Origins Series
A very interesting series of articles that explore the origins of many of our cultural traditions. The series challenges the reader by showing how these traditions evolved naturally in our culture and were often not a product of religion. These articles have been put together by Sheila Ayala.
Table of Contents
- Origins of Christianity
- Origins of Christmas
- Origins of Easter
- Origins of Halloween
- Origins of New Years Eve
- Origins of Superstation
- Origins of Thanksgiving
- Origins of Valentine’s Day
Origins of Christianity
From the earliest times people venerated the Earth-mother/Goddess and the female was seen as miraculously giving life, nourishing her young and losing blood through menstruation without bleeding to death. People also associated the monthly menstrual cycle with of the phases of the moon.
Gradually patriarchy replaced the matriarchy system as seen in the Old Testament through the Jewish accounts of their history.
Judaism itself was influenced by other cultures in the Middle East, particularly Persia and Egypt. There were many different deities in play which led to diverse interests. The idea of having only one deity contributed to unifying tribes and empires. But that meant there could be no rivals or consorts and so goddess worship and everything associated with the goddess, was suppressed. The wild boar for example, was one of the sacred animals to the goddess and in order to continue the policy of destroying female deities, eating pork was forbidden. Jews and Muslims continue this prohibition. Eventually the character of the goddess was reinterpreted in the process of installing a symbol of a male deity.
From Middle-Eastern traditions sprang mystery cults of gods (e.g Attis, Adonis, Tammuz, Mithra and Osiris). These cults told of similar themes:
The deity was born of a virgin;
The deity was born in a humble abode like a manger or cave;
Very little is known of their childhood;
The deity died and was resurrected.
These myths originated far back in time and relate to the changing seasons and agricultural societies. In winter, everything seems to die, but slowly the sun moves further up in the sky and “Mother Earth” comes to life again in the spring (i.e resurrected.)
Beginning of Christianity
While some schools of thought doubt if there ever was an historical Jesus (see The Jesus Puzzle), and others maintain Jesus existed and married Mary Magdalene (see Holy Blood, Holy Grail, or The Da Vinci Code), the followers of Christianity accept the doctrines from their sacred book – The Holy Bible.
There were very turbulent times in Judea during the first century. The constant Jewish uprisings exhausted the Roman Empire’s resources and in the end, the Romans besieged Jerusalem and destroyed the Jewish temple. Today, there is only one wall from the temple that remains standing. During those times, it is possible that the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden for safe keeping.
Long before Jesus was considered a ‘son of God’, Christianity began as a social movement to reform Judaism. The corruption by temple priests brought a desire for reform and when the temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, Judaism had to abandon temple worship, which in turn broke down the hierarchy of the priestly class. The priesthood was the central authority for doctrine and rituals. At that time, the high priest was a Roman political appointee, and Jews begun to feel that their culture and religion were in danger of perishing. A new version of Judaism had to be developed that would be flexible enough to attract adherents and yet not be politically offensive to Rome.
St Paul, known originally as Saul, was born in the town of Tarsus in what is now southern Turkey, probably about 10 CE. He was educated in Jerusalem and he joined the Pharisees, a party of strict constructionists of the Judaic laws. Paul was not one of the original disciples of Jesus, and he never met Jesus nor heard Jesus preach. Paul had not been converted by the apostles but found the calling to the Christian faith by experiencing an epiphany on the road to Damascus. Before that, Paul was an active persecutor of Christians but after his revelation, he became Christianity’s most influential supporter of its doctrine. Paul almost single-handedly transformed a fringe movement of messianic Jews into a vibrant new faith. As a Christian missionary and theologian, Paul was ignorant about the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Paul was more interested in the death and resurrection of the exalted Christ and the promise of salvation for humanity. Writing about 20 years after the presumed crucifixion, before the four gospels were composed, Paul excludes the details concerning the circumstances of the virgin birth, parables or any miracles.
The mother church in Jerusalem, led by James, brother of Jesus, had kept strong ties to traditional Judaism and carefully observed the Mosaic Law (the many rules of religious observance).* But Paul gave little deference to the views of the disciples and was summoned to Jerusalem to be questioned about his convictions before the apostles; James, Peter, and John.
The conflict was about whether this new gospel should include gentiles as well as Jews. General outlines of how proselytizing should be done, how the church should be structured and what doctrines should be promulgated in order to appeal to as many people as possible were also discussed. As more and more gentiles joined the fellowship of believers, leaders of the Jerusalem church grew increasingly concerned that the laws of Judaism were being neglected, particularly the law requiring circumcision of male converts.
Judaism doesn’t proselytize but survives through Jewish bloodlines. Paul saw the message of Christianity as a message for all humanity, not just for the ‘Chosen People.’ The Jewish requirement of circumcision and dietary laws was an obstacle in attracting gentiles. The apostles agreed that circumcision would not be necessary for gentiles.
Over time, the new gospel diverged significantly from Judaism and the Christian Jewish wing disappeared. The gentile church spread throughout the Roman Empire and Christianity became a separate faith shaped by Paul’s vision of salvation through the Risen Savior, not by works under the old Mosaic Law. Paul continued to travel the roads of the Roman Empire and the commercial sea lanes of the Aegean and Mediterranean, carrying the gospel to the cities of Asia Minor, Greece, and eventually to Rome. He was executed in Rome in 64 CE.
This new version, which would become Christianity, began to appear as isolated groups in widely separated towns and villages throughout the region. The word was spread by bands of wandering preachers. Independently, these groups developed different views and conclusions but always referred to their leader as ‘Jesus’, ‘Jeshua’, ‘Yeishu’, ‘Yeshua’, or ‘Christos’, meaning ‘The Anointed One.’
It was customary in that era for authors to write their own material but ascribe it to someone they respected. Thus Mark, Matthew, Luke and John are not the authors of the gospels attributed to them. None of the gospels were written earlier than 65-70 CE. Most are second or third accounts and were composed after the establishment of the church; some as late as the 2nd century CE or even later. These gospel writers were converts to the new Christian sect.
