Here we go again. It is that time of the year again. I am quite amazed that we have reached the 21st Century and people still celebrate Christmas without being any wiser to its true origins. The idea that Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ could not be further from the truth. This time of the year has become such a grotesque spectacle of excessive indulgence in all things immoral it leaves little in the way of any spirituality. Even if Jesus Christ really was born on 25th December and he intended us to celebrate his birthday, do you really think such an enlightened Being and Ascended Master would want us to celebrate it in the way it is done, with the massive exploitation, abuse and deaths of so many creatures in the meat and dairy industry, and in the cosmetics and perfumery industry, the global destruction of the environment and the extensive exploitation of peoples in the Third World, the drunken debauchery and sexual licentious behaviour that follows the festive irreverent revelry and the pretentious, false
emotive nonsense of people feeling obliged to send Christmas cards to people they do not even like? Picture this, and picture it well. The department stores are busy with all manner of people, the various arrays of scents fill the air tempting you to buy the latest designer perfume, its fancy, glittery packaging and heavy chemical smell hides the reality behind it. All of these perfumes and cosmetics contain the same ingredients and are made by the same companies, but you pay for the name on the label. You also buy into the suffering and exploitation of the animals that were tested on just so that you can smell 'nice' for a while. Then you go into the supermarkets and there you are confronted with so much choice of foods, all packaged clean and clinical…..but most of it is artificial and toxic and also hides another reality of suffering and exploitation just so that you can gluttonise on 3 times as much food on Christmas Day as a person in the Third World will eat in one week, and in doing so you will also contribute to the increase in green-house gases and deforestation in the process. You see it does not stop there. This is not just a one day a year activity. It may reach excessive proportions at this time of year, but for most people it is a life-style. What they eat, what they wear, what they buy, what they do in their life-style all adds up. A life-style which the world can do without.
So let us now examine the truth behind this continuing festival of foolish falsehood.
Firstly, and most importantly, Jesus Christ was NOT born on 25th December. In fact, he was not even born in the month of December. The Bible which narrates his birth tells us that the shepherds were with their flocks in the fields. All the Christmas cards depict shepherds with sheep in the fields at night which perpetuates this error. In that area of the world, December is too cold and harsh for shepherds to keep their animals out in the fields. The animals would have been kept indoors and would have been taken indoors at night from around autumn. The area where Jesus Christ was born was formerly part of Syria, although some of it now lies in the region known as modern Palestine. December is their winter time and can be as cold and wet as Europe. The fact that shepherds still had their animals out in the fields at night indicates that it was around late summer/early autumn, in the month of Ethanim which is September/October time when Jesus Christ was actually born. The Bible does not mention the number of Wise Men who travelled although Christmas cards also like to perpetuate the number of three Wise Men. This is probably associated with later 'trinity' beliefs in Christendom. It would more than likely have been a travelling caravan of merchants, holy men, chieftains and patriarchs en route from Yemen, Persia, Egypt and Babylon and included nobles, dignitaries or priest kings from these civilisations. They bought gifts of frankincense and myrrh. These products were highly prized and would only have been reserved for very important or royal persons which give further evidence that Jesus Christ was not just an ordinary person. Caravan trains travelling such routes carrying merchandise for trading purposes were common in those times and would not have aroused any suspicion. The specific 'Wise Men' or Magi could easily have travelled undetected with their caravans until they found the location where the important, royal Christ child was born, which by this time Jesus was now actually in a house and not in the traditional manger so beloved of Nativity scenes.
So why did December become such an important month in the Christian calendar in the first place? The reason originates with the Winter Solstice which falls around the dates of 21st and 22nd December. This is a time when the sun appears to stop in the sky prior to beginning its journey back across the heavens and is the shortest day of the year in the western northern hemisphere. After the Winter Solstice the days gradually get longer and the ancient European peoples considered this to be the birthday of the Sun. They believed that at this time, the Sun was reborn again. To celebrate this, there would be festivals in mid-winter and also as a way of helping folks to comfort themselves during long, dark and cold days. In ancient Rome, the Feast of Saturnalia was held between 17th and 23rd of December and gifts would be exchanged. The Romans also held the Feast of Brumalia on the Solstice Day and considered this to be the birthday of Mithras who was the Roman Unconquered Sun god. The Norsemen also celebrated their own Festival of Yule at this time to herald the return of the Sun.
