The origin of Christmas as a holiday:
December 25th is Christmas day (Christ's mass), but
for the first 300 years of Christianity, it wasn't so. When was Christmas first
celebrated? In an old list of Roman bishops, compiled in A. D. 354 these words
appear for A.D. 336: "25 Dec.: natus Christus in Betleem Judeae."
December 25th, Christ born in Bethlehem, Judea. This day, December 25, 336, is
the first recorded celebration of Christmas.
No one knows for sure on what day Christ was born. Dionysus
Exiguus, a sixth-century monk, who was the first to date all of history from
December 25th, the year of our Lord 1. Other traditions gave dates as early as
mid-November or as late as March. How did Christmas come to be celebrated on
December 25th? Cultures around the Mediterranean and across Europe observed
feasts on or around December 25th, marking the winter solstice. The Jews had a
festival of lights. Germans had a yule festival. Celtic legends connected the
solstice with Balder, the Scandinavian sun god who was struck down by a
mistletoe arrow. At the pagan festival of Saturnalia, Romans feasted and gave
gifts to the poor. Drinking was closely connected with these pagan feasts. At
some point, a Christian bishop may have adopted the day to keep his people from
indulging in the old pagan festival.
Historian William J. Tighe offers a different view, however.
When a consensus arose in the church to celebrate Christ's conception on March
25th, it was reasonable to celebrate his birth nine months later.
Origin of Christmas Traditions:
Many of the pagan customs became associated with Christmas.
Christian stories replaced the heathen tales, but the practices hung on.
Candles continued to be lit. Kissing under the mistletoe remained common in
Scandinavian countries. But over the years, gift exchanges became connected
with the name of St. Nicholas, a real but legendary figure of 4th century Lycia
(a province of Asia). A charitable man, he threw gifts into homes.
Around the thirteenth century, Christians added one of the
most pleasant touches of all to Christmas celebration when they began to sing
Christmas carols.
No one is sure just when the Christmas tree came into the
picture. It originated in Germany. The 8th century English missionary, St.
Boniface, Apostle to Germany, is supposed to have held up the evergreen as a
symbol of the everlasting Christ. By the end of the sixteenth century,
Christmas trees were common in Germany. Some say Luther cut the first, took it
home, and decked it with candles to represent the stars. When the German court
came to England, the Christmas tree came with them.
Puritans forbade Christmas, considering it too pagan.
Governor Bradford actually threatened New Englanders with work, jail or fines
if they were caught observing Christmas.
In 1843, in Victorian England, Charles Dickens published his
novelette "A Christmas Carol." It became one of the most popular
short works of fiction ever penned. Although the book is more a work of
sentiment than of Christianity, it captures something of the Christmas spirit.
The tightfisted grump, Ebenezer Scrooge, who exclaimed "humbug!" at
the mention of Christmas, is contrasted with generous merry-makers such as his
nephew, Fred and with the struggling poor, symbolized by Bob Cratchit and Tiny
Tim. The book's appeal to good works and charitable contributions virtually
defines Christmas in English-speaking lands.
Whatever the ins and outs of Christmas, we are still
unwrapping the gift of God's Son--and what an incentive to generosity and joy
that gift is!
Bibliography:
"Christmas." Encyclopedia Americana. Chicago:
Americana Corp., 1956.
"Christmas." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1967.
"Christmas," "Dionysius Exiguus," and
"Philocalian Calendar." Cross, F. L. and Livingstone, E. A. The
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford, 1997.
Hutchinson, Ruth and Adams, Ruth. Every Day's a Holiday.
New York: Harper, 1951.
People's Almanac. Edited by David Wallechinsky and Irving
Wallace. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, 1975.
Veith, Gene Edward. "Why Decemebr 25?" World
(December 10, 2005) p.32.
Tighe, William J. "Calculating Christmas."
Touchstone, December, 2003. http://www.touchstonemag.com/docs/issues/
16.10docs/16-10pg12.html
But what are the roots of our Christmas traditions and
why do they continue to be important?
