#Why Christmas Day is celebrated on 25 December

[creature-wizard]

Hii genuine question. Are Christian holidays not actually from a basis of paganism? I felt like from what I’ve read about it before made sense to me

So like, a lot of people basically jumped to conclusions whenever a Christian holiday was either celebrated near the time of an old pre-Christian holiday, or its name sounded superficially similar to something pre-Christian, or its popular celebrations included elements that didn't seem quite Christian enough.

So, let's take Easter, for example. At one point, this guy Bede mentioned that the holiday got its name from "Eostremonath," IE, Eostre Month, which was named after an old goddess, Eostre. Now, that may very well be true, but it doesn't demonstrate that the holiday had pagan origins. See, when it comes to words for the holiday celebrating Jesus's resurrections, English is an outlier. Most European languages use words that derive from Pascha, which is ultimately derived from the Hebrew word Pesach, as in Passover.

There's also no evidence that Eostre's symbols included eggs or hares. In fact, everything we know about Eostre comes from Bede. Anything else is just guesswork. Dr. Andrew Henry of ReligionForBreakfast on YouTube, by the way, has a decent video on the topic of Eostre.

So why eggs, anyway? Well, back in the day, eggs were forbidden during Lent, so by the time Easter rolled around people had like a month's worth of eggs stacked up. So like, why not eggs?

And then of course, Alexander Hislop completely pulled the Easter/Ishtar connection out of his ass, because he was an anti-Catholic conspiracy theorist who did not care about scholarship, only about demonizing the Catholic Church.

Christmas has been claimed to have been derived from Saturnalia or Sol Invictus based on similarities in dates, but scholars have found that there was this belief that holy men died on the same day they were conceived. So if we start with Good Friday and fast forward nine months, that puts us either in December or January, depending on when exactly you believe Jesus was crucified. So Western traditions, which went for March 25, settled on December 25, whereas Eastern traditions, which went with April 6, got January 6. Dr. Andrew Henry talks about this here.

Christmas trees are also claimed to be pagan, but in reality they weren't a thing until the late medieval period. The earliest known reference to a decorated tree goes back to 1419. Or, it might be a tree; the word used ("Bom") could also mean a pole, as in a decorated pole like a maypole. It was shortly after this that people began erecting trees out in public squares. Again, Dr. Andrew Henry has a video on this.

And yes, it's true that Christmas is called something like Yule or Jol in other languages, but as we've determined from Easter, a name doesn't necessarily tell us where something came from. Most languages don't use anything like Yule; for example, English uses Christmas, as in, "Christ's Mass," while many languages use a word deriving from the Latin natalis, as in "birth," as in "Jesus's birthday."

Just about every attempt to link a Christian holiday to a pre-Christian one is operating on similarly poor methodologies. People just kinda drew conclusions based on things looking kinda similar without looking closer to see if they were really actually connected, or based on things not lining up with their personal ideas of how Christians ought to behave. (This whole idea that pure, true Christianity is sourced 100% from the Bible and the Bible alone is very Protestant, btw. It's also a position that would have baffled the earliest Christians, who didn't even have a New Testament and didn't regard things like the the epistles as holy scripture yet.)

Now of course, the Christianization of Europe didn't overwrite its cultures entirely, and local cultural beliefs and traditions ultimately did influence holiday traditions in some way; Christmas elves are a pretty clear example of this. But this whole idea that the Catholic Church just stole all these pagan holidays and remade them into Christian ones is pseudohistory.

[counter-culture-christian]

Why Christmas is not related to Christ Jesus nor Christianity

A search on the internet will tell you that Christmas is a Christian holiday (I don't think I read that in the Bible) celebrating the birthday of Jesus Christ. Where in the Bible was the birth date of Jesus Christ given? It doesn't even give the date of the 25th of December. Christmas means "mass on Christ's day" how did it come to be that that was Christ's day? I know that He says He's Lord of the sabbath and that's God's day is the sabbath but Christmas? No. Christmas is the English term. "The earlier term Yule may have derived from the Germanic jōl or the Anglo-Saxon geōl, which referred to the feast of the winter solstice." Yule which is "the pre-Christian festival originating in Scandinavia which was later subsumed, along with other pagan celebrations, into the Christian holiday of Christmas." There are pagan roots, celebrations in it, how does it glorify Jesus? God? People might say, oh but they sing Christmas carols and there's the nativity. Please, it doesn't matter if that is done on that day when there are parts of Christmas which are contributed from celebrations offered to idols or possible pagan gods. "Yule celebrations began as a Norse festival called jol, although assessments of the purpose and traditions vary. Like most winter solstice festivals, themes of light, fire, and feasting are common threads. Some historians think that sacrifices were an important part of the observance, either to the gods and other supernatural beings (such as elves) or to the dead or both." "Since the early 20th century, Christmas has also been a secular family holiday, observed by Christians and non-Christians alike, devoid of Christian elements, and marked by an increasingly elaborate exchange of gifts. In this secular Christmas celebration, a mythical figure named Santa Claus plays the pivotal role." If it's really about Jesus Christ, why is there an image of a mythical man called Santa Claus? What does he have to do with Jesus Christ? As the quote above said, Christians and non-Christians celebrate it. Why would non-Christians, people who don't believe in, nor follow or have accepted Christ as their personal saviour, celebrate the day? How strange that is, a day allegedly dedicated to Christ is celebrated by a non believer who can celebrate that day yet still not want to seek or receive Christ Jesus. "The precise origin of assigning December 25 as the birth date of Jesus is unclear. The New Testament provides no clues in this regard. December 25 was first identified as the date of Jesus’ birth by Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 and later became the universally accepted date. One widespread explanation of the origin of this date is that December 25 was the Christianizing of the dies solis invicti nati (“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”), a popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer. " Gosh, the Roman Empire and it's influence in Christianity is. . .I'm speechless. Many people are being led astray by their "traditions", "doctrines" etc. So much falseness. I'm not even surprised. Saturnalia: "The influence of the Saturnalia upon the celebrations of Christmas and the New Year has been direct. The fact that Christmas was celebrated on the birthday of the unconquered sun (dies solis invicti nati) gave the season a solar background, connected with the kalends of January (January 1, the Roman New Year) when houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and presents were given to children and the poor." "Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of the traditions we now associate with Christmas, such as wreaths, candles, feasting and gift-giving." "The pagan celebration of Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and time, began as a single day, but by the late Republic (133-31 B.C.) it had expanded to a weeklong festival beginning December 17. (On the Julian calendar, which the Romans used at the time, the winter solstice fell on December 25.)"

[esmedelacroix]

16 days til' Christmas

figuring out why boyfriend!hobie brown doesn't celebrate christmas ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Christmas Eve at Spider Society was always described to be the most depressing thing ever which was not true since Miguel had the whole place decorated and festive to lighten the fact that so many of you are still there making sure that anomalies weren’t destroying the Christmas cheer in other universes.

You didn’t mind fighting anomalies during the holidays. You liked the work you did and you loved the Spiderman-themed con I’m on eggnog art that was being served in the cafeteria.

Everything was perfect for the holidays and you all were having a little get-together on the roof to celebrate. Who would’ve known that Miguel and Peter B were so crazy about Christmas? You didn’t mind because you were right on that boat with them.

You had a mission earlier that day and when you went to med bay, the nurses were dressed up like Santa’s helpers and they had holiday-themed band-aids. You had no idea why anyone told you that Christmas at Spider Society was so terrible if there was so much effort put in to make it fun.

You never questioned any rumor you heard from Spider Knight ever again when you made the mistake of walking up to Hobie’s table with a plate of holiday sugar cookies for the two of you to share with an ugly sweater on.

“Hey Hobie, thought I’d make us some cookies to share,” you said as you slid the plate of reindeer and Santa-themed treats towards him.

Jessica Drew walked by looking at the cookies you had offered Hobie and said nothing more than, “Good luck,” as she patted your back and chuckled to herself.

“No thanks,” Hobie said, sliding the cookies back to you.

“What don’t tell me you don’t believe in Christmas,” you quipped, giving him a playful nudge thinking you made the funniest joke on the planet.

“I don’t,” he replied sternly with the blankest expression.

Your heart dropped and your mouth hung open. There’s no way, he has to be joking. You thought to yourself as you shook your head slowly in disbelief.

“Hobie, that’s not funny cmon. Do you not like sweets? I mean I make the best cookies on the planet. Mayday helped me make em’” you insisted.