Christmas has long been associated with the idea of exchanging gifts and this too is an ancient practice. Apart from the Romans, giving gifts at Saturnalia, they also exchanged presents on the Feast of Kalends, which we call New Year's Day and from where the western calendar originates. These customs prevailed all over the Roman Empire when Christianity was still a new religion. When Christianity spread to the northern lands, the Vikings were worshipping their own interpretation of the Creator in the form of Odin. Odin was believed to ride his chariot through the night sky during the time of the Winter Solstice when he would throw down gifts to worthy warriors. Due to the fact that the exchange of gifts was linked to pagan festivals, devout Christians originally did not exchange gifts at all. The whole idea of gift-exchange continued and could not be erased by the growing new religion of Christianity. As a result, the early Church decided to compromise by introducing their own Christian icon in an attempt to co-erce people into abandoning their own former associations with gifts and non-Christian religion.
They chose to introduce St. Nicholas, the former Bishop of Myra in the 4th Century.
One thing that qualified him for his role of gift-bringer was that his Feast Day was on 6th December, a date quite close to the Solstice and easy for both dates to be connected in the minds of the masses which the Church sought to control. St. Nicholas became a useful Saint to use as he was multi-purpose for the Church's aims. His responsibilities included the welfare of pawn-brokers, boatmen, parish clerks, dockers, and barrel-makers amongst others. So he seemed like a good old all-rounder for the protection of ordinary folk. He was also the Patron Saint of Russia and Aberdeen in Scotland. The best-known story about him tells of his leaving 3 bags of gold on a poor man's window-sill as dowries for his three daughters. One version of this tale states that the gold was thrown through the window and landed in a stocking that had been hung up to dry.
This could explain the whole idea behind the traditional Christmas custom of children leaving a stocking hanging up for Father Christmas to leave gifts in.
Jesus Christ is often known as the Light of the World, a title that continues with the theme of darkness in the retreat of the light, or the retreat of evil in the face of good.
The most central aspect to traditional Christmas is the Christmas tree but this is also steeped in ancient spiritual traditions. The tree chosen is the spruce which holds a rich symbolism long forgotten by most people. The Christmas tree was introduced into Great Britain by Prince Albert during the Victorian Era. It was a legacy of German medieval mystery plays where the tree was celebrated each year as a symbol of rebirth. The Norwegian spruce has become the traditional Christmas tree and, since the last World War, Norway has given one to England each year where it stands for all to see in Trafalgar Square. However, there are much older rituals which preceded the Christian symbol of the fir tree. The Church still fully aware of the much older pagan origins of Christmas were unable to ban the practice entirely especially as so many people still needed the reassurance of the Christmas tree symbol at a time when the ground was barren and the trees were naked. The tree was brought indoors to both represent the idea of bringing life and greenery back into the world and also to brighten up homes in the otherwise dark and barren environment at this time. This is probably why yew trees, which are symbolic of eternal life, remain in church yards. The Norwegian spruce also conjures up fairytale images of a traditional idyllic Christmas scene with expanses of white pristine snow, forests draped in pure whiteness with only the footprints of deer and moose. In Scandinavian countries, ancient myths still run deep throughout their culture. The greatest and most well-known myth tells of the World Tree or World Ash whose presence runs throughout history, in every culture and religion. The myth is of Yggdrasil, the tree of Odin who was the great All-Father Creator God. He was believed to have hung from this tree for nine days and nine nights to gain knowledge of the runes. This tree was also referred to as the Cosmic Tree which spanned the universe with its roots in the underworld and its branches supporting the heavens, while the trunk was the earth at its centre.
Symbolically, these images have been used as archetypes for human mental, emotional and spiritual growth. Like the tree, we are rooted in the physical world of matter which we need to function on an everyday level. Yet the roots can be perceived as our connection to both the Earth and as an entry point to the Underworld, or Hidden World of Spirit. From descending into the hidden depths of our subconscious, our spiritual growth can provide us with the ability to ascend the trunk towards a higher level of awareness to begin the process of transmuting our base substances or so that we may partake of that spiritual fruit traditionally forbidden in the Garden of Eden story. The same symbolic tree exists in Hebrew Kabbalistic Traditions and in Christianity; Jesus Christ was sacrificed on a tree. In Buddhism, the Buddha sat under a banyan tree for 49 days to become enlightened and the idea of a World Tree offering the stages of enlightenment exist in other cultures including ancient Greece, Egypt, South America and all shamanic belief-systems. Traditionally, the top of Christmas trees are decorated with stars or an angel. The star represents the same star which acted as a portent to guide the Wise Men to the place where Jesus Christ was born. Of course, both the star and angel is seen as the peak of enlightenment or the guiding force. Though my analysis of the modern trappings of secular Christmas is not meant to encourage complete doom and gloom at this time of year. People who know the true meaning of Christmas will be celebrating it while treading lightly on the earth. A Pagan friend of mine was once asked by her neighbour why she put up a Christmas tree if she was a Pagan? She replied that it was because she was a Pagan that she put up a Christmas tree! Sacrifice will mean giving up all the products of exploitation that everyone else will be indulging in and making it a lifestyle choice. By doing this, not only is the soul purified but also the mind and body, and in doing so not only do we move closer to the star at the top of the tree, or 'enlightenment', we also release all those negative and harmful connections that so many people are bound to in this current society, especially at this time of year.
