It’s been an eventful, busy year and I’m
looking forward to some relaxation during the upcoming holidays, as I’m sure
you are too. This will be my last post for 2014, but readers can expect plenty
of new and interesting posts in the New Year.
Today, I thought I’d share three facts
about Christmas that you might not know.
Christmas
Fact 1
Pagans worshipped trees, sometimes bringing
them into their homes and decorating them, and the latter practice was adopted
by early Christians.
Christmas
Fact 2
Emperors in pre-Christian Rome forced reviled
citizens to bring gifts and offerings during the Saturnalia in December, and
this evolved into general gift-giving. Later, the Catholic Church adopted the
practice, re-rooting it in Saint Nicholas’ alleged gift-giving.
Christmas
Fact 3
Santa Claus came into being after Saint
Nicholas’ bones were moved from Turkey to Bari, Italy in 1087, where the saint
‘replaced’ the goddess known as Pasqua, who was said to fill children’s stockings
with gifts. The cult spread and was adopted by Celtic and German Pagans who
worshipped the god Woden – who boasted a long white beard and rode a winged
horse through the skies one evening each year. The Catholic Church then adopted
the practice too, but changed the gift-giving from 6 December to 25 December.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these facts. Here’s
to the best holiday season ever!
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