“I was being for real mate, I don’t celebrate Christmas,” he sighed, kicking back in his seat, chuckling at your level of surprise and denial.

Holy shit, he was being for real. What am I going to do with that custom electric guitar I got him as a gift?! You thought to yourself.

“I’m sorry, is it some kind of religious difference that I’m just being insensitive about?” you asked thinking that maybe he was Jewish or something(yep you’re going crazy).

“You know how I feel about religious love,” he replied, flicking your forehead. Of course, how could you forget such an important detail?

“Then why? Why don’t you celebrate it? Did you give someone your heart then the very next day they gave it away?” you jested poking fun at him.

“No Christmas is a scam. First of all, there is no proof that Jesus was even born on the 25 of December, it originated from a pagan holiday, it’s a celebration of the Norwegian God Odin, and the government has completely brainwashed America into buying gifts for their loved ones so that they can profit off of the millions of dollars made during the holidays. I refuse to be just a part of a number that keeps the government rich and helps them waste more of their money on our so overfunded military,” Hobie explained.

Hobie was always outspoken and his opinions as much as you hated to admit it, made sense. They made so much sense but Christmas was where he was wrong.

You tried your hardest to just respect his opinions and hold it all in but you couldn’t. “Hobie, you’ve got it all wrong. None of the information that you listed is news to me at all. But I still celebrate Christmas. Want to know why? Because Christmas is what you make of it,” you stated sternly.

“That’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. No offense babe,” he replied.

“It’s not stupid because even if it has been proven that Jesus wasn’t born on that day that doesn’t mean that it’s not bad to have a holiday where you remember and celebrate him if someone were to celebrate Christmas for religious reasons,” you argued.

He hummed and nodded in stumble agreement. “You can have all this talk about pagans and Odin but no one outside of those cultures ever thinks about those two points on Christmas Day,” you said.

“It doesn’t mean that's not still the origin,” he rebutted.

“Even if they are the origin no one ever really thinks about that. I know I don’t. We may be giving the government money but we already do that by simply being alive in this country,” you said.

“If Christmas isn’t about any of the things that it’s actually about then what is Christmas about for you? What do you make Christmas out to be?” he asked.

“Christmas to me? Christmas is a holiday that teaches its participants about the importance of gift giving and the feeling you get when you give a gift that someone loves as opposed to receiving one,” you started.

Hobie continued listening, nodding his head indicating that he was listening to your interpretation of the holiday. He subconsciously picked a cookie up and started eating it entertained by your passion for Christmas.

“Christmas is a time to gather with the people you love most and bake, dance, drink, laugh, and love. Christmas taught me that any gift with thought behind it is a good one. I cherish an expensive perfume the same way I cherish a handmade card. The value of a gift is dependent on the love put behind it,” you continued.

“To celebrate Christmas is to see your loved ones stare at something constantly when shopping and surprising them with it as a gift because nothing feels any better than seeing that smile on their face knowing that you made someone you love so happy that they hug you or give you kiss,” you finished almost tearing up at the happy memories.

“Okay, okay, I can work with that,” Hobie started.

“Really?!” you asked as glitter and heavens sparkled in your eyes with happiness.

“Yes but the government is still tricking us all,” he joked as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder and pulled you into his side.

“Oh, whatever,” you replied, rolling your eyes as you snuggled in with him.

“I already knew that you were a holiday fanatic so I got you some gifts despite my former reluctance to celebrate Christmas,” he admitted.

“Thank you Hobie, seriously,” you said.

“Now can we go to that Christmas Eve party on the roof or what?” you asked as you took his hand and dragged him to the elevator.

“Ugh, I’ve made it a mission to never be caught at one of these functions,” Hobie nearly whined.

As the two of you exited the elevator together hand in hand it seemed like the whole party stopped and everyone turned to look at the two of you in disbelief.

“Uh Hobie, this is the Christmas party,” Peter B said double-checking to see if he knew where he was.

“It’s all good, he’s not the Grinch anymore! At least not as much as before,” you reassured as you took the drink that Peter B offered you.

“Alright then,” Peter started looking at him skeptically as Hobie nodded at him confirming your words.

“Welcome to the party my friend!” Peter B exclaimed, handing him a drink. Miguel gave the two of you a nod and you spent the rest of the night singing along and dancing to the Christmas songs that Hobie sadly didn’t have the pleasure of knowing the words to.

"How was that for your first Christmas Eve celebration?" you asked as the two of you left the roof.

"It was actually kind of fun. Odin didn't pay a visit either," he quipped.

"Alright enough of that," you said, giving his arm a playful slap.

"Okay, I had a lot of fun. Thank you for dragging me up and telling me about the magic of Christmas," Hpbie finally said.

"You're welcome. I hope you love Christmas even more when you open your gifts tomorrow," you said.

"Gifts" plural? I thought you were the only one that got me a gift," he said confused.

"Me and Miguel get you a gift every year but you're never there to open it. Don't tell the boss man I told you that all he'll do is deny and deny and I will never see the light of day," Peter B said as he attempted to rock Mayday to sleep after all the sweets she had at the party.

For the first time after hearing that news Hobie felt that feeling. That fuzzy little Christmas feeling where it feels like there are fireworks in your heart and you realize that someone saw something, thought of him, and bought it for him as a gift for the sole purpose of seeing his eyes light up on Christmas morning. Hobie was starting to love this feeling. It was a Christmas miracle.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

taglist:

@aripet22

[dhiings]

𓇼 ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ Jane's family ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ 𓇼

Jane's an only child. She used to live with both of her father and mother in Scotland  But, after her father passed away, she and her mother decided to move to South Korea.

CAVAN ENNIS ANNISTON [papa] BORN : October 24, 1965, Manchester, United Kingdom DIED : December 25,  2006 SPOUSE : Choi Hwa Young (1994--2006) CHILDREN : 1 ETHNICITY : British  OCCUPATION : Veterinary CLOSENESS : 5/5 NICKNAME BY JANE : papa others... • Her father treat her like a princess. If there's anything Jane wants, he will get/buy/made it for her . Literally, the definition of papa's princess. • Their love languages toward each other are mainly quality time, acts of service, and physical touch. • Jane was told that when she was still a toddler, she get very jealous when her father is only paying attention to her mother. • Always stick like a glue, even when her father is working in a vet clinic his dad owns. • Since her father passed away on Christmas Day, she decided to tell her mother that she doesn't enjoy Christmas as she used to be. So, they stopped celebrating it in like festive way and treat it like a normal day passing by. • Her favourite memories w/ her papa : Going to loch/lake during winter time to learn ice skating. Visiting her dad's vet clinic. Bedtime stories. Her father sharing all kinds of information about animal life, especially the one who live in ocean/water(?). Seeing her father brought bouquet for her mom and herself.

CHOI HWA YOUNG (최화영) [eomma] BORN : April 19, 1970, Seoul, South Korea SPOUSE : Cavan Ennis Anniston (1994--2006) CHILDREN : 1 ETHNICITY : Korean OCCUPATION : Medical Director  CLOSENESS : 4/5 NICKNAME BY JANE : eomma others.. • Compared to her father, Jane didn't spend that much time with her mother as a kid because her mother was busy with her study and work in the medicine field. • Because of her busy schedule, her mother make it up by having a mother-daughter day every twice a week. • Their love languages toward each other are mainly words of affirmation, receiving gifts, and physical touch. • Her mother is heart broken when she knows her daughter was bullied in school when she moved to Seoul. She decided to move her to international school so she could adjust better. • Jane's finally getting to know her grandparents when she moved to Korea. They love her so much. • Iconic moment when Jane just found out that her mother's side is very verry rich on internet several years after her debut. • Her favourite memories w/ her eomma : Learning how to do pottery in the garage but ended up sping cleaning it because it got very messy and slashed of clay everywhere. Collecting shells when going to a beach. Picnic in a field full of bellflower. Baking madeira cake and jammy dodgers as a tradition for every year, it started because her mother wants to make it for her husband but kept on failing, thus why she always practice to make it until it's perfect with Jane.

[queeniecook]

December 25

Caleb told me Este was up bright and early this morning - he lets me sleep in, I'm truly blessed.

Lucky was by her side and they seemed to be staring at him in anticipation. I suppose even babies and pets know it's Winterfest day.