emotive nonsense of people feeling obliged to send Christmas cards to people they do not even like? Picture this, and picture it well. The department stores are busy with all manner of people, the various arrays of scents fill the air tempting you to buy the latest designer perfume, its fancy, glittery packaging and heavy chemical smell hides the reality behind it. All of these perfumes and cosmetics contain the same ingredients and are made by the same companies, but you pay for the name on the label. You also buy into the suffering and exploitation of the animals that were tested on just so that you can smell 'nice' for a while. Then you go into the supermarkets and there you are confronted with so much choice of foods, all packaged clean and clinical…..but most of it is artificial and toxic and also hides another reality of suffering and exploitation just so that you can gluttonise on 3 times as much food on Christmas Day as a person in the Third World will eat in one week, and in doing so you will also contribute to the increase in green-house gases and deforestation in the process. You see it does not stop there. This is not just a one day a year activity. It may reach excessive proportions at this time of year, but for most people it is a life-style. What they eat, what they wear, what they buy, what they do in their life-style all adds up. A life-style which the world can do without.
So let us now examine the truth behind this continuing festival of foolish falsehood.
Firstly, and most importantly, Jesus Christ was NOT born on 25th December. In fact, he was not even born in the month of December. The Bible which narrates his birth tells us that the shepherds were with their flocks in the fields. All the Christmas cards depict shepherds with sheep in the fields at night which perpetuates this error. In that area of the world, December is too cold and harsh for shepherds to keep their animals out in the fields. The animals would have been kept indoors and would have been taken indoors at night from around autumn. The area where Jesus Christ was born was formerly part of Syria, although some of it now lies in the region known as modern Palestine. December is their winter time and can be as cold and wet as Europe. The fact that shepherds still had their animals out in the fields at night indicates that it was around late summer/early autumn, in the month of Ethanim which is September/October time when Jesus Christ was actually born. The Bible does not mention the number of Wise Men who travelled although Christmas cards also like to perpetuate the number of three Wise Men. This is probably associated with later 'trinity' beliefs in Christendom. It would more than likely have been a travelling caravan of merchants, holy men, chieftains and patriarchs en route from Yemen, Persia, Egypt and Babylon and included nobles, dignitaries or priest kings from these civilisations. They bought gifts of frankincense and myrrh. These products were highly prized and would only have been reserved for very important or royal persons which give further evidence that Jesus Christ was not just an ordinary person. Caravan trains travelling such routes carrying merchandise for trading purposes were common in those times and would not have aroused any suspicion. The specific 'Wise Men' or Magi could easily have travelled undetected with their caravans until they found the location where the important, royal Christ child was born, which by this time Jesus was now actually in a house and not in the traditional manger so beloved of Nativity scenes.
So why did December become such an important month in the Christian calendar in the first place? The reason originates with the Winter Solstice which falls around the dates of 21st and 22nd December. This is a time when the sun appears to stop in the sky prior to beginning its journey back across the heavens and is the shortest day of the year in the western northern hemisphere. After the Winter Solstice the days gradually get longer and the ancient European peoples considered this to be the birthday of the Sun. They believed that at this time, the Sun was reborn again. To celebrate this, there would be festivals in mid-winter and also as a way of helping folks to comfort themselves during long, dark and cold days. In ancient Rome, the Feast of Saturnalia was held between 17th and 23rd of December and gifts would be exchanged. The Romans also held the Feast of Brumalia on the Solstice Day and considered this to be the birthday of Mithras who was the Roman Unconquered Sun god. The Norsemen also celebrated their own Festival of Yule at this time to herald the return of the Sun.
Christmas has long been associated with the idea of exchanging gifts and this too is an ancient practice. Apart from the Romans, giving gifts at Saturnalia, they also exchanged presents on the Feast of Kalends, which we call New Year's Day and from where the western calendar originates. These customs prevailed all over the Roman Empire when Christianity was still a new religion. When Christianity spread to the northern lands, the Vikings were worshipping their own interpretation of the Creator in the form of Odin. Odin was believed to ride his chariot through the night sky during the time of the Winter Solstice when he would throw down gifts to worthy warriors. Due to the fact that the exchange of gifts was linked to pagan festivals, devout Christians originally did not exchange gifts at all. The whole idea of gift-exchange continued and could not be erased by the growing new religion of Christianity. As a result, the early Church decided to compromise by introducing their own Christian icon in an attempt to co-erce people into abandoning their own former associations with gifts and non-Christian religion.