The myths surrounding the life of Jesus were liberally borrowed by the gospel writers from the pagan religions of that era, because of the appeal these myths had had for the followers of the pagan religions. Everywhere were to be found religions that had as major features one or more of the myths that eventually came to be associated with Jesus. The Mithra cult was a formidable competitor to Christianity and their teachings placed a strong emphasis on the virgin birth and resurrection. Early Christian writers would have felt compelled to emulate the same themes.
The first generation of Christians were not interested in a permanent written record of the ministry of Jesus. They believed that the return of Jesus and the restoration of the Kingdom of God on earth were imminent. Therefore, what was the point of the written word if the world was about to end? Stories were passed along orally, primarily as a means of preaching and convincing outsiders. But as the first generation began to die off and hopes for the Second Coming dimmed, there was a need to preserve the words of Jesus to teach future generations.
For Christianity to survive and grow, a complete Christian theological structure was needed. This requirement was met by Paul, the writers of the four canon Gospels, and other Christians who provided the writings which became the official New Testament canon.
There are literally dozens of gospels, most of which have been lost, but significant numbers survive, not just those included in the canon. Most of the non-canonical gospels are polemics and some (particularly those from the Nag Hammadi library) are interesting mostly for what they tell us of the early church.
The gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John were written independently of each other and of Paul. The writings of Paul shows he was not aware of the gospels and the gospel writers were not familiar with the writings of Paul. The works of Mark, Matthew and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they are so similar. Since Mark is the shortest Gospel and has the least original material, Mark was written first and Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source. There are many similarities between Matthew and Luke which do not occur in Mark. Matthew and Luke must have had another source. This source, “Q”, was likely a collection of sayings of Jesus, similar to the gospel of Thomas. The gospel of Q gets its title from the German word “quelle” which means “source.”
The importance of Q regarding early Christianity is significant. The interval from the death of Christ to the writing of Q was only about 20 years. The next Gospel, Mark, was not written until more than 50 years after the crucifixion. Although Paul wrote his Epistles during the 50’s and early 60’s CE, they contained little material on the sayings of Jesus and his activities. Thus, Q gives us a much better understanding of an early, non-Pauline Christian movement: their preoccupations, beliefs, and developing theology.
What is remarkable about Q is that the original Christians appeared to be centered totally on concerns about their relationships with God, and their preparation for the Kingdom of God on earth. Totally absent from their spiritual life are almost all of the factors that are associated with Christianity today. There is no mention of apostles, baptism, church, clergy, confirmation, crucifixion, demons, divorce, Eucharist, healing, heaven, hell, infancy stories, John the Baptist, Last Supper, Mary and Joseph, magi, miracles, marriage, Messiah, resurrection, roles of men and women, Sabbath, salvation, trial of Jesus, trinity, or the virgin birth.
Quite a few collections of stories about Jesus circulated in the early church, among them The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Mary, and the Secret Book of John. Some of these gave very different and in some cases conflicting accounts of the gospel and, most importantly, of Jesus’ alleged resurrection. Some argued for the physical resurrection, others said the resurrection was a spiritual event.
Each of the four gospel writers wrote at different times and for different audiences. This accounts for several discrepancies and obvious interpolations. For example, the massacre of the innocents under King Herod was written simply to satisfy Biblical prophesies and a Jewish congregation. At other times, through the centuries, it seems that some passages were changed to reflect current thought. Sometimes scribes made errors in copying texts.
The Gospel Writers
First Gospel: Mark
When: Probably in the early 70’s CE
Audience: Mark wrote his gospel for an audience of Roman Christians who were suffering intense persecution at the time at the hands of Nero who had blamed them for the Roman fire and other problems.
Profile: Mark was not very literate in Greek and therefore not highly educated.
Message: Mark concentrated on the suffering of Jesus and salvation to give the believers courage and hope in times of trial. It is also clear that his gospel was greatly influenced by the stories circulating in the Christian community as to just who this Jesus was.
Source: Possibly Q
Second Gospel: Matthew
When: Probably 85 CE
Audience: Hebraic world to show just what Jesus had to offer them.
Profile: Well-educated conservative Jew, trained in the nuances of the Levitic tradition.
Message: Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy
Source: Mark and Q. Matthew used as his primary source the gospel of Mark. In doing so, he incorporated many of Mark’s myths and added a few of his own, changing bits of the story line here and there to better make the points for his Jewish audience.
Third Gospel: Luke (also author of the Acts of the Apostles)
When: Probably 80 CE
Audience: Luke saw the need to write a gospel to explain this new religion to the gentile community. Because Luke was writing for an official Roman audience as much as for an audience of prospective gentile converts, he was careful to portray Rome in as good a light as possible. For example, Luke has Herod’s soldiers scourging Jesus, not Rome’s soldiers as does Mark.
Profile: Highly educated scholar. He was fluent in Greek and his work is more polished than Mark and Matthew. Luke was probably also a gentile himself.
Message: His mission was to make this Jewish sect a relevant religion for the gentiles who had nowhere else to turn in the search for a strict moral code by which to live.
Source: Mark and Q
Fourth Gospel: John
When: Probably 100 CE
Audience: John wrote his gospel with an eye to the growing rift between Judaism and Christianity, and sought to heal it by trying to bring the two together.
Profile: Unknown.
Message: John fashioned a mythology that would be acceptable to both Jews and gentiles, quoting liberally from respected and appreciated Jewish literature and by incorporating a mythology of Jesus that sought to fulfill Jewish law and prophesy.
Source: Unknown
The book of Acts can be seen as a sequel to the gospel of Luke, starting where the previous book ends.
The letters to the Romans, the Corinthians, the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, the Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus and Philemon are widely assumed to have come from the hand of the apostle Paul and are called the Pauline epistles for that reason.
A few small stylistic variations in Colossians and Ephesians make some scholars suspect Paul didn’t write them, but the evidence is sparse and unconvincing. The letters to Timothy and Titus are suspect as well, and some critics feel they were later edits of some of Paul’s more personal correspondence to individual church leaders, or pastors. Hence, they are often referred to as the Pastoral Epistles.