When I did get up and get around to help prepare for the day, Tucker was hanging out around the Christmas tree. It's his first Winterfest as well.

We invited a lot of people, understandably not everyone can make it. Dakota, Jillian and Joey will be celebrating with Jillian's family this year and I'm happy for them, if my parents were still alive - I'd want to celebrate with them too.

I got to cuddle my Godson as his Dad got into an argument with this reflection? I'm not sure what's going on with August. Aubree told me his sister showed up out of nowhere and it's been really weighing on him.

We had so many infants in the house that we had to rotate them between the two cribs. There is no shortage of someone who wants to hold them so it's fine.

Before lunch, Este and Tucker had to get in a nap and they happily did it on the rug in the living room. It was adorable.

We tried to include as many people as we could this year. I'm so happy Lily was able to join us. I invited her fiance but I can understand why he didn't want to come into a house with so many vampires.

There was hours of family and friends, just enjoying time together which is so, so precious.

The time spent together is more important and priceless than any gift…but I still enjoy giving my little brother a gift that makes him make his "What in the heck Vera?!" look.

[matan4il]

I already posted last year about why wishing people “Happy Holidays” (if you don’t know for sure they’re celebrating Christmas) is better and more inclusive, but given the posts I’ve seen this year on Tumblr, let me specify why it’s in poor taste to wish a Jew “Merry Christmas” even if there was no ill will intended:

Religiously - Jews who are observant are FORBIDDEN from following any foreign customs or celebrate any foreign holidays. It is not just insensitive to wish them a Merry Christmas, it’s disrespectful to their faith. Even Jews who aren’t observant may want to observe this prohibition as a sign of respect for their Jewish legacy.

Culturally - Along with its pagan roots, Christmas as it’s celebrated today is a part of Christian culture. It is inappropriate (and flies in the face of multi-cultural tolerance) to expect non-Christians to participate in or celebrate a culture that is not their own, as if it were a universal one, while also ignoring the fact that Jews have their own culture to celebrate. It would be weird if Hindus went around, expecting Christians to celebrate Diwali because Hindus do, and for them to take offense if they were politely reminded that Christians celebrate Christmas, not Diwali. The best metaphor I can think of is a man who goes around wishing people a happy birthday, but on his birthday, not theirs. It implies the only bday out there is his, and that if they don’t celebrate his, then they don’t get to celebrate a bday at all. And then sometimes getting angry if they correct him, insisting that they have to accept his bday wishes, because he had good intentions, he just wanted everyone to be full of joy as people should be on a bday. I hope it’s clear why even when the intentions might be good, this kind of behavior is completely insensitive to the other party.

Historically - Sadly, the history of Jews is full of persecution at the hands of other, stronger majority groups. This isn’t limited to Christians, but it does include the way in many places in Europe, Jews were often attacked on Christmas. To quote the beginning of this article: “For centuries, Christmas, along with Easter, was a time of terror and danger for many European Jews. Christians would sometimes turn on the Jews in their midst, blaming them for supposedly killing Jesus, and often attacking and even killing Jews with impunity. Throughout Jewish history, December 25 has seen some low points in Jewish life.” In order to minimize attacks on them, many Jewish communities shut down on Christmas, so while everyone else was rejoicing around the town, Jews were locked up in their houses. Please understand, December 24 and 25 are two of the worst days on the Gregorian calendar in terms of what was done to the Jews repeatedly.

“Happy Hanukkah” if you know someone is Jewish is great, or “Happy holidays” if you don’t know what someone’s celebrating, alongside “Merry Christmas” when you do know someone’s celebrating this holiday, and you show your fellow Jews (and non-Christians in general) that you care, that your intentions are truly motivated by kindness and good will towards ALL people, including non-Christian ones.

[arcane-trail]

Do Pagans Celebrate Christmas?

Christmas is a Christian festival (the hint is in the name), so it is not a festival that you would expect to see celebrated by Pagan communities, old or new.

But Christmas is a Christian adaptation of the Winter Solstice, which, in the northern hemisphere, is the shortest day of the year and usually falls around 21 December. For communities that observe the wheel of the year and the changing of the seasons, this is an incredibly important day.

It was around this time that ancient Pagans no longer had food to feed their cattle, so they would slaughter them and have fresh meat for the solstice. This was also the time when the beer and wine brewed earlier in the year were finally fermented, so there were lots of good things to drink. If that is not a good enough reason for a holiday, the moment when the days start lengthening was also considered by many Pagan communities to represent the sun’s rebirth.

So, if you look at the festival calendars of the Pagan communities of the northern hemisphere, most of them have a major festival around the time of the Winter Solstice. The existence of these festivals is also why Christmas falls on December 25th.

The Invention of Christmas

Christmas was invented by the Roman Catholic Church in the 4th century. Before this, Easter was the main Christian holiday.

The Bible does not mention when Jesus of Nazareth was born, but it does seem unlikely that it was in December. Temperatures drop as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) in winter in the area surrounding Jerusalem and Galilee. Shepherds were unlikely to be tending their flocks, and the Romans probably would have conducted their census in warmer months.

But the Church decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus in December to coincide with the major Roman festival of the Saturnalia. This is a week-long festival that occurred between 17 and 24 December to celebrate the fertility god Saturn. For all the reasons already mentioned, it was a major festival period in the Roman world.

The 25th of December was chosen as the actual birthday of Jesus, rather than another day during the Saturnalia, such as the day of the solstice, because this was the festival day of the god Sol Invictus. His temple was inaugurated in Rome on 25 December 274 by the emperor Aurelianus. It was probably not inaugurated on the solstice because this was already a feast day for Dionysus, Hercules, Adonis, and Mithras.

Sol Invictus was the most important god in the Roman Empire before its conversion to Christianity, so it made sense for the Church to conflate Christ with this deity.

The Christmas festival absorbed many of the customs of the Saturnalia and was exported around the rest of Europe with Christianity.

As Christmas spread, it also adopted other Pagan traditions associated with the Winter Solstice. For example, when King Haakon I of Norway converted his country to Christianity in the 10th century, he changed the date of the traditional Norse Yule celebration to coincide with Christmas. Many Norse Yule traditions were incorporated into Christmas. Similar things happened wherever the Church took its new holidays.

Christmas Traditions with Pagan Roots

So, which of the many Christmas traditions that we practice today have Pagan roots? Let’s take a look at just a few examples.

Gift Exchange

It was traditional to exchange gifts as part of the Saturnalia, but it was very different from modern gift-giving. It was traditional for Romans to give one gift to another person (kind of like a Secret Santa), and the gift was almost always a statuette of a god that could be placed in the household shrine.

This may also have been the origin of the nativity scene. The Romans renovated their household shrines with new divine images, and today families create nativity scenes each year.

Christmas Trees

The Romans would decorate their homes with evergreen trees during Saturnalia as part of rituals to ensure the prosperity of farms and orchards in the following year. This was very likely the origin of the Christmas tree.

Deck the Halls

In the Norse world, the Vikings would gather in their temples and long halls for the Winter Solstice. They believed that at this dark time of year, the veil between the worlds was at its thinnest, and dark spirits could cross over. Staying inside and together was a form of protection.

The Vikings would bring animals to sacrifice. The blood of the animals would be drained, and the meat sent to be cooked for the festival. Meanwhile, the blood of the sacrificial victims was smeared on cult images and the temple walls as part of a ritual of protection. This may be the origin of the idea of decking the halls.

Yule Log

The Yule Log also has Viking roots. The Vikings would select an oak log that would be burnt on the fire throughout Yule. The fire offered protection, and letting the fire go out was a very bad omen.

The log was specially prepared and engraved with protective runes. A small piece of the log from the previous year was kept to be added to the Yule fire the following year.

Santa Claus

The idea of Santa Claus is a Germanic-Norse tradition. They believed that during Yule, Odin, the most important god, led a group of gods in the Wild Hunt. They would rampage through the world, removing everything dead and no longer useful, clearing the way for new growth. One of the reasons that the Vikings stayed indoors at Yule was not to be accidentally caught up in the Wild Hunt.

But while abroad, Odin might also choose to visit household, leaving behind presents and good fortune. In the Volsunga Saga, Odin gives Sigmund a magic sword that helps him complete his quests. In the Saga of Hrolf Kraki, the king refuses gifts of hospitality, armor, and weapons from an old, bearded man missing an eye. This turns out to be Odin, and Hrolf later dies for lack of the weapons that he needs.

