History of Christmas-Fact vs.Fiction, page 1

Will you kiss your loved one under the mistletoe? Do your kids sit on Santa's lap? Is credit card debt one your yukletide traditions? The real history of Christmas may make you rethink those treasured traditions. Unlike the innocent story of a baby in a manger surrounded by ponies, camels and goats the real story of the Christmas holiday won't be reenacted at your local church. Just how important are traditions and more importantly how important are their roots?

www.simpletoremember.com
Some of the most depraved customs of the Saturnalia carnival were intentionally revived by the Catholic Church in 1466 when Pope Paul II, for the amusement of his Roman citizens, forced Jews to race naked through the streets of the city. An eyewitness account reports, “Before they were to run, the Jews were richly fed, so as to make the race more difficult for them and at the same time more amusing for spectators. They ran… amid Rome’s taunting shrieks and peals of laughter, while the Holy Father stood upon a richly ornamented balcony and laughed heartily.”[5]

As part of the Saturnalia carnival throughout the 18th and 19th centuries CE, rabbis of the ghetto in Rome were forced to wear clownish outfits and march through the city streets to the jeers of the crowd, pelted by a variety of missiles. When the Jewish community of Rome sent a petition in1836 to Pope Gregory XVI begging him to stop the annual Saturnalia abuse of the Jewish community, he responded, “It is not opportune to make any innovation.”[6] On December 25, 1881, Christian leaders whipped the Polish masses into Antisemitic frenzies that led to riots across the country. In Warsaw 12 Jews were brutally murdered, huge numbers maimed, and many Jewish women were raped. Two million rubles worth of property was destroy

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Why is the origin of Christmas even important? So what if yultide wishes meant certain death in bygone eras? Who cares that Romans sacrificed an innocent victim to celebrate the feast of Saturnalia? Some would argue that what is important today is that it is the traditional birthday of arguably the most important historical figure who ever lived. I would agree were it not for the fact the Christmas is not about Jesus Christ. Today Christmas is about the busiest shopping day of the year, gluttony at the Christmas table, debt, and material wishes come true. It is these Christmas traditions that scream for a change in tradition. The holiday is most definetly due for a name change becasue it is truly not Merry Christmas.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year...of course doesnt Holiday mean Holy Day?

Related News Links:
www.origin-of-christmas.com
www.bsu.edu
www.newadvent.org
en.wikipedia.org

[edit on 12/20/2005 by apocalypta]

[edit on 27-12-2005 by asala]