The author of the letter to the Hebrews is completely unknown. Stylistic or literary criticism has failed to match it with any known author, although it is usually included among the letters of Paul.
The letter of James isn’t anonymous, but it’s not known who exactly James was. Five people named James are mentioned in the New Testament, one of whom was the brother of Jesus. It’s this person whom tradition has accepted as the author, although the evidence is sketchy.
It’s always been assumed the first and second letters of Peter were in fact written by Saint Peter. No real objection to that belief has been raised until rather recently, largely because few early church fathers quoted it as they did other canonically accepted books.
Canonicity
Canonicity is the discussion regarding which books belong in the canon of the Old and New Testament. The word canon simply means standard.
Early Christians engaged in a more fundamental argument about what constituted Christianity and especially about the nature of Christ.
One group known as the Gnostics believed that one did not need the intermediary of the church to experience God. This view threatened the orthodox church and was considered ‘heresy’. However, it was a second century Gnostic named Marcion who started to compile the first list of books he felt appropriate for a New Testament.
After several attempts to get an agreement for canonicity, a final decision was reached in Rome, around 473 CE.
Spread of Christianity
About CE312 the Roman emperor Constantine, saw a vision of the cross superimposed on the sun with words – ” In this sign conquer”. Constantine had his soldiers paint the symbol on their shields. Constantine went on to defeat the army of Maxentius at the Battle at the Milvian Bridge (Oct AD 312) and so Christianity
became a state religion with the cross becoming the symbol for Christianity. Constantine tried to strengthen his declining empire through Christianity. The empire eventually failed but Constantine’s edict gave Christianity a free reign to spread over much of Europe and later world wide.
It was a practice for early Christians to blend pagan customs with Christian rituals to win converts. Statues with Isis holding the enfant Horus now served as the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus. Easter is a celebration of the risen Christ but also celebration for the rites of spring and Easter eggs are a remnant from pagan times.
Epilogue
As the Roman Catholic Church grew and become more powerful, differences of opinion developed and the first of the schisms began with the Eastern Orthodox Church starting in 1050. Then there was German Martin Luther’s 95 Theses in 1517 and in England, via Henry the VIII in 1533, on the matter of divorce. Christianity’s influence in the West was considerable and left a legacy of schools, hospitals, sanctuaries, impressive art in buildings, paintings and music. On the darker side, Christianity is also responsible for impeding the progress of science, hostility to women, torture, generating wars and creating a parochial society. The development of this faith became far removed from early Christianity where women could be ordained, officials could marry and there were no intermediaries.
Origins of Christmas
Any idea is strengthened by the repeating of stories through the generations that over time, becomes respectable. Distance from the time in question also makes the conviction even more believable despite some incredulous claims.
The law that, according to the Old Testament, God gave to the Israelites through Moses. The Mosaic law begins with the Ten Commandments and includes the many rules of religious observance given in the first five books of the Old Testament. In Judaism, these books are called the Torah, or “the Law.”
Christmas Day
In the Roman Calendar, December 25th was called Natalis Solis Invicti, birthday of the “Unconquered Sun”, in recognition of the winter solstice. On that date, the sun, three days after reaching the lowest point of its annual course through the heavens, once more began to rise higher in the sky, the first indication that winter would come to an end and that the animal and plant life on which humanity depended for its existence would flourish anew. The festival, which was called Saturnalia, began on December 17th and concluded on 25th. Everyone celebrated the merry reign of Saturn, the god of agriculture. Parties were given and presents were received. Slaves became masters and vice versa, and violators of law were exempt from penalty. Rich men gave generously to their poorer neighbours and fighting was forbidden for that week.
By the third century CE, there were many mystery cults existing within the Roman Empire. Most celebrated the birth of their god near the time of the winter solstice. Emperor Aurelian (270 to 275 CE) blended a number of pagan solstice celebrations of the nativity for such god/saviors as Appolo, Attis, Baal, Dionysus, Helios, Hercules, Horus, Mithra, Osiris, Perseus, and Theseus, to tie into the day of Natalis Solis Invicti.
Mithraism was a well-established Roman religion, particularly among the Roman legionnaires. Mithra influence on the Roman Empire began about 70 CE when Rome fought against the Persians. In Persia, the Romans soldiers accepted this ancient Indo-Iranian god of light and protector of oaths. Mithras was also regarded as a sun god whose birth was celebrated on December 25th. Aurelian declared Mithraism the official religion of the Roman Empire in 274 CE.
According to legends, Mithras had been born in a stable with animals and shepherds present, very similar to the nativity scene of Jesus Christ. The Mithras’ rituals included breaking and eating loaves of bread and drinking wine mixed with water. Some Mithraic symbols and mythology were interwoven with Christianity.
In 312 CE, the Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion throughout the empire but Christians did not celebrate Christmas until later in 4th century and some sects still do not celebrate it. Before the fourth century, traditions put the date of the birth of Jesus either in the January to March period or in November. In reality, the date was not known. Like Aurelian before him, in 350 CE, Pope Julius 1st linked December 25th as the birth date of Christ to inspire people to turn from the worship of a material sun to the adoration of Jesus Christ.
The birth date of Jesus Christ was used as a timeline. The period before the birth of Jesus Christ counted towards that date and period after the birth counted away from that date. BC was recorded as before “Before Christ” and AD as after. “Anno Domini” is Latin for “in the year of the Lord”. Modern scholars are now using a secular term. BC takes the form BCE which stands for “Before Common Era”. AD has been replaced by CE, which stands for “Common Era”. The new terms are now part of the new world history standards.
Christmas Decorations
The way we decorate our homes during the Christmas season is a replay of themes dating far back in time. The Celts and Teutons spread over much of Europe and both practiced tree worship. The tree was regarded as possessing spirits. These people also had rituals for sun worship.
Celts
The Celtic culture has existed for more than 2,700 years but the exact origin of the Celts is unknown. They were an Indo-European people whose culture spread rapidly across the whole of Europe. Between 1200 and 700 BCE, the Celts spread westward from their eastern European homeland into the area of modern Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France and the British Isles. The Celts’ wealth was based upon extracting salt and selling it. They were also blacksmiths creating an innovative use of iron.