Santa’s reindeer also seem to be inspired by Odin’s eight-legged steed Sleipnir, which could carry the god anywhere in the Norse cosmos.

Christmas and Modern Pagans

So, does being a Pagan today mean that you can’t celebrate the festive season with your loved ones? Not at all!

For those who honor the wheel of the year, the Winter Solstice is an incredibly important time. It represents rebirth and renewal. Like the new moon, it is a time to set new intentions that will grow with the years. Some Wiccans celebrate the solstice specifically as the day on which the sun god is reborn.

But the winter festival has always been a season rather than a single day in Pagan communities. It has always been a time for feasting, rejoicing, and spending time with family and friends.

This means that Pagans can embrace the festive season without embracing the Christian religious beliefs associated with Christmas. Gift-giving, hall decking, and eating far too much are all respectable Pagan traditions.

You might find the perfect Pagan gift in our store.

[Read full blog post here]

[archduchessofnowhere]

“Did you bring the Heine souvenirs with you?”: Rudolf’s last Christmas present for his mother

As Christmas approached, I started to search for Habsburg stories related to this holiday to share with you, and almost inevitably I once again looked into Crown Prince Rudolf’s last Christmas. The Christmas Eve of 1888 is known mostly for having been full of ominous signs of Rudolf’s deteriorating mental health that his family either was unable to notice or simply chose to ignore. I have a second post coming up related to that, but in this post I’m covering a different topic: the last present Rudolf gave to his mother, Empress Elisabeth.

December 24 was a special day for the Imperial family not only because it was Christmas Eve, but also because it was Elisabeth’s birthday. It was, then, a double celebration for the family. And on the 24th of December of 1888 the Crown Prince surprised his mother with a very special gift: a bundle of letters written by her favorite author, the poet Heinrich Heine.

Elisabeth’s deep admiration for Heine was well known: months earlier she had publicly supported and financially collaborated in the creation of a monument in honor of Heine in Düsseldorf, the poet’s hometown. The project, however, had a huge backlash by the anti-semites and German nationalists (Heine was Jewish), and soon Elisabeth was attacked by them. The campaign against Heine’s devotees in the press was so strong that eventually Elisabeth was forced to withdraw her support; the monument, rejected from city to city in Germany, finally was placed in New York, where it still stands (Hamann, 1978, 1986). 

Rudolf, who had long been a supporter of Jewish rights, was probably happy to find that his mother shared his sentiments regarding the growing anti-semitism of the late 19th century. It was likely the fiasco of the monument that prompted Rudolf to get the Empress a Heine-related birthday and Christmas gift. For this task he asked his friend, journalist Moritz Szeps, to travel to Paris and acquire for him a bundle of letters that Heine wrote to his friend Alexander Weill. We can find a mention of it in this undated letter Rudolf wrote to Szeps, likely from the first days of December (translation by DeepL, nuances may be lost):

Dear Szeps!  I am glad to know you are here; I would like to thank Frischauer [another journalist friend of Rudolf and Szeps] very much for his letter yesterday and its enclosures. Did you bring the Heine souvenirs with you? I hope to see you in the next few days. With best regards  Your Rudolf (Szeps, 1922, p. 168)

And again, on December 11:

Dear Szeps! Thank you very much for your letter. Please have Heine’s letters photographed and only then send them to me. I hope to be able to see you the day after tomorrow. With warmest regards  Your Rudolf (ibid)

In 1908, writing in the December 25 edition of the Neue Freie Press, Hugo Wittmann claimed that Weill, instead of money, had demanded “nothing more for his treasure than that the Crown Prince asked him for it in writing and send him a photographic copy of the papers upon receipt” (DeepL translation) which would explain why Rudolf asked Moritz to first photograph the letters before sending them to him. Historian Brigitte Hamann, however, claims differently: according to her the Crown Prince in fact paid an exorbitant amount of money for the letters. Whatever the case, when the Imperial family opened their presents at 4 o’clock in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Elisabeth found a packet full of letters of her favorite poet.

This was, no doubt, a touching personal present that shows how much Rudolf cared for his mother. But what did Elisabeth think of this gift? As always, Hamann’s The Reluctant Empress is very straightforward:

In order to prove that he revered his mother, Rudolf paid an outrageous price in Paris for eleven Heine autographs and placed them under the Christmas tree for the Empress. Elisabeth, however, was so preoccupied with her daughter's engagement that she did not pay Rudolf’s gift the attention he had expected. (1986, p. 339)

Reading this, I’ve always felt sorry for Rudolf: he clearly put a lot of thought into finding the perfect present for his mother, only for it to go unnoticed. At least, that’s what I believed until I read Hamann’s previous work, her biography of the Crown Prince published first in 1978:

Whether the Empress appreciated the shy homage of her son, whether she felt how much he practically vied for her understanding, since both of them were attacked by the same people, is highly unlikely. According to all sources, Elisabeth at this time was totally occupied with Valerie, her “only one,” with her engagement and the impending pain of parting with her favorite child. (2017)

“Highly unlikely”. No source backing this up. It was then when I realized that Elisabeth disregarding her son’s present was pure speculation on Hamann’s part. Between her biography of Rudolf and her biography of Elisabeth she seems to have convinced herself that the empress didn’t care for the letters at all, and “unlikely” became just “she did not pay attention”. 

I won’t be too harsh on Hamann: I also think Elisabeth’s main concern that Christmas was Valerie’s engagement. According to Valerie’s diary, both her parents were very moved that day because she was going to get engaged in the evening. But that doesn’t have to mean that Elisabeth didn’t care for Heine’s letters. We just don’t know what Elisabeth thought of the gift, since (as far as I could find) none of the people that were present during the unwrapping of the gifts wrote down her reaction. Valerie only wrote in her diary that “Little Elisabeth [Rudolf’s daughter] was very happy about the presents and played with her things while we dined in the Alexandrian room on the left” (1998, p. 164). And the next time Rudolf wrote to Szeps, on December 27, the only allusion to the past Christmas Eve he made was thanking him for his “congratulations on the happy family event” (1922, p. 168) i.e. the engagement of his sister. No mention of Heine by anyone, anywhere.

We do also have, however, an interesting account of the opening of the presents in Egon Corti’s 1934 biography of Empress Elisabeth:

And so Christmas Eve, 1888, came round, and with it Elizabeth’s birthday. Rudolf and his wife were among the guests, and the Crown Prince presented his mother with Hugo Wittmann’s edition of Heine’s letters, at which Francis Joseph cast an ironical glance but made no comment. (p. 386)

No mention of Elisabeth’s reaction to the letters, but he does give us Franz Josef’s. Sadly Corti does not give a source for this account, which opens a new mystery: from where did he learn this? There is a mistake in the quoted fragment: the letters Rudolf acquired were original, written by Heine himself; Hugo Wittmann only published them in the aforementioned Neue Freie Press edition of 1908. But I wouldn’t straight up disregard this account either: not only Corti had access to now lost primary sources, he also worked closely with Valerie’s children. Who knows, maybe this was a family anecdote he learned from them.

So, did Elisabeth ignore her son’s thoughtful gift because all she cared about was Valerie’s engagement? We can’t know for certain. I think it is safe to assume Valerie was her main priority that day, but unless a primary source that explicitly states that she did not care for the letters appears, I don’t think it’s right (nor fair) to claim that she was indifferent to Rudolf’s present.

Sources:

Corti, Egon Caesar Conte (1936). Elizabeth, empress of Austria (translation by Catherine Alison Phillips)

Hamann, Brigitte (2017). Rudolf. Crown Prince and Rebel (translation by Edith Borchardt)

Hamann, Brigitte (1986). The Reluctant Empress: A Biography of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (translation by Ruth Hein)

Schad, Martha and Schad, Horst [ed.] (1998). Das Tagebuch der Lieblings Tochter von Kaiserin Elisabeth. 1878-1899

Szeps, Julius [ed.] (1922). Kronprinz Rudolf. Politische Briefe an einen Freund. 1882-1889

Wittmann, Hugo (1908, December 25). Ein Geschenk des Kronprinzen Rudolf an seine Mutter, Neue Freie Press

[eirist]

One More Sleep

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T

Note: A ZoNa Holiday Events is up at Tumblr for the month of December. We got selected themes for each day and we’d love other ZoNa shippers to join and celebrate our favorite couple with holiday-themed fanarts and fanfics! Feel free to check it here: @zonamievents

Unexpectedly wrote this one just this Christmas dawn/morning (my timezone) because I can’t sleep from too much eating. And coffee. Zoned out once this is done. It’s what I would say a go figure work and definitely smells of a companion one-shot.