Before that we had Yule which is the English spelling of the
Norwegian Jul which is a mid winter celebration of Odin the “All-Father” riding
his eight-legged horse Sleipnir leading a procession of the undead on a hunt for
poor souls who couldn’t find a hiding place.
The Wild Hunt of Odin is based on the Wild Hunt motif from
folklore. In the Scandinavian tradition, the Wild Hunt is often associated with
the god Odin. It consists of a terrifying procession that hurl across the sky
during midwinter and abduct unfortunate people who have failed to find a hiding
place. In the Norwegian material, figures other than Odin who have been named
as leaders of the hunt include Lussi, sometimes identified as Adam's first
wife, and Guro Rysserova, a supernatural female being with a mysterious male
companion. The folklorist Christine N. F. Eike has argued that the motif might
have its origin in European traditions where young, unmarried men wear masks
and move in processions during Christmastide.
The Wild Hunt and The Danger of Seeing The Phantom Army
Of Odin
The Wild Hunt was a popular folklore found in Scandinavian
and Germanic myths, as well in later folklore in Britain and northern European
countries, which changed over the centuries.
The group of hunters were variously known as the Furious
Host or Raging Host. The hunt usually took part during winter, with a spectral
host of horsemen riding through the stormy sky, with their ghostlike hounds.
The chilling sound of the hunting horn could be heard reverberating through the
woods and meadows.
In the Norse myths, the original leader of the hunt was the
god Odin, known in Germanic myth as Wodan. Odin rode his eight-legged horse,
called Sleipnir. His company of hunters were the Valkyries and the dead
warriors who resided with him in Valhalla.
The hunt began on Winter Nights (October 31) and didn't end
until May Eve (April 30) of the following year. These two nights were special,
because lights went out on all Nine Worlds and the spirits and goblins were
free to roam on the earth's surface. However, the height of the Wild Ride fell
on the night of midwinter festival, known as Yule (December 21), traditionally
the shortest day of the year in Scandinavia and Germany. That is to say, today
so beware!
Canada’s wild Valkyrian ride into perdition:
If you have not found a place to hide from the undead who
are leading the political procession the aim of which is drag us into hell is
echoed in every aspect of the wicked alliance between Jagmeet Singh and Justin
Trudeau since Trudeau is a dead man walking but worse, still passing laws that
are ruinous. So let us review his litany of hellish corruption and this list
will only deal in part with the fallout of an administration where he has
ensured that no one will be left anywhere to hide from the damage he has
wreaked both socially and economically.
Here’s a short list then written by liberty heroin Tamara
Lich on what the current government with the support of the leader of the NDP
and local law enforcement is responsible for doing to Canadians:
- colluded with gov’t funded Canadian media to paint
Canadians as crazy, unhinged, angry lunatics
- called Canadians terrorists, racists, misogynists
- lied about foreign funding (donations)
- lied about desecration of the Terry Fox statue
- lied about truckers stealing food from homeless shelters
- lied about truckers disrespecting our War Memorial
- lied about Russian interference
- illegally spied on its own citizens
- accused truckers of being rapsts
- lied about arson attempt of an apartment building
- lied about law enforcement advice to invoke emergency act
- lied about legal advice advising to invoke emergency act
- lied about violence
- unlawfully froze bank accounts
- stole fuel & food
- threatened to apprehend pets
- threatened to apprehend children
- accused us of using children as human shields
- had our crowdfunding campaign frozen after contacting GFM
and telling them we were d0m3stic teRr0r1sts
- beat Military Veterans
- beat peaceful protestors with the butts of their rifles
- shot Canadians with rubber bullets & tear gas
- shot a reporter at point blank range with a gas canister
- trampled a first nation’s woman with heavy horses then
lied and laughed about it
- arrested peaceful Canadians, left them in cold paddy
wagons for hours, dropped them off on the outskirts of Ottawa in the middle of
a snowstorm.
- joked about sending tanks to remove peaceful Canadians
- claimed “Honk Honk” was an acronym for (you know what)
- planted a nasty flag, sent gov’t photographer out to snap
a photo
- seized donations in the same manner they would a drug
cartel
- violently arrested a senior citizen who drove past and
honked his car horn
- threatened to “hunt down” anyone involved
- unlawfully, unconstitutionally invoked emergency as
determined by a judge
(What did I miss?!?!?)