Teutons
Teutons were not a particular tribe or nation. The name is a cultural term for the various tribes who emerged as Goths, Vandals, Lombards, and Burgundians. About 2000 BCE, Teutons inhabited portions of what is known now as Scandinavia, specifically central and southern Norway, central and southern Sweden and Denmark. From about 100 BCE to after 250 CE, groups of Teutons began migrating southward into central and southern Europe. When the Romans came in contact with the Teutons in Germany, the Romans corrupted “Teuton” to “Deutschen” because the “t” in their language was pronounced very similarly to the “d” in English. Teuton means “spear-men”.
The Christmas Tree
Decorating Christmas trees with lights stems from the customs of the Celts and the Teutons. Evergreens gave them reassurance in winter that spring will come back. They had great respect for plants and trees that could stay green in winter. To them, evergreens either defied nature or were especially blessed by the gods. These ancient peoples used to set a tree alight to entice the sun to return so that life will spring up again. Our decorating of trees with lights, emulates the custom of enticing the sun to return.
Despite the popularity of Christmas trees, Christianity’s sacred book, the Holy Bible, does not accept this custom:
Jeremiah 10:2-4:
2: “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3: For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4: They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.” (KJV).
Outdoor Lights
Putting lights on the outside of a house arises from a pagan ritual to give strength to the sun. Celts used to put candles in their windows during the Yule tide season and large bonfires were kept burning. On a cold winter’s night, seeing a flicker of flames from candles in windows or feeling the warmth of a fire gave hope that the sun would regains its strength and longer and warmers days would come again. This pleasant feeling continues today when we see houses become enchanted with decorative lights that lift our spirits in the heart of winter.
Holly
In ancient times holly was thought to be magical because of its shiny leaves and its ability to bear fruit in winter. Holly was a popular Saturnalia gift among the Romans because holly was also Saturn’s sacred plant. Plants were given gender identities and holly was believed to be male.
Ivy
In pagan times ivy was closely associated with Bacchus, the god of wine, and played a big part in all festivals in which he was featured. Ivy was considered female and brought good luck.
Mistletoe
Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on oak and other non-evergreen trees. It does not reach the ground, and it has no roots in the earth. The Celts thought it had fallen from the sky as a gift of the divinity. The plant was considered sacred, a healing plant and a charm against evil. In a related custom, ancient Celts hung mistletoe in their doorways to keep evil away. Those who entered the house safely were given a welcome kiss. This is the origin of the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Mistletoe was always cut with a golden knife. Enemies would shake hands if they come across Mistletoe in the woods because it was a peace symbol. Because the mistletoe was so highly venerated in Celtic culture and it couldn’t be symbolized as Christian, even now most churches will not decorate their churches with this plant.
The Santa Claus Myth
The Santa Claus myth is another example case of the church enticing pagan followers to convert to Christianity. Before the modern character of Santa Claus, there was another much older figure, Thor, protector of peasants and common people.
Thor
In Northern Europe, thousands of years ago, pagans developed rituals for the sun. When the summer ends, the weather gets colder and the days shorter. This combination set in gloom among our pagan forefathers. As they saw the sun fall further in the sky, they were very afraid the sun’s power was waning and this desolation would not end. So people began to seek ways to restore the power of the sun. A Yule log was lit starting with the winter solstice and was kept alight for 12 days.
One of the gods these pagans had was a god they called Thor. Since Thor’s element was fire, he was made into the god for the Yule tide. Thor was a friendly god and during the Yule tide season, he delivered presents through the chimney because the hearth, being used for fire, was especially sacred to him. In a chariot driven by two goats, Cracker and Gnasher, Thor roared across the heavens causing thunder. Thor was described as heavy built, with a long white beard and was dressed in red in keeping with his association with fire. In a place called “Northland”, Thor lived in a palace surrounded by icebergs. Thus Thor was a winter god who gave people encouragement during the bleak winter months.
Santa Claus
In searching for a replacement for Thor, the church supplanted Thor with Saint Nicholas, who had been the Bishop of Myra, Turkey. Born about 280 CE, the bishop was canonized after his death and became the patron saint of sailors, merchants, the wrongly accused, endangered travelers and farmers. Known for his generous nature, several stories circulated about the good works of Saint Nicholas.
One story about Saint Nicholas corresponded with the deeds of Thor. A poor man was desperately worried about providing dowries for his three daughters. When Nicholas heard about the man’s plight, he secretly arranged for three bags of gold to be put in the stockings of the girls which were hanging by the fireplace to dry.
Around the 17th century, Saint Nicholas became popular in the Netherlands by leaving presents inside the shoes children had left by the fireplace. In Dutch, the name for “Santa Claus” was “Sint Nikolass” which was shortened to “Sinter Klaas”, turning the anglicized form into “Santa Claus”.
Transformation of Thor into Santa Claus
In later centuries, the figures of Thor and Santa Claus coalesced. Santa Claus is credited with placing gifts in stockings by the fireplace and Thor is responsible for the tradition of coming down the chimney bringing gifts. Thor’s chariot is now a sleigh and his goats have become reindeers. In modern times, Santa Claus is always depicted as being dressed in red with a white beard, a remnant of the old Thor god of Yule tide.
Over 1 million children from around the world send letters in 20 different languages, including Braille, to Santa Claus at the North Pole, courtesy of the Canadian Post Office.
Exchanging Presents
Present giving comes from the Roman Saturnalia festival. Christians adopted the custom through the story that three wise men were supposed to have brought gifts for the child known as Jesus.
The Christmas Card
A custom developed in England of sending written greetings at Christmas time. In 1843, Sir Henry Cole was too busy to write the customary personal letter and instead hired John Calcott Horsley to design a greeting card and have one thousand printed. The idea caught on and now millions of these seasonal cards are sent throughout the world.
Boxing Day
This comes from Saturnalia with the rich giving to the poor. Wealthy people put clothes, food and necessities in boxes for the poor and left them in the church on December 26th, which then became known as Boxing Day.