 Anyways, Merry Christmas everyone!

Theme: # 25 - Hibernate

Summary: “Why don’t you go up and check on him?” “Why does everybody keep telling me that?”

“Is he still asleep?”

Nami raised one eyebrow as she directed the question to the tinkering sniper. Usopp momentarily paused from what he was doing and blinked up at her.

She just continued looking at him, waiting for an answer. The curly-haired lad shrugged his shoulders in response. “Probably,” he said as went back to adjusting the screws on his latest invention. “Didn’t hear any sound coming from the nest since this morning.”

Nami pursed her lips at that. It was already late afternoon. Scratch that. It was nearing sun set to be more precise.

“Seems overboard even for him.” She flicked a glance at the crow’s nest before her eyes riveted to Usopp. “Are we sure he’s still alive in there?”

Now Usopp stopped working, shooting her an incredulous look. Then his face broke into a grin that Nami finds a bit irritating.

“You seemed concern? Why not go up and check on him?” He suggested with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Nami fought the urge to punch him on the head. “I am so not! I’m just wondering why he hasn’t lugged his stupid ass down here, being a nuisance and pissing Sanji-kun off!”

“O-kay,” Usopp mouthed looking like he’s not buying her explanation. He studied Nami for a moment and snickered when he saw her looking up at the crow’s nest again.

“What?” Nami asked in a sharp tone when she heard it. She glared daggers at her so-called friend knowing full well that he plans to subject her to some teasing.

“Nothing.” Usopp was quick to answer and he immediately went back to his work, feigning concentration.

“Urgh,” Nami groaned. “What a waste of time.” She muttered before stomping away from him to head at the galley.

Behind her Usopp snickered again.

She didn’t bother turning around to confront him or scare the shit out of him. Instead she just said, “All that snickering’s gonna cost you Usopp.”

She ignored the shout of protest that came from behind her.

-----------------------

“Is he still not up?”

Nami asked that question again. Only this time she directed it to her captain instead of the long-nosed sniper.

Luffy blinked back at her. Almost the same as what Usopp did earlier, exactly three hours ago.

He looked a bit confused as if he did not comprehend what she was asking.

And based from his answer… he definitely did not. “Who?” Her idiotic captain questioned back. A nerve ticked on Nami’s forehead before she replied. “Zoro.” Luffy paused for a moment, before he broke into a grin and laughed. “Oh. Zoro! Shishishi! Guess not. I haven’t seen him since…” he tilted his head, as if pondering. “Uhm…” “Stop that.” Nami instantly decided to put a stop to his thinking with a slight wave of her hand. Or they’ll be at it until… some other things manage to catch Luffy’s attention. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

“Why would I hurt myself?”

“Ugh, never mind.”

Luffy was looking at her strange. Then he blurted out. “Oi! Have you seen Zoro, Nami?”

Nami stared at him disbelievingly. Her fist throbbed from the effort of holding back and preventing herself from thumping him on the head. “I already asked you that Luffy! So that means I haven’t.”

“Oh! Why are you looking for him?”

“Because I haven’t seen him since…” she trailed off. Sweet heavens! Did she really fell into the Luffy loop where they’ll just keep asking each other, confusing each other and actually ending up with no clear answer?

Luffy was looking at her eagerly.

She exhaled loudly. “You know what; Sanji-kun is cooking something delicious in the kitchen for tomorrow.” Nami decided to just distract her ever gluttonous captain. “You might want to check it out.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially.

That perked the rubber man up. “Really?” His eyes went wide and Nami could swear she can see meat in them.

She nodded and just like that Luffy went bounding towards the galley, shouting meat at the top of his lungs.

There were a lot of cursing coming from the kitchen and something about ‘It’s way past dinnertime!’ and ‘That food is for tomorrow!’ and ‘Luffy you idiot captain!’. Then some sounds of scuffle and a few thuds here and there.

Nami just shrugged like it wasn’t her fault.

Sorry Sanji-kun! She internally apologized for distracting Luffy with their chef.

------------------------ “No one’s seen him since yesterday.”

“Huh?” This time it’s Nami’s turn to blink in surprise at the sudden information. She had just stepped inside the girl’s room after spending the rest of the night in the library working on one of her maps. It was almost midnight when she finally decided to get some rest and finish the other charts tomorrow.

The whole day passed and still the person she was looking for haven’t shown himself. Not during breakfast, lunch or even dinner that Sanji-kun was a bit peeved since ‘that stupid marimo is wasting food’—his exact words. Yet, the blond cook did not bother going up the nest to check on him. ‘That idiot is a grown man after all and the hell with him!’. He had grumbled while in the middle of dinner.

Robin was sitting on one of their comfy sofas; the round coffee table in front of her was filled with open books. She was poring over a thick history volume when Nami entered.

“What was that?” Nami prompted when Robin did not say anything after what she declared.

The raven-haired beauty lifted her head to regard Nami. She smiled. “Zoro. He hasn’t gone down the nest since yesterday.”

“Uhm… I wasn’t…” the navigator began.

Robin raised a curious eyebrow at her. “You’ve been asking around.”

Nami felt her face heat up at that. She was about to say she wasn’t. Besides she made sure to ask their crewmates randomly and one by one to appear surreptitious and not pique their curiosity so much on why she’s inquiring about their green-haired swordsman.

But the archaeologist was sneakier than her, for she had known exactly what Nami is up to.

So lying definitely won’t work. Robin knows everything and anything that goes in their ship with her convenient ability to produce her eyes and ears everywhere.

That or maybe Franky tipped her off after she asked him earlier. That speedo-wearing pervert!

“Why don’t you go up and check on him?” Robin spoke again as she flipped a page of her book.

Nami pouted as she plopped down her bed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why does everybody keep telling me that?”

“Maybe because it’s the obvious thing to do instead of going around and asking everybody about him.” Robin threw her a small smile as her tone emphasized the word ‘everybody’. “Would’ve saved you the trouble.”

The orange-haired girl flinched slightly at that. Robin had caught her slip. Well, it’s not like she didn’t know already.

And did she really went around and asked everyone on the ship? She only questioned Usopp and Luffy… … and Sanji-kun and Chopper and Franky and Brook and Jinbei…

Her shoulders slumped at her realization. That’s the whole crew… almost.

Robin was looking at her expectantly. “We’re nearing a winter island right? Weather’s been too cold these last few days…”

Nami stared at her. “Yeah we are,” she agreed with a nod of her head. She considered what the older woman just said. “What? You mean he’s like hibernating or something?” Nami’s eyebrow lifted high at that, disappearing behind her orange bangs. “What is he? A bear?!”

Robin laughed softly before returning to her book. “With the weather this cold, he’d definitely prefer sleeping. Can’t blame him right?” She lifted her eyes again and looked at her pointedly. “He’s probably just catching up on sleep. After all he’s been pulling double shifts these last few days,” she tilted her head slightly, still gazing at Nami meaningfully. “Isn’t he?”

Nami winced. Zoro was indeed pulling double night-watch shifts lately. But no one knows that.

Except her and him.

And Robin… apparently.

She didn’t answer so as not to affirm what Robin was saying.

“Can’t be that comfortable on the nest’s floor.” Robin murmured, that certain smile never leaving her face even as she perused her book again.

Nami’s brows furrowed at that.

“How about a nice pillow and one of those wonderful blankets we got from Sherpa Island?” She suggested and multiple hands sprouted to open their closet door to pull one out, lightly throwing it at Nami.

“Eeeh?” Nami retorted even if she held out her arms to catch it. She gaped in surprise when Robin’s hands made a grab for her pillow and placed it in her arms.  

“He’d probably sleep until he’s on watch again.” Robin smiled at her. “You can bring it up with you. I’m sure you’re going to go up there to finally check on him.”

“Robin!”

“Ara, aren’t you planning to do that?” Robin now has a cheeky smile on her face. “Or do you need me asleep before you sneak out?” She gave Nami a wink.

The map maker was speechless. How much does Robin knows???

“It wouldn’t hurt to make sure he gets a good rest right? After all it’s your shift he’s been covering.”

