give each the gifts.

It is the celebration of the Sun God…not the birth of Jesus.

The halo you see in pictures of Jesus, Mary, etc...is the Nimbus...the sign of the false Sun God.

Why do Atheist who do not believe in God, or Jesus give Christmas gifts? Do they believe in the Sun God?

I believe you are asking a rhetorical question.   The Christians felt it was easier to add their celebrations to those already being celebrated so people had less adjustment to the new faith.  I doubt anyone is celebrating a pagan holiday even though the Christmas celebration was slipped into that slot.

All religions have their set of myths.  People believe them in various ways, some literal and others for the mystical quality.  It really doesn't matter to me so long as one person's literal view does not become a law applied to me as in many countries today where the religious leaders are also the rulers.

"Christmas" celebrations in the U.S. have become pretty much a third layer as myths and poetry merge to give us the Santa celebration.

The diversity of religions in this country make celebrating Christmas as a Christian event less evident except among those people of faith who make a point of its being a celebration of the birth of Christ even those he was more likely born at tax time. The meaning of his birth is the point, not the specificity of the details though pulling a bit of mysticism into the birth makes it more real to those of faith.

So, lots of people celebrate Christmas as a Santa Claus event, a time for families and friends to gather and share food, drink and camaraderie with each other.  In a Christian home, those gatherings may carry a birth of Christ tone and in non-Christian families Santa is it.

However Christmas is celebrated, a time of recognizing other's needs and a time of compassion is good for all.

Good post, DK.  It doesn't matter that December 25th may or may not be the actual date of Jesus birth.  Setting aside a day for celebration of an important event is good.  How it is celebrated varies.  A time for families and the giving of gifts is exciting, especially for the children.  Santa Claus represents a gift giver.  We grew up first believeing in Santa Claus.  Then we didn't believe in him, and eventually we became Santa Claus.

Santa Claus and Christmas trees are pagan concepts that were picked up by Christians in Europe during Medieval times.  Several denominations do not observe them for just that reason.

The decorated tree goes back to the early Europeans as part of the celebration of the winter solstice which was celebrated on December 21st, and was part of the reason for choosing to celebrate the birth of Christ in the same season.  The trees were not chopped down - it would have been considered a waste of a living thing.  The origins of gift-giving at that time of year  go back to old Germany.  The name Santa Claus is fairly modern, and was loosely based on a 4th century individual, Nicolas uf Susa, who became St. Nickolas.  He entered the Christmas celebration through Norse pagans who celebrated Yule - a celebration of winter similar to the solstice. These gods and their religion are sometimes said to be connected to the older Babylonian religion, and Nimrod is connected through that group.

So, it is part of an ancient tradition of gift-giving during the cold winter season that pre-dates Christianity.

How It All Got Started
http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-christmas-trees
Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.
In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.
Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs. In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.
Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. But, as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.
It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted so late in America. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. The pilgrims's second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out "pagan mockery" of the observance, penalizing any frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event." In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy.
In 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Unlike the previous royal family, Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The Christmas tree had arrived.
By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S. It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height, while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling.
The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German-American sect continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts. Electricity brought about Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition.

Interesting DK.

Last year I wrote a short story about the origin of the song: "Silent Night Holy Night" that originated in Austria.   Your post reminded me of that story.  Traditions have been carried to American by many immigrants.  Pennsylvania was heavily settled by Germans when William Penn visited Germany and invited them to settle in Pennsylvania.

Today begins the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) in Germany.  It is an exciting time for all.  Lots of good eats and drinks along with handcrafted toys and other items especially made for Christmas.

Live candles on the Christmas tree can still be seen here.  When I was a kid I was told that it was illegal to have live candles on the tree since it was a fire hazard.  Apples are still used as tree ornaments, however that is changing with the times.  Artificial decorations are available and being used including artificial Christmas Trees. 

I still cut my own tree and have identified a small one that will get the axe (or saw) in the next few weeks.

My first Christmas  in Germany we cut our tree Christmas Eve and put real candles on it.  The rest of the decorations we made.  It was our best tree ever.  We had to keep a spritz bottle handy though if one of the little live candle holders tipped over.   I kept those holders through many moves, but they now seem to be gone.  I do have my collection of wood ornaments though.

I remember the candle holders from Christmases at my Grandparent's farm, before they had electricity.  I even wrote a blog about it:Christmas in the Piney Woods.

Remembering makes me want to go a search to see if I have any of the holders left.  I used to think they might come in handly on a no power day....

Possibly an antique shop?  There is a delightful one near the Schraer's beach house.  It has things like old Christmas ornaments, etc.  I'll bet you could find some at a similar shop, if you can't find your own.