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Email this page to a friend Related pagesSan Juan Island Library Web site Previous columnsBalancing Privacy and Protection Gates, Gateway make viewing computer screen easier Log on and research before you vote Love of books rekindled in Colorado Hard to let go of peace and quiet How Does That Book End Up On the Shelf? part II |
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A global perspective on Christmas
Just as I investigated the historical accuracy of our Thanksgiving myths, I decided to do some digging into the meaning of the celebration of Christmas. I target Christmas not because it is any more important than Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or any of the other December holidays (there are 27 listed in The Folklore of World Holidays). Quite simply, it is the most widely celebrated holiday in our culture, and a little hard to ignore. The first and most basic thing to realize is that Jesus, the origin of the Christian religion, was not born on December 25th or anywhere close to it. The only information I could find on this stated that "Inexplicable though it seems, the date of Christ's birth is not known. The gospels indicate neither the day, the month, nor the year. (The Catholic Encyclopedia, p.656, vol. 3, 1967., quoted at truechristian.org.) " We have five biographies on Jesus in our library's collection, and none of them address the question of what the actual birth date was. However, the consensus seems to be that it more likely took place in May (abetterhope.com.) The date of December 25th was chosen by the Roman Catholic Church to represent the birth of Jesus, probably in order to compete with pagan rituals centering on the Winter Solstice. "Though the substitution of Christmas for the pagan festival cannot be proved with certainty, it remains the most plausible explanation for the dating of Christmas. (The Catholic Encyclopedia, p.656, vol. 3, 1967, quoted at truechristian.org)" So, celebrate the Solstice, or your religion, or your family. Here are a few of my favorite celebration ideas, from The Folklore of World Holidays: Germany: "In Sauerland, the last person to wake on this day [St. Thomas' Day, Dec. 21] is a 'Thomas Donkey' (Thomasesel).Cardboard donkey ears are worn, and this person is the butt of jokes all day." Taiwan: "Winter solstice is a propitious day for making contracts and for renting arable land. Property can be safely mortgaged, possessions pawned, and the time limit for a contact decided. After the 16th of the last lunar month, such transactions are no longer permitted." Lappland: "Another Lapp custom of those [17th century] days was the erection of a tree with only its central branches remaining. On this the heart, lungs, tongue and lips of a reindeer were hung, and the tree was smeared with the animal's blood." Venezuela: "After midnight on Christmas Eve, the Avenida de los Caiboas fills with hundreds of teenaged rollerskaters. They skate for an hour or more, until a special early morning Mass. Folk music greets them at the church door. After Mass, they skate home and consume a hearty Christmas breakfast, featuring hallacas. This is a spiced meat pastry with cornmeal crust, wrapped in banana leaves and boiled." Finland: "Christmas Eve is the time when the gifts are given out - and who does that? The Christmas goat, that's who. Yes, the Christmas goat. He is the descendant of the ancient pagan symbol, who somehow got promoted from the personification of the Devil's emissary to a jovial, boisterous figure in a shaggy fur coat who makes his appearance on a bicycle. His name is Joulupukki." Happy happy holidays from the San Juan Island Library to you.
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