Nami blushed hard at that. Zoro was indeed covering her watch shifts. But only because HE said he WILL!

“For the record. He insisted.” Nami explained with frown as she bundled the blanket and pillow in her arms. “I did not force him to!” “Oh? Then that’s sweet of him to offer don’t you think?”

Nami blushed harder than she ever thought possible.

“He just… I just… He…” she stuttered before finally finding her ground.

“Why am I even explaining?!”

Robin looked at her knowingly, mischievously. “Why indeed?”

[other-shades-of-sapphire]

24 to 25 – Bang Chan

Chris x best friend turned girlfriend Bora, circa December 2020

Of when Bora asked Chris to stay for Christmas because "it's cold outside", but it's really because she didn't want him to spend the holiday alone.

I originally wanted to save this one for Christmas, but then Spotify's shuffle decided to play me 24 to 25 yesterday, and I've been on a brainrot since. So here it is, because I don't want to be the only one humming "December 25, you're my carol" in the middle of AUGUST

End of year was always crazy busy for Stray Kids, packed with various festivals and award shows and many other performances. Still, the company usually gave the kids a few days off, usually around Christmas, just in between the chaotic two-three last weeks of the year. This time round, they had the 24th up to the 26th off, which the kids used to spend Christmas with their families. 

For Chris, though, this was one of the year when his noona Hannah had to go to her husband's hometown for their biyearly family gathering, so he had no one to celebrate Christmas with. It was not his first solo rodeo; he's used to it now, had been since his parents and older brother Lucas passed away in a car accident the year before his debut, so it didn't uspet him. 

It seemed to be upsetting for Bora, though. Especially since it's the first Christmas they celebrated after making their relationship official. 

"I thought Hannah unnie went to her in-laws last year?" she asked over the phone, on the night of the 23rd. 

"No, last year was with me. This is the year for the family gathering." 

"Why don't you just come with them?" 

"They always offer," Chris admitted. "Both the noona and Changhyun hyung. But I never take up on it." 

"Why not?" 

He laughed sheepishly. "I guess I don't want to feel like an outsider? It's silly, I know, but still. Besides, their festivities usually last all the way until New Year's Eve; I never have that many days off anyway, so." 

"You can always come home early, though. They'll understand." 

Chris knew she was feeling bad and didn't like the idea of him spending Christmas by himself. She never did; ever since his parents and brother passed away, she would frequently check up on him over texts or calls on his every solo Christmas, just so he wasn't alone all the time. But she seemed to dislike it even more this time, now that they'd been officially dating for almost a year. "Bora, it's fine. You know I'm used to solo Christmases by now." 

"I know," she muttered. "Doesn't make it more okay, thought." 

"But it really is okay. Wait – I have to go now," he said as he realized the company car was already stopping at the lobby of their dormitory. "Don't fret about it, okay? I'll come over to yours very early tomorrow morning." 

He spent the entirety of the 24th at Bora's place, making up for lost time before she departed for Daegu to spend the holidays with her parents and sister as she always did every year. They nearly didn't get off the sofa in Bora's living room the entire day, binge-watching Christmas movies under a blanket and talking about everything under the sun. In contrast to the snowstorm raging outside, it was the most relaxed and content Chris felt in months, the blissful peace he very much needed before the storm of activities waiting for him in the next couple of weeks – or months, really, since their schedules for next year was already packed since the first few months of it. 

Hence when came nightfall, it was almost impossible for him to peel himself off the warmth of Bora and the blanket. But he managed, just because he had to. "I should go now. You have to leave soon before it gets late." 

Bora didn't let go of his hand, even as he stood up from the sofa. "No, wait." 

Chris laughed at her obvious attempt in looking for an excuse. "Love, come on. Don't worry about me." 

"But it's cold outside," she fretted. "Get back in this blanket here. Stay for Christmas." 

His laugh died down, replaced with a frown. "But you have to go. Your mother would kill you if you don't show up for Christmas." 

"It's fine, I'll just go tomorrow morning. The weather and traffic will be better than tonight anyway." 

Chris sat back down, running a tentative hand over the very warm, very comfortable blanket covering the equally as warm and comfortable Bora. With his chaotic schedules and limited availability, every chance to spend time with Bora was too tempting for him, no matter how short. But still, "Are you sure it's okay?" 

"Yeah." She tugged at his hand and that was the end of his last thin shred of resolve. Suddenly feeling really tired, he got under the blanket and snuggled back to Bora's side, resting his head on her shoulder. She put an arm around him, enveloping him in an embrace as warm and comfortable as the blanket and herself. "There, now. You deserve to take a break, and you don't have to do it all alone. Never under my watch." 

And take a break Chris did. He found the entire world fading away into nothingness, leaving only the two of them in this space that no one else knew. As the snow kept falling outside where it was indeed cold, Chris felt his exhaustion from the previous year began to fade away too, leaving him refreshed and recharged. Let it snow, he thought to himself, let it turn the night into white. Even if he ended up being stuck here with Bora because of the snowstorm, he wouldn't mind at all; in fact, it would be just the best Christmas present he'd ever had. 

When Chris opened his eyes on the morning of the 25th, he found himself still within the comfortable confinement of Bora's arms, the two of them still pressed together under the blanket of the sofa in her living room. The steady yet measured sound of her breathing told him that she was already awake. "Merry Christmas, my carol." 

He knew she was smiling even without looking. "Merry Christmas to you too, love. Did you sleep well?" 

"The best I've had this year." And coming from him, who'd had his fair share of sleeping problems, it truly meant a lot. "You really need to get going, though. You should be at your parents' before lunch." 

"Come with me," she blurted. 

As much as he wanted to stay in Bora's arms for as long as he could manage, the statement was enough for Chris to push himself up to sit and stare at her. Despite the lazy, chilly early morning, she looked alert and serious. "What, to Daegu?" 

"Yeah. I've thought about it, and although I know you're perfectly fine with it, I really don't want you to be alone in this holiday season. Or in any other season, really. You've spent too much time being alone already; you don't have to anymore, now that you have me." 

Chris hardly ever cried. He thought he was at his most vulnerable whenever he cried, and he didn't like being vulnerable. But he thought he could cry right then and there. "You really don't have to worry about me that much, Bora." 

"It's a little too late for that." With a smile, she reached up to brush Chris' curls off his face. "I always worry about you. I worried back when you're still at school, balancing between training and studying. I worried when you lost your parents. I worried when you debuted, second-guessing yourself all the time. I still worry, now. And now that I have some authority to do something about it, I will. I'm taking you with me for Christmas so you don't have to spend it alone anymore, ever." 

It was a strange and scary feeling, letting someone worry about him that much. But Chris did anyway because it's Bora, and he knew she just loved him that much, as much as he loved her. "Thank you," he whispered. 

Bora did keep her word; ever since then, Chris never spent any more Christmas alone. And even though he really didn't mind spending it alone, he found himself enjoying it even more when he's not – and, especially, when he's with Bora. 

previously on | coming up next

Find more tales of Chris & Bora and the rest of Stray Kids here!

[beatrice-otter]

Is Christmas pagan?

There’s a shitton of discourse around this every year, and a lot of the assumptions people have about the origins of Christmas and many Christmas traditions are either flat-out untrue or have no evidence behind them.

First is the claim that the date of Christmas is pagan in origin, that it was a co-opting of a Roman pagan holiday. This claim was made up in the 20th Century when people noticed that a) there were actually two different Roman holidays that overlapped with December 25th (Saturnalia and the Feast of the Unconquered Sun) and b) the accounts of feasting and partying for Saturnalia (we don’t have good records about the Feast of the Unconquered Sun, it was from one of the secretive mystery cults) sound a lot like the feasting and partying we do today for Christmas. There’s no evidence for this claim beyond “this sounds like it would make sense.” And there are significant problems with it.

Christmas was the last of the major holidays to be added to the Christian calendar, in the 4th Century AD; it’s not in the New Testament (unlike Easter and Pentecost, the two most theologically important holy days in the Christian calendar). We have the contemporary account of how they chose the date, which is not about pagan holidays but rather about numerology. They might have been lying, of course; but just because ancient numerology doesn’t make sense to modern people that doesn’t mean that they were lying about it. If you’re curious, here’s the story of how the calculations were made: at that time, they believed that Jesus had died on March 25. Jesus was perfect, therefore Jesus must have had a perfect life in numerological terms as well as everything else, therefore he must have died on the anniversary of his conception. (This is why Catholics celebrate the Annunciation--the day the angel came to Mary--as March 25th.) If Jesus was conceived on March 25th and had a perfect nine-month pregnancy, that puts his birth at December 25th.