Origins of Easter
Etymology
The English word “Easter” and the German word, “Ostern”, come from the same root for “Eastre”. The ancient word for spring was “eastre” and this was the name given to Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honor every year at the vernal equinox.
Christianity merged this rite of spring with the Jewish Passover, which is why in other languages the word for Passover derives from it’s Hebrew name “Pesach”. In Latin and Greek the word is “Pascha” which in turn becomes in French “Paques”, in Italian “Pasqua”, in Spanish “Pascua”, in Danish “Paaske”, in Dutch “Paasch”, and Welsh “Pasg”. Passover literally means “he passed over” and refers the legend of the destroying angel who “Passed Over” the children of Israel and smote Egyptian firstborn children and firstborn animals instead.
In time Easter ceased to be the festival of nature being renewed by spring and became the time for people to renew their faith in Jesus Christ and God.
Pagan origins of Easter
Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area celebrated at or following the Spring Equinox. As early as 200 BCE, resurrection themes surfaced. One notable myth was the Cybele cult. The lover of Cybele was Attis (based on the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus myths). Attis was a god of the ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday when Attis castrated himself and bled to death. His worshippers sought identification with the god by also castrating themselves. Festivities culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection of Attis.
Resurrection themes in antiquity originally celebrated the end of winter and the coming of spring. The earth comes alive in rebirth or resurrection in the spring and summer for six months and then in the autumn and winter goes to sleep or is dormant for six months. This pattern or behaviour of nature is the basis for many cultures or religions. There was a real fear that the sun was dying and would not come back and so when the sun became stronger in the spring, there was great rejoicing. Many cultures have rituals for enticing the sun to come back. The rebirths or resurrection themes are the revival gods of vegetation that have been dead or sleeping throughout the winter.
Eastre, Goddess of Spring and the Dawn
Eastre was a goddess of the dawn and the spring, and her name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east. She was a fertility goddess and brought in the end of winter, with the days brighter and growing longer after the vernal equinox. Her presence was felt in the flowering or fruits of plants and in the birth of animals. The female hormone “estrogen” is derived from her name. Other names for the goddess included “Eostre”, “Ostara” ” Ishtar” and “Astarte”.
Easter Eggs
Eggs have always symbolized life and regeneration and so have been used in fertility rites. After the long, hard winter was over, the earth burst forth and was reborn just as the egg miraculously burst forth with life. The egg, therefore, was believed to have special powers.
In antiquity in Europe, hen, duck or goose eggs were metamorphosed into Easter Eggs by painting and decorating them. Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia all dyed eggs for spring festivals. Medieval Europe created beautifully decorated eggs, which were given as gifts.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, another custom was the making of hollow cardboard eggs filled with Easter gifts.
The first chocolate Easter Eggs appeared in Germany and France in the early 1800’s, and this new tradition soon spread to the rest of Europe and beyond.
The most famous decorated Easter eggs were those made by a goldsmith, Peter Carl Fabergé. In 1883 the Russian Czar, Alexander, commissioned Fabergé to make a special Easter gift for his wife, the Empress Marie. On Easter morning, Fabergé delivered an enameled egg with a golden yoke. Inside the yoke was a golden hen, and inside the hen, a miniature royal crown of diamonds and a ruby egg. This special Fabergé egg so delighted the Czarina that the Czar ordered the Fabergé firm to design further eggs to be delivered every Easter. In later years Nicholas II, Alexander’s son, continued the custom. Fifty-seven eggs were made in all. Today these eggs are worth a fortune.
The Easter Bunny
The myth begins with the Goddess Eastre feeling guilty about arriving late one spring and finding a poor bird whose wings had been frozen by the snow. Eastre saved the life of bird and made him her pet or, as some versions have it, her lover. Filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly, Eastre turned him into a snow hare, named him Lepus, and gave him the gift of being able to run with incredible speed so he could protect himself from hunters. In remembrance of his earlier form as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay eggs in all the colors of the rainbow, but only on one day out of each year.
The Hare was sacred in many ancient traditions and was associated with moon goddesses and the various deities of the hunt. The Easter Bunny is a rabbit-spirit. Long ago, he was called the “Easter Hare”. Hares and rabbits have frequent multiple births so they became a symbol of fertility.
The Christian Resurrection
The first Christians continued to observe Jewish festivals but practiced the festival with Christ as the “true Paschal Lamb”.
There has been in modern times some doubt that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ actually took place because of the discrepancies in the gospel accounts.
There are five references in the New Testament which claim that Jesus was hanged on a tree instead of being crucified. The very reference of “hanging on a tree” implied that he was stoned first, e.g. “…Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree”. [Acts 5:30]
The gospel writers were not witnesses to the crucifixion and they attributed their accounts to the disciples of the same name. These accounts often do not agree with each other. For example, on the third day when the followers of Christ visited the tomb where Jesus was buried, there are different descriptions:
Who went first to the tomb?
Mark: Mark said it was Mary Magdalene, Mary, mother of James, and Salome.
Matthew: Matthew said it was Mary Magdalene and another Mary.
Luke: Luke said it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, mother of James and other women.
John: John said it was Mary Magdalene who went there alone.
St Paul never mentions details about the crucifixion or the resurrection. Paul was more concerned with talking about the spiritual resurrection and his writings preceded the gospel accounts.
The Christian Church skillfully contrived to plant the seeds of the new faith on the old stock of paganism. The Easter celebration of the idea of a risen Christ was grafted upon a similar celebration of the dead and risen fertility gods. The crucifixion is also another theme of sacrifice based on the dedication of the first born to the Lord, just like Abraham and Isaac. Although eventually child sacrifice was replaced by the sacrificial animal,
the idea of actually putting the victim to death lived on in its final conclusion with the Son of God being offered up to the Father, in an act of atonement for sin. This in fact was no different from the pagan worship of human sacrifice.
Easter was never a fixed date like Christmas. At the beginning, various Christian sects celebrated Easter at difference times. The final settlement over the celebration of Easter Sunday was not fully agreed on until the CE 325 at the Council of Nicea. It was decided that Easter Day should be the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the spring equinox.