They chose to introduce St. Nicholas, the former Bishop of Myra in the 4th Century.
One thing that qualified him for his role of gift-bringer was that his Feast Day was on 6th December, a date quite close to the Solstice and easy for both dates to be connected in the minds of the masses which the Church sought to control. St. Nicholas became a useful Saint to use as he was multi-purpose for the Church's aims. His responsibilities included the welfare of pawn-brokers, boatmen, parish clerks, dockers, and barrel-makers amongst others. So he seemed like a good old all-rounder for the protection of ordinary folk. He was also the Patron Saint of Russia and Aberdeen in Scotland. The best-known story about him tells of his leaving 3 bags of gold on a poor man's window-sill as dowries for his three daughters. One version of this tale states that the gold was thrown through the window and landed in a stocking that had been hung up to dry.
This could explain the whole idea behind the traditional Christmas custom of children leaving a stocking hanging up for Father Christmas to leave gifts in.
Jesus Christ is often known as the Light of the World, a title that continues with the theme of darkness in the retreat of the light, or the retreat of evil in the face of good.
The most central aspect to traditional Christmas is the Christmas tree but this is also steeped in ancient spiritual traditions. The tree chosen is the spruce which holds a rich symbolism long forgotten by most people. The Christmas tree was introduced into Great Britain by Prince Albert during the Victorian Era. It was a legacy of German medieval mystery plays where the tree was celebrated each year as a symbol of rebirth. The Norwegian spruce has become the traditional Christmas tree and, since the last World War, Norway has given one to England each year where it stands for all to see in Trafalgar Square. However, there are much older rituals which preceded the Christian symbol of the fir tree. The Church still fully aware of the much older pagan origins of Christmas were unable to ban the practice entirely especially as so many people still needed the reassurance of the Christmas tree symbol at a time when the ground was barren and the trees were naked. The tree was brought indoors to both represent the idea of bringing life and greenery back into the world and also to brighten up homes in the otherwise dark and barren environment at this time. This is probably why yew trees, which are symbolic of eternal life, remain in church yards. The Norwegian spruce also conjures up fairytale images of a traditional idyllic Christmas scene with expanses of white pristine snow, forests draped in pure whiteness with only the footprints of deer and moose. In Scandinavian countries, ancient myths still run deep throughout their culture. The greatest and most well-known myth tells of the World Tree or World Ash whose presence runs throughout history, in every culture and religion. The myth is of Yggdrasil, the tree of Odin who was the great All-Father Creator God. He was believed to have hung from this tree for nine days and nine nights to gain knowledge of the runes. This tree was also referred to as the Cosmic Tree which spanned the universe with its roots in the underworld and its branches supporting the heavens, while the trunk was the earth at its centre.
Symbolically, these images have been used as archetypes for human mental, emotional and spiritual growth. Like the tree, we are rooted in the physical world of matter which we need to function on an everyday level. Yet the roots can be perceived as our connection to both the Earth and as an entry point to the Underworld, or Hidden World of Spirit. From descending into the hidden depths of our subconscious, our spiritual growth can provide us with the ability to ascend the trunk towards a higher level of awareness to begin the process of transmuting our base substances or so that we may partake of that spiritual fruit traditionally forbidden in the Garden of Eden story. The same symbolic tree exists in Hebrew Kabbalistic Traditions and in Christianity; Jesus Christ was sacrificed on a tree. In Buddhism, the Buddha sat under a banyan tree for 49 days to become enlightened and the idea of a World Tree offering the stages of enlightenment exist in other cultures including ancient Greece, Egypt, South America and all shamanic belief-systems. Traditionally, the top of Christmas trees are decorated with stars or an angel. The star represents the same star which acted as a portent to guide the Wise Men to the place where Jesus Christ was born. Of course, both the star and angel is seen as the peak of enlightenment or the guiding force. Though my analysis of the modern trappings of secular Christmas is not meant to encourage complete doom and gloom at this time of year. People who know the true meaning of Christmas will be celebrating it while treading lightly on the earth. A Pagan friend of mine was once asked by her neighbour why she put up a Christmas tree if she was a Pagan? She replied that it was because she was a Pagan that she put up a Christmas tree! Sacrifice will mean giving up all the products of exploitation that everyone else will be indulging in and making it a lifestyle choice. By doing this, not only is the soul purified but also the mind and body, and in doing so not only do we move closer to the star at the top of the tree, or 'enlightenment', we also release all those negative and harmful connections that so many people are bound to in this current society, especially at this time of year.
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