All of this in order to avoid a conversation with everyday,
tax paying, blue collar Canadians.
Not one of them has been fired, not one of them held to
account.
~ Tamara Lich
Ms. Lich was a key player in the Freedom Convoy protest has
shared her story on the world stage. Freedom Convoy organizer and fundraiser
Tamara Lich spoke this week in the European parliament in Strasbourg, France to
discuss the treatment of Canadians during the pandemic. She just recently received
the 2024 Women Fighting for Freedom Award presented to her by Madame Christine
Anderson MdEP in the European Union and fellow of the Europe of Sovereign
Nations Group in Strasburg.
Where this leaves us:
Most
Canadians now want early election as Trudeau support drops again: poll
As the Liberal government grapples with political upheaval
following the exit of Chrystia Freeland from the federal cabinet, a new Ipsos
poll shows most Canadians now want an early election.
That comes as support for Conservatives is surging and
support for the Liberals is at a near-historic low this week — putting Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau just one point above the record-low support seen by
former Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff in 2011.
Ignatieff led the party to its worst defeat in history in
2011, which saw the Liberals reduced to third-party status behind the NDP as
official opposition and the Conservatives winning a majority government.
Ipsos polling done exclusively for Global News and released
Friday shows over half of Canadians (53 per cent) believe opposition parties
should defeat the government "at the earliest opportunity" and
trigger an early election.
Meanwhile, 46 per cent believe opposition parties should
work with the government on a case-by-case basis to avoid an early election.
This is a near-reversal of the data released on Monday
morning before Freeland's resignation, which shared responses gathered in early
December.
That poll said 54 per cent did not want an early election
and 46 per cent did.
The popular vote share for the Liberals has dropped one per
cent since last week and six points since September to 20 per cent, tying them
with the New Democrats.
NDP support has dropped one point since last week but has
risen four per cent since September.
The Bloc Quebecois has maintained its support at seven per
cent, while the Green Party is up one per cent since last week.
Trudeau cabinet shuffle: 8 new ministers sworn in
Missed the political tumult in Ottawa? Here’s how it
happened, day by day
NDP will vote to topple Trudeau and propose confidence vote,
Singh says
The prime minister’s personal popularity has gone down five
per cent since the last Ipsos poll, with only 23 per cent overall saying they
think Trudeau deserves re-election, and 77 per cent saying they think it’s time
for a new party to take over.
Since renewed calls for him to step down this week, 73 per
cent respondents said Trudeau should step down while 27 per cent want him to
continue as prime minister and lead the party in the election in 2025.
Trudeau likens Freeland’s departure to a family spat, calls
Poilievre the ‘Grinch’
There was a sharp drop in the percentage of respondents who
thought Trudeau was best suited to deal with Donald Trump in trade
negotiations.
The polls said 14 per cent believe Trudeau would do the best
job representing Canada’s interests with a new Trump administration, compared
to 39 per cent who said Poilievre would be best suited for that role.
The gulf between perceptions of both leaders has only
widened since the last Ipsos poll when 22 per cent said Trudeau was best suited
for the role compared to 34 per cent for Poilievre.
What led to Freeland’s sudden resignation? Why Trudeau she must
blow past her already enormous deficit by over 20 billion dollars then asking
her to present it to parliament!
Ipsos poll findings:
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted
between December 19 and 20, 2024, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a
sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online. Quotas and weighting
were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the
Canadian population according to Census parameters. The precision of Ipsos
online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll
is accurate to within ± 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all
Canadians aged 18+ been polled.
In conclusion:
What am I to state in the face of such a perverse corruption
of parliamentary democracy which has had but one goal, to continue abusing the
Canadian people at a time when we need a calm strong voice to counter Trump’s threats
to kill our economy with tariffs. We need an election now and may the walking
undead who have been damned by their own behaviour suffer the full weight of
their own wicked hubris!
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