Origins of Halloween
For the Celts of Europe, their New Year began on November 1st. They believed that the turning points between one day to the next, the turning of the tides or the turning of the year were magical times. The time from the old year to the next was the most potent and when the veil between the worlds was at its thinnest. It was a time when the living could communicate with their departed loved ones.
The celebration of Halloween stems from the ancient Celtic fire festival called “Samhain”. The word is pronounced “sow-in” with “sow” rhyming with cow and it means “summer’s end”. In these times, there was a common belief that the sun needed to have its power restored when the summer ended and the sun began to wane. All hearth fires were extinguished symbolizing the dark part of the year. The fires were then re-kindled by the Druids, the priests of the Celts. The new fires gave hope for the coming year and were known as the “need fire”.
The transition from autumn to winter on the night of October 31st, meant that the departed souls could revisit their old homes in order to warm themselves by the fire and to comfort themselves. Good cheer and food was provided for them by their kinsfolk. If this was not done, then the spirits could cause harm or mischief. Humans disguised themselves to imitate the spirits so that the real spirits wouldn’t recognize them.
The Christian Church frowned on this pagan custom. To encourage the faithful, the church established November 1st as All Saints Day or All Hallows Day. October 31st came to be called All Hallows Even and eventually it was corrupted to “Halloween”.
The Halloween celebration was brought to North America when the potato crop failure in Ireland precipitated the mass emigration of the Irish in the 1840s. These people were the modern day descendents of the Celts and they brought with them their customs, some of which are the remnants of the Celtic festival observances. By this time, Halloween had evolved into an evening of fun for children who dress in costumes and go from house to house to collect candy.
Jack-O-Lantern
In Ireland, the Jack-O-Lanterns were made by hollowing out large potatoes or turnips. A length of thread covered in wax (called a taper) was attached, and when lit, made a flickering a light. These lighted Jack-O-lanterns were placed in windows as beacons that told the spirits they were welcome in that home. Sometimes faces would be carved into the lantern.
The name “Jack” from Jack-O-Lanterns comes from an Irish morality legend. The devil wanted Jack’s soul but Jack tricked the devil by forcing him up an apple tree and then marking the tree with a cross so the devil couldn’t climb down. In return for letting the devil go, the devil promised never to ask Jack for his soul. When Jack died, he was refused entry in to Heaven because in life he had been a drunkard. He was then sent to Hell, but the devil couldn’t accept him either because he promised he would never ask for Jack’s soul.
The journey between the worlds was dark so the devil tossed Jack a lump of lighted coal from Hell. Jack placed the coal inside a turnip that he was carrying and used it to light his way. Since that day, he has traveled the world over with his Jack-O’-Lantern in search of a place to rest. The Irish immigrants found that the new world had marvelous new crops, among them the pumpkin. The pumpkin is large, round, great for carving and roomy enough to place a candle inside and so the pumpkin replaced the turnip.
Ducking for Apples
Ducking for apples was a marriage divination. Apples were placed in a tub of water and the players had to try to catch a floating apple with their mouths without being aided with their hands. The first person to bite an apple would be the first to marry in the coming year.
Apple peeling was a prediction to see how long your life would be. The longer the unbroken apple peel, the longer your life was destined to be.
Origins of New Years Eve
The Origins of New Year’s Eve
The first New Year’s Eve was celebrated in Mesopotamia 2,000 BCE. Since then it has been celebrated at different times of the year according to various cultures.
In 45 BCE, Julius Caesar, on the advice of the Greek astronomer Sosigenes, improved the old Roman calendar. Caesar’s calendar became known as the Julian Calendar. It was adopted by the Roman Empire and all its territories and remained in use for over 1500 years. The Julian Calendar abandoned aligning the months with lunar cycles, and adopted months of 30 or 31 days in length, keeping February at 28 days. He also introduced an extra day in February in leap years.
In the original Roman calendar, March was the first month of the year and this continued with the Julian Calendar. March 1st, was roughly in synch with the Vernal Equinox as the official start of spring and the New Year.
However, the Julian Calendar became out of alignment over the centuries with the seasons and the churches religious festivals, so the Julian Calendar was revised under Pope Gregory XIII by a priest/astronomer named Christopher Clavius. By 1582 the accumulated error was estimated to have amounted to 10 days.
Pope Gregory XIII made January 1st the beginning of the year. January was named after Janus the god of change, the guardian deity of gates and doors and the god of good beginnings. The god is depicted as a two headed figure facing two ways – looking back and looking forward. Hence we break with the old year and we start a new year looking forward to new beginnings. The new calendar was known as the Gregorian Calendar. Although most of Europe adopted the Gregorian Calendar, it was not accepted in Scotland until 1600, England until 1752, and in Russia, not until the Russian Revolution. In England it was a question of not conceding to the changes made by the Roman Catholic Church, no matter how much sense it made.
The custom of ringing bells is to chase away the old spirits and start the New Year fresh. The tradition of using a baby to signify the New Year started in Greece around 600 BCE to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus. A baby was paraded in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility.
Auld Lang Syne
The song Auld Lang Syne is traditionally sung on the stroke of midnight each New Year’s Eve. The words Auld Lang Syne literally translates from old Scottish dialect meaning ‘Old Long Ago’ and is about love and friendship in times past. The lyrics in the song referring to ‘We’ll take a Cup of Kindness yet’ relate to a drink shared by men and women to symbolize friendship.
The words to Auld Lang Syne were written in 1788 by Scotland’s famous poet, Robert Burns, who lived from 1759 to 1796. The tune with the Burns’ words quickly became a famous song and before long was popular as the last song to be sung when an evening party broke up. The ritual developed that the group stood up in a circle, each one crossing his arms in front of his chest and clasping his neighbours’ hands to left and right. While singing, all arms were swung forward and back in time with the music.
Bandleader Guy Lombardo first heard Auld Lang Syne in his hometown of London, Ontario, where it was sung by Scottish immigrants. When he and his brothers formed the famous dance band, Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, the song became one of their standards. Lombardo played the song at midnight at a New Year’s Eve party at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City in 1929, and a tradition was born.