As for the partying, Christmas was a time of fasting in the early church, not a time of partying. Solemn prayer and hymn-singing. No meat. Long worship services. If the date was chosen in relation to either Saturnalia or the Feast of the Unconquered Sun, the purpose was not to co-opt the pagan partying and say “hey, you can still have your midwinter parties in the Christian church!” but rather to contrast the drunken debauchery of the pagans with the sober piety of the Christians.

Christmas just wasn’t that important a date until Christianity started moving north (it shared prominence with Epiphany in the middle of winter, and was much less important than Easter). Up north, where the days are very short and everything is cold and dark, celebrating something in the middle of winter is very important to keep spirits up. And yes, the Germanic tribes and the Nordic peoples and the Slavs all had major festivals in midwinter, and many of the traditions associated with those festivals got attached to Christmas. (Trees, burning the Yule log, etc., etc.) But even up in the North where Christmas was much more important than it was in southern Europe, Christmas didn’t become The Biggest Celebration Of The Christian Year until the Victorians in the 19th Century.

Back to those pagan Germanic customs. Christian missionaries did not take those elements and incorporate them into Christmas celebrations. In fact, Christian missionaries and priests spent centuries trying to stamp those pagan elements out! They spent centuries telling people they were going to hell for still practicing paganism if they celebrated Christmas in a pagan way. For every priest who accepted or encouraged those pagan traditions, there were ten more trying diligently to stamp them out.

The pagan customs--trees, holly, etc.--have not survived because Christian priests co-opted and appropriated them. They have survived because the people who first practiced those customs kept them after converting, despite centuries of Christian authorities trying to stamp them out.

[breakdownsbuttlights]

It’s my birthday today! Do you have canon birthdays for any of your human characters? I’m very interested in finding this out so we can celcelebrate their special days as well!

Oh, happy birthday, anon!!! I hope you are having a swell day.

As I recall, I pinned HF Drift’s birthday on August 25 and Ratchet’s on December 21. Rodimus is also August… the 1st maybe?

Prowl is definitely a Capricorn, but I can’t remember if I gave him a birthday. Heck, I’ll give him mine —January 18. Which, for the record, is the worst time to have a party; everyone is broke and depressed, the weather is awful, and it’s too far away from Christmas and New Years to roll into any of those celebrations. Prowl likes to use these reasons to justify why he spends most of his birthdays drinking alone.

I think I’d originally declared Mesothulas a Scorpio, but that seems on the nose to the point of cliche. You know what? Let him be a sweet summer child. He can share his birthday with yours.

[mtdthoughts]

Eiji's Pictures (Migi & Dali Observation)

Here, I wanted to compile all the dated photographs that Eiji shared with "Sali" while Dali was investigating his involvement in Metry's death.

Why am I doing this? As far as I know, these are the only pieces of information that have dates, which might help us figure out things such as Eiji's birthday.

First, here are the photos that Dali found when he was investigating Eiji's house with Micchan.

These photos aren't dated, and in fact weren't even shown in detail in the manga, so no need to discuss these further.

Next, we have Eiji's photo with a balloon animal (a dog?) when he was five years old. It is dated May 8, 1982.

Next, we have Eiji's Christmas photos, which are obviously going to be dated December 24/25, 1982.

Next, we have three photos in a row that are shown to the reader when Eiji is thinking about Sali. Note that there are some discrepancies with the anime, so the manga will take precedence here.

The first shows Eiji riding a horse and is dated September 24, 1982. The second shows Eiji and his family celebrating what I estimate to be Shichi-Go-San, a traditional Japanese rite of passage and festival day for 3- and 7-year-old girls and 5-year-old and sometimes 3-year-old boys on November 15. The third shows Eiji playing a violin and is dated October 24, 1982

Finally, the last photo that Eiji was about to hand "Sali" is a photo of him eating a lobster, and is dated August 4, 1982.

So what did we learn?

Well, it's very clear that 5-year-old Eiji is living the good life, which I'm sure would anger Dali since his life was the complete opposite.

But other than that, I'm quite stumped and really not sure what to conclude, especially when it comes down to pinpointing a birthday, as none of the photos seem to be strongly related to birthdays. Maybe the answer will come from playing with the numbers from the dates? If not, then perhaps there isn't an answer... 😔

[pilgrimagesource]

Are you starting to feel the holiday spirit!? Why not get your favorite blorbos in the holiday spirit as well? From December 14th to December 25th we'll be celebrating the 12 Days of Diarmute on this blog!

I threw this event together last minute after some people in the discord showed interest in a holiday event. If you would like to participate: Draw a picture, write a fic, make a moodboard or gifset, do SOMETHING creative revolving around the prompt for each day and post it on Tumblr! Tag the post #12daysofdiarmute and I will be tracking the tag and reblogging every submission!

Do as many or as little prompts as you'd like! If you can only do one, that's okay, you can still participate! I, myself, will try my best to fill some prompts but this is a notoriously busy season for me... but I wanted to give other Pilgrimage fans the chance to revel in some fandom holiday cheer!

Reblog this post to spread the word and let me know if you plan on participating! Nollaig shona!

12 Days of Diarmute:

Day 1 (Dec 14) - Snow Day 2 (Dec 15) - Hot chocolate Day 3 (Dec 16) - Ugly sweaters Day 4 (Dec 17) - Noel Day 5 (Dec 18) - Figgy pudding Day 6 (Dec 19) - Hallmark movies Day 7 (Dec 20) - Peppermint Day 8 (Dec 21) - Nativity Day 9 (Dec 22) - Naughty or Nice Day 10 (Dec 23) - Mistletoe Day 11 (Dec 24) - Cookies & milk Day 12 (Dec 25) - Your Favorite Christmas Song

[heromonty]

Merry Christmas (and Happy Holidays if you don’t celebrate Christmas) everybody 🎄

Coming on here to say I know I just came back from a little break but I’ll be going on another one - explanation of why under the read more. Wishing everyone a Happy New Years in advance as I don’t think I’ll be on much in the next few weeks or so.

We put our dog, Bailey, to sleep early this morning, at around 1:00-1:30 AM and I’m just not…feeling much of anything right now besides extreme sadness. It was all very sudden, he was feeling fine all day yesterday until about 6:30-7:00 PM where we started stumbling, having accidents in the house, throwing up, looking dazed - it got to the point where we couldn’t keep himself up on his legs. We’re 99% sure he had a stroke - we took him to the emergency hospital where we were given three options of what we could do. We went with the third option: humane euthanasia. We didn’t want him to be in pain anymore - he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure at the beginning of the year which we had been managing with medicine and we didn’t want to add more on top of that for him for whatever was happening neurologically.

We got to say goodbye to him and got to be in the room with him as the euthanasia was administered. I’m extremely thankful that he went quickly and there was no reaction. But the memory of him just ceasing all signs of life makes me feel physically ill.

I don’t really feel like doing much of anything - just trying to process what happened. I’m hoping it gets a bit easier within the next few weeks - at the very least, to the point where I don’t burst into tears whenever I think of him or see anything that reminds me of him. But I don’t know, we’ll see.

Rest in peace sweet angel ❤️

March 23, 2011 - December 25, 2023

[cloveroctobers]

🌬️DECEMBER DRABBLES — 7. Johnny Coco Cruz

A/N: Merry Christmas Eve if you celebrate! & happy holidays to you and yours 🤍 This one might even be a short one 😱! I still plan on doing the whole 12 days of promptmas although Christmas is tomorrow but—you Christmas lovers celebrate until the new years right? Anyways here’s a little something for coco that’ll hopefully make you smile.

S/N: this was supposed to be queued until early tomorrow afternoon and I thought this got accidentally deleted and I was really about to throw a fit lmao! Just to realize it wanted to be posted today so this is brought to you guys early! Hope you enjoy this little thing 😬🫣 + GIF BELONGS TO: @thesewickedhands

PROMPT: #25. “I don’t care that you’re hanging up lights, get off the roof!”

WARNINGS: mentions of religion, drug addiction, & coco being hardheaded af.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Why was the gravel ashy if Santo Padre hardly got any snow?

