xMAS and Christianity???

[Malana]

Dunno. Christians did not "invent" the christmas tree though..

The short answer is that the Celts and the pagan Romans pretty much everybody pre-Christian, saw the winter solstice as a great time to party. The only way to get us... I mean them... *Malana wonders if her freckles and pale skin are showing* to stop running around naked under the full moon and having lots of sex was to give us something else to do like cutting down a tree and making lots of handcrafted thingies to hang on it.

The long answer is that evergreens have been a symbol of rebirth from ancient times. Bringing greenery into your house at winter solstice symbolized life in the midst of death in many cultures. The christmas tree was probably a descendent of the Yule tree. We think the word is a descendent of the Anglo-Saxon word 'geol' which eans feast. Probably the time of winter solstice for the Celts, Angles and Saxons was the time of a great feast. Solstices both Winter and Spring were celebrated with dancing and merrymaking.

The Romans also decked their homes with evergreens. They celebrated Saturnalia, which was a festival honoring the god of agriculture. Relaxed morality, general merrymaking, feasting and gift giving were all associated with Saturnalia. These tradtions and the traditions of other cultures were assimilated by Christians and given Christian meanings.

[metalman]

The Romans also decked their homes with evergreens. They celebrated Saturnalia, which was a festival honoring the god of agriculture. Relaxed morality, general merrymaking, feasting and gift giving were all associated with Saturnalia. These tradtions and the traditions of other cultures were assimilated by Christians and given Christian meanings.

Yes indeed...pagan festivals of fertility & sun worship "given christian meanings"...or more accurately meanings invented by the roman catholic church and followers. These days werent included in any so called christian "worship" until the 3rd century AD during the Constantine era when much of the Truth of the Bible and Jesus Christ was sacrificed in favor of meaningless rituals of pagan orgin.