I was under the impression that the Christmas gift giving thing was stolen from the
Roman holiday "Saturnalia"
Just a little info
I have seen the light and I am it!!!
Sodom
Paul Prestopnik wrote:
> Kristee wrote:
>
> > This whole affair made me rethink the whole concept of a holiday.
> > I mean, St. Patrick and St. Valentine have nothing to do with our lives,
> > much less the colors red and green. Ever wonder how the heck red/green and
> > a pagan figure like Santa Claus could represent Christmas, a religious
> > holiday, or how orange/black equals Halloween, or Easter (the resurrection
> > of Christ) equals pastels, a rabbit and eggs?
>
> I can't explain all the holiday insanity, but I'll try to explain some. Easter
> is like you said, a holiday about resurrection, it occurs in the spring, and
> neatly took the place of pagan holidays of rebirth. Rabbits and eggs you'll
> notice are both symbols of fertility. How pastels got mixed in, I dunno. In a
> similiar vain. Christmas trees don't seem to have much to do with the birth of
> christ. And they don't. Christmas also replaced a non-christian holiday
> time. The winter was a time when most plants were dead. In an act of "magick"
> those plants that were able to stay green in the winter (pine (christmas)
> trees, holly, mistletoe) were brought inside to lend their life power to the
> inhabitents. That's why these plants are associated with Christmas.
> -Paul Prestopnik