Special Christmas Issue
Dear Reader,
Merry Christmas! Welcome to Casinomeister's Special Christmas edition, where I will amaze and confuse you with a number of fascinating Christmas facts.
Are you finished with your Christmas shopping yet? Well I know the answer is probably no, so why not finish it up here. Just imagine the pleasure of giving, and giving generously. Don't be a victim of post-Christmas guilt!
Festively yours,
Bryan
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I was emailed this past week by one of my ardent followers, wishing me a happy holiday season. But she also stated that she was unsure if Christmas was celebrated in Germany or not. Flabbergasted, I wrote back.
By the way, Pagan literally means "civilian" as the Christians were the "soldiers" for Christianity. It's only through modern usage that the word Pagan has negative connotations.
The Pagans had a big fest during the Winter solstice (December 21st - January 1st), full of debauchery and decadence. So the Christians decided to place the birth of Christ on the 25th. Don't think that Jesus was born on this day, it was more than likely during early summer. Shepherds did not spend the chilly December nights on the hills in that part of the world, they took their sheep inside to shelter overnight and out again in the morning.
The Christmas tree is a direct descendant of these early Pagan beliefs. During the winter solstice (the shortest day, longest night of the year), axe wielding brave young man would go into the forest and chop down an evergreen (the only green tree in the snow) and bring it back to their homes and decorate it with offerings and think how great it was that the days would be getting longer from there on out, that it was all downhill to spring. Whoopee! (Winters must have sucked back then). Mistletoe is another item that is related to this as well.
But Christmas, as a Christian holiday, is just as commercialized here in Germany as it is in the states. There is no Thanksgiving in Germany, so the stores start intimidating us with Christmas displays at the beginning of November. There is no Santa Claus, but Saint Nikolaus who comes on the 6th of December and brings little gifts for the good kids; he has a small tree branch to whip the bad kids though. He's a bit scary. And just about every town has a Christmas market placed in the old pedestrian zones where one can buy gifts and drink Glühwein.
So how about that for a history lesson? It's the teacher in me I guess.
You want more? Well visit the History Channel's Christmas section. Fascinating stuff.
Merry Christmas and may there be peace on earth...
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Bryan Bailey Webmeister Casinomeister |  |