Auld Lang Syne Lyrics (first two verses)
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
Origins of Superstition
Break a leg
This comes from the medieval belief that the devil lives in the theatre. If the devil heard some one wish good luck, he would do the opposite; hence to break a leg is reverse outcome.
Step on a crack; break your mother’s back
Cracks and fear of stepping on them, comes from an ancient fear of letting the soul out of the square. The four corners are symbolic of balance and perfection.
Death
The north side of the churchyard was reserved for criminals, violent deaths, suicides or strangers because it was cold or shadowed. This side was also known as hell’s corner. The Southside was where the good were buried because the sun shone warmly on the grave. After the funeral people used to rearrange the furniture so spirits wouldn’t recognize the place and therefore couldn’t disturb the family. For the same reason, people returned from the funeral by a different route.
Never speak ill of the dead comes from Roman times and the fear that the spirit of the deceased would come back and haunt a person if they were spoken about in a derisive manner.
Pennies were placed on the eyes or mouth of the deceased to pay the ferryman to cross the river to the other side.
God Bless You
During the sixth century, it was customary to congratulate people who sneezed because it was thought that they were expelling evil spirits from their bodies. Later, when a great plague took hold of Europe, and people began sneezing violently, it meant that the person was going to die of the plague. The Pope passed a law requiring people to bless the sneezer by saying “God bless you”. (Note: Humanists do not use this saying!)
Horseshoe
Iron was a highly valued material and the horseshoe was used to protect against witches and witchcraft. The crescent shape of a horseshoe resembles the shape of a new moon. The horseshoe is always hang with the ends facing up (like the letter “U”) so the good luck can not run out.
Ladders
Ladders have long been a symbol for climbing to heaven. A ladder leaning up against a wall forms a triangle. In this triangle rests the spirits on their journey to the next world and walking under the ladder will disturb the spirits and make them angry.
Marriage
The name for the month of June comes from the goddess Juno. June is the most popular month in which to marry because the goddess Juno was the guardian of women, virgins, matrons and childbirth.
Providing the bride with something old means that the item has protected before and will protect again.
Providing the bride with something new indicates good luck for new beginnings.
Providing the bride with something borrowed implies that good luck goes with the borrowed item.
Providing the bride with something blue signifies that bride will be true, faithful and loyal to her beloved.
The wedding cake has been part of the wedding celebrations since Roman times.
The bride and groom are the first to cut the cake because it was thought if they didn’t, they would be childless. Sometimes a piece of cake was put under the pillow for good luck. A piece was also saved to be eaten on the 1st anniversary for good luck and a long life together.
The Wedding Party
In earlier times, the couple was surrounded by many other young people dressed similarly so that the evil spirits could not distinguish which was the bridal pair. For this reason, bridesmaids are dressed alike.
The best man goes back to the days of marriages by capture if the father of the bride would not give his blessing. The best man would wait and watch for the moment when the bride could be taken, helping the groom with the actual capture.
The custom for having a “honeymoon” goes back to marriage by capture when the groom had a hurried flight made necessary by the wrath of the bride’s father. The couple hid from the searchers for as long as the moon completed a lunar cycle, about 30 days or one month. It was believed that drinking a brew made from mead and honey during the first month of the marriage would increase the fertility of the newlyweds. It is this combination of the honey brew and the one month of hiding that we get the term “honeymoon”.
The bride was carried over the threshold in ancient Rome because a stumble at that moment was considered very unlucky. Thresholds were believed to be treacherous places for the gathering of spirits.
Throwing the bouquet and garter grew out of the popular custom of “flinging the stocking” of the 18th century. In today’s version, the bride throws a bouquet to someone of the female sex.
The wedding ring comes from the Egyptians who twisted plant material such as hemp into rings and bracelets. These plant rings evolved into rings of precious metal. A ring is a never ending circle and the unbroken circle is a symbol of love with no end.
The ring is worn on the 3rd finger on left hand because of the belief that the “vein of love” went straight to the heart from this finger.
If the ring is lost, the bride will loose her husband and taking off the wedding ring tempts fate and the marriage may dissolve.
If you get married when the clock’s hands are moving downward, your married life will be troubled. If the hands are going upwards, your marriage will be successful and happy.
Mirrors
Our ancestors believed that any image of a person contained a portion of that person’s life essence. Souls have long been thought to be captured by reflections such as in water or mirrors.
Many primitive cultures will not let you photograph them as they believe the soul will be captured by the camera. Breaking a mirror is bad luck because the soul will also be broken (destroyed). The bad luck can last for seven years because the Romans believed that after seven years, the body was physically rejuvenated.
Origins of Thanksgiving
The North American Thanksgiving celebration stems from the European Harvest Festival. This in turn had its roots in the corn culture. (Corn in the European sense means the various cereal plants such as wheat, oats, barely or rye. In North America, corn is known as maize.)
Long before recorded history people have been celebrating the Fall Harvest. For thousands of years a community had only the food it could produce itself and the success or failure of the harvest was a matter of life or death. There are many harvest beliefs that are universal.
There was a strong belief that the rhythms of the growing season were related to those of human life. Crops were “born” from under the ground and “died” in the harvest. The fact that they grew from underground, which many ancient people regarded as the home of the dead, suggested to them that the crops must contain spirits. People believed that at the time of the harvest these spirits must be either pacified or destroyed, or they would take revenge against the farmers who harvested them. Before there were formal religions, people prayed to the spirits of their crops and to the spirits of the rain and sun on which their crops depended. And even after the major religions were established, many people continued to practice the rituals of the harvest.
Belief in a crop spirit has been found among the natives of the Americas, among the farmers in the rice paddies in Asia, among the Europeans and among the Egyptians. On the fertile land on the sides of the Nile, Egyptians farmers used to weep and pretend to be grief stricken so as to deceive a spirit. They feared that the spirit would be angry with them for cutting the corn in which it lived.
Many corn cultures believed that the reaper who cut the last sheaf removed the only remaining hiding place for the corn spirit, which meant that the corn spirit would then hide in the reaper. Since the corn spirit had to be killed, this person became a human sacrifice. The death of the reaper – and the spirit – was necessary to promote the next growth of crops. In some places the bodies were cut up and buried in corn fields or burnt and ashes thrown over the corn field. It is interesting to note that this grisly tradition did indeed promote the crops.