That was the main thing on her mind on her drive back to the house. Surely it would make sense if they lived in a climate where snow was common. Honestly it was a little aggravating witnessing this as the wheels rode over the pavement; she wished they were experiencing rain on this winter day to bring in some damn moisture for once.

As she approached the house, her large round eyes formed into slits as she noticed something on the roof of her home. She stopped chewing as she creeped the car along the sidewalk, getting closer to the cream-colored home.

Just to her suspicion she took in the frame of the long haired man crouched on the roof. Immediately her window went down as she leaned over the passenger side yelling, “Coco, what do you think you’re doing?”

He silently cursed to himself as he sniffed, flicking the buds of his cigarette, watching the embers float downwards before he proposed a question himself, “you’re back home early. Something go wrong at church?”

He silently cursed to himself as he sniffed, flicking the buds of his cigarette, watching the embers float downwards before he proposed a question himself, “you’re back home early. Something go wrong at church?”

The woman snickered to herself, knowing that Coco took the opportunity of her heading out to church to do—whatever it is that he’s doing on top of the house. Church was something that called her every so often (she came from a religious background so it was not a foreign idea to her but after living on her own, she didn’t find a true place of worship like back home) and even brought coco with her a couple of times. He enjoyed the singing portion and often felt anointed by the soulful voices after his struggles with drug addiction, yet he did not enjoy the long sermons.

The woman snickered to herself, knowing that Coco took the opportunity of her heading out to church to do—whatever it is that he’s doing on top of the house. Church was something that called her every so often (she came from a religious background so it was not a foreign idea to her but after living on her own, she didn’t find a true place of worship like back home) and even brought coco with her a couple of times. He enjoyed the singing portion and often felt anointed by the soulful voices after his struggles with drug addiction, yet he did not enjoy the long sermons.

She was climbing out of the emerald green Volkswagen Beetle then, boots on her feet as they clacked against the sidewalk to stand a great distance from the house but directly in Coco’s line of vision. His ink eyes scanned over her frame, a black leather jacket he bought for her last Christmas, tossed over a v-neck cut bodysuit…but most importantly the aluminum pan she was eating from, right in front of his face.

“I lied,” she answered around the shredded beef quesadilla with a lift of her shoulders, “I didn’t go to church.”

Coco blew his smoke to the side as a small frown appeared in between his brows, “where you go then? Aye…Don’t they say lying is a sin?”

She fought against the wind chill that surrounded her body, flicking her hair back from her shoulders as she fired back, “and isn’t waiting for you girlfriend to leave to do whatever it is that you’re doing, sneaky?”

“What’s sneaky about hanging up lights for the house?” Coco suddenly dragged the line of lights from behind him, holding them up in the air for her to see.

She blinked, “uh…maybe waiting until no one is around to help you?”

“I don’t need any help, I got it.” Coco stubbornly replied, “just like you didn’t need any help, lying about your whereabouts dressed like that and coming back eating that shit right in front of my face.”

The woman’s plump lips scrunched up at the slight attitude she was receiving right now. It was evident that Coco felt like he was being nagged but all she asked was a simple question.

Only for his well-being.

Taking a deep inhale and exhaling she took a different approach, “Pilates. I was at Pilates, okay? Yes, I’m following the latest trend, I fear, and I don’t wanna hear nothing about it. I Wanted to try something new and it was cool for like thirty minutes until I learned each session is a hour and sometimes a hour or more.”

Coco scratched at his hair with the hand that held his cigarette. “The hell is that?”

“What?”

“Pilates, you said?”

“Oh, it’s a strength training exercise.”

Coco pushed out his lips and shrugged, figuring he would just look it up later online. He had work to do but at least she was being honest…until another thought occurred to him.

“If you were out exercising…why you eating something so oily?”

Now why would he say that?

Was Coco a nutritionist instead of a Mayan?

Coco could see from on top of the house that she didn’t care for that response. The flare of her tinted button nose almost made him regret saying it. He wasn’t trying to knock his girl for her eating habits, it was only a question, but it was clear the holiday season was giving unnecessary stress to them both.

He watched as she stomped back over to her car, snatched her cotton tote bag from the backseat and slammed the door shut. With her head held high up the air, she began strutting down the rest of the sidewalk to head up the path that led to the house. She halted as she realized she dropped her dusty pink leg warmers, bent down to shove them back into the bag, not without giving Coco her full ass to kiss and knew he would be watching, as she held up her middle finger in between her legs and up at her blunt boyfriend.

Just as she turned around he said:

“My bad—

He started, knowing that he pissed her off.

“I don’t care that you’re hanging up lights, get off the roof!” Was all she shouted throughout the neighborhood, he was sure if anyone was around, especially that nosy old man, Hector from across the street, he would probably be on Coco’s head about this.

The glare in her large round eyes and the pointing was all Coco needed to know they were in argument right now. However he didn’t have any words to argue with, so he stood up from the roof, cigarette back in his mouth as he now held the lights in both hands, silently stamping his claim. This motion was enough for her to get that Coco wasn’t going anywhere, he was going to do whatever he set his mind to.

“Okay, Johnny.” Was all she said, sending him a sweet smile that was anything but, before entering the house with a slam of the door.

Coco laughed to himself, peeking back over at his lady’s car noticing that she didn’t bother to roll the windows up, (it was supposed to rain tonight) she was so annoyed with him. He knew he’d do it later just in case the automatic windows decided they wanted to get stuck again but his focus were on these Christmas lights.

Coco wanted to decorate the outside, that’s all he cared about; since he never got the chance to do it growing up with the kind of mother he had…however he was slowly building a family and felt like this was something he should do.

So he did.

Hours passed to the point she forgot Coco was even outside as she got wrapped up in other things around the house. From showering, to putting Christmas tunes on while tidying the house some more, to switching on the Christmas trees lights and faux poinsettias over the mantle, she was finally sitting down on the couch, finishing her leftover lunch when Letty entered the house, searching for her.

“Hey, do you know coco’s hanging from the side of the house?” Letty questioned, “he told me not to say anything but—when do I ever listen to what he says?”

A smirk appeared on her lips then, which made confusion wash over Letty’s face as she watched her take her time slipping on her jacket and Uggs. The teen just raised her hands, not wanting to be bothered with what those two had going on as she began making her way to the kitchen. The girl halted in the hallway, backtracking, doe-eyes scanning the doorway to make sure that she was in fact out of the house, as Letty plucked up the last quesadilla, running to her bedroom.

A sigh left her lips as she stood into the much cooler evening air. Her arms folded against each other as she watched coco dangle from the side of the home by the lights that held him hostage by his ankle.

“Hey there stranger,” she started, to get his attention, “how’s it hanging? Any blood rushing to your head yet?”

“Fucking Leticia,” Coco muttered not wanting her to see him like this, “Can you get me down, mamita?”

“Oh, so now you want my help?”

“I don’t exactly have my gun to shoot this shit off. So yeah.” He lightly spun, hanging upside down like a bat in its cave.

She was positive he would have done something exactly like that if no one was around. It was just humorous to her that he was not only in his predicament over some lights, but he was the one giving her attitude for not wanting him to injure himself up there in the first place and now look at him.

The nerve of this man.

“Maybe I should leave you here until midnight.”

“I’ll probably be dead by then.”

“I hope not.”

“Mamita! Stop fucking around, please! I’m starting to lose feeling in my neck.”

She would be lying if she said that didn’t spark her heart rate a bit. However she still took her time walking fully over to him, one hand in her pocket as she slipped out her knife and swiped it around his ankle. Quickly stepping back she watched at the lights unraveled the man, sending him head-first right into the grass.

Coco laid there for a bit on his stomach, before he lifted his head some, long hair in his eyes as she watched him. “Thanks.”

“Mhm,” she kicked the grass before holding her hand to help the man to his feet. Her hands went to his skull next, fingertips pressing into the scalp beneath his shiny hair.

Coco melted into her hands then, as she gave him a massage in a attempt to help the headache he was probably facing now. His hands went to her waist, mainly to steady himself before he completely pressed his head to her chest.

“My bad,” He whispered into the orange frosted sky, “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings earlier.”

This she knew.

Yet coco didn’t receive a vocal response from her, she just held onto him like he wanted. They were both trying their best to heal from their own inner demons, so the couple knew they couldn’t take what was said personally.

So they’d blame it on the holidays for now.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Continue along with my December anthology prompts here.