As any gardener will tell you, blood, bones and ashes make great fertilizers. The evolution of this tradition put an end to human sacrifice; instead, the corn spirit was caught in the last sheaf and the sheaf was made into a doll. This corn-doll was hung in the farmhouse until the next year crops when it was burnt and the ashes plowed back into the land. And eventually, this festival became a thanksgiving harvest to thank the gods or God for the bountiful harvest to get the community through the winter. The ancient fear of the corn spirit persisted throughout the Middle Ages.
Canadian Thanksgiving Day
In 1879, the Canadian Parliament declared November 6th a day of Thanksgiving and a national holiday. Over the years, the date changed, and finally, on January 31st, 1957, Parliament proclaimed that Thanksgiving is to be observed on the second Monday in October. Americans celebrate Thanksgiving by remembering the Pilgrims and the first settlers in the New World, on the fourth Thursday in November while Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest. The harvest season falls earlier in Canada compared to the United States due to the simple fact that Canada is further north.
The Origins of the Turkey
Ten million years ago meleagris gallopayo or turkeys were roaming the Americas. The turkey was originally native to Southern Ontario, parts of the United States and nearly all of Mexico. The ancient Mayan people celebrated their harvest with a turkey-and-squash feast and we know that the turkey was first tamed by the Aztec peoples of southern Mexico before the Europeans arrived. Turkeys were taken to Spain about 1519 and eventually distributed over all of Europe. Some of the early colonists took these birds back to North America to use as breeding stock with native wild turkeys. Turkeys are highly nutritious and low in calories. Protein rich, it has high concentrations of the
B vitamins, niacin, and riboflavin and well as valuable amounts of calcium, iron, vitamin A and vitamin C. No two etymologists agree on the origin of the name “Turkey”. Columbus thought the New World was connected to India and that the turkeys were related to peacocks, so he named them “Tuka” which is peacock in the Tamil language of India. Another theory is that when the bird was introduced to Spain, the Spanish Jews called it “Tukki” for the Hebrew word for peacock. It could also have come from the native North American word “firkee” which was corrupted to turkey or it could have come from the bird’s alarm call: “turc turc”. Most probably the word came from Turkish traders selling to the English. The turkey is related to the pheasant and contrary to popular belief, the turkey is very cautious and smart. The largest individual hatchery operation in North America is located at Strathroy, Ontario.
Origins of Valentine’s Day
Lupercian Festival – Roman Empire
St Valentine’s Day has its roots in the Roman Lupercian Festival which was held in honour of the God of Fertility every year in February. As early as the fourth century BCE, the Romans engaged in an annual young men’s rite of passage to honour the god Lupercus. The names of teenaged women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion, for their mutual entertainment and pleasure (most often sexual), for the duration of a year.
St Valentine, of Interamna
A common legend states that Valentine was a priest who served in third century Rome. In year 270 CE (Common Era), Emperor Claudius II issued an edict forbidding his soldiers to marry. Claudius II declared that single males made superior soldiers than did those who had wives and children. He outlawed marriage for all young men in order to optimize his potential army of soldiers. In direct defiance of the Emperor, Valentine went against this edict and continued to perform marriages in secret ceremonies. Upon learning of Valentine’s actions, the Emperor was enraged and immediately sentenced him to death; Valentine was beheaded on February 24, 270 CE.
Legend claims that while Valentine was in prison awaiting execution, he fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer, Asterius. Before his execution, he signed a farewell message to her: “From Your Valentine.” This phrase has outlived its author by 1736 years!
Catholic Church and Lupercian Coalescence
Determined to put an end to the 800 year old Lupercian practice, the early church fathers sought a “lovers” saint to replace the pagan deity, Lupercus. From the standpoint of the Church, Valentine, who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier, seemed to be
the ideal candidate to usurp the popularity of Lupercus. So in 496 CE, a stern Pope Gelasius outlawed the mid-February Lupercian festival. Instead, February 14 became a holy day with St Valentine being instituted as its patron saint.
Even though, in 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed St Valentine’s Day from its calendar of ‘official’ holidays, habit and custom ensure its wide popularity and celebration.
Valentine Cards
One legend states that the tradition of sending cards began when St Valentine himself passed notes to the jailer’s daughter. Another story claims that passing out cards stems from a French Count, Charles, Duke of Orleans, who sent the earliest extant card in 1415, to his wife, while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. This card is now in the British Museum.
Valentine’s Day cards became popular in the 1700s when hand made cards made with satin, ribbon and lace, among other fineries, were given to lovers. By the early 1800s, commercial Valentine cards began to appear. Valentine’s Day cards are now sent at the rate of one billion a year, putting them just behind Christmas cards as the most popular cards.
Roses
The rose is used in the celebration of St Valentine’s Day because this flower was sacred to Venusthe Roman Goddess of Love.
Birds
Another popular symbol of the day are birdsparticularly doves and lovebirds. These two birds were thought to mate for life and it was believed that they choose their mate in the middle of February.
Hearts
In the past, people believed that the heart was the centre of all emotion. Therefore, by giving someone a symbol of the heart, one was avowing all the love and emotion that one felt toward the person to whom the card was given.
Cupid
Cupid was a Roman god. He was the son of Venus, who was the Roman goddess of love. Cupid is the symbol of passionate love. He is known as the mischievous Jinn, disguised as a winged child, armed with a bow and arrows.
Cupid fell in love with Psyche, who was a mortal. This made his mother, Venus, angry. She persuaded Psyche to look into the ‘box of beauty’ and when Psyche did, a deep slumber engulfed her. Cupid came down to earth and searched the world for her. He found her in a deep sleep. His love for her was so strong that he was able to extract the sleep from her and place it back into the box. Then he used an arrow to pierce her heart and awaken her. Since then, Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers.
In ancient Greece, the god of passionate love was known as Eros. He was the young son of Aphroditethe Greek goddess of love and beauty.