A tedious examination of the Merry Mishmash of
CHRIST'S MASS, MITHRAS & CHRISTMYTHS
On December 25th the Romans
celebrated the
festival of the Invincible
Sun
God
MITHRAS.
http://www.medmalexperts.com/POCM/pagan_christs_mithras.html
Mithraism was a Persian import that had
been celebrated for hundreds of years and the Emperor Aurelian
made it a state religion in 274.
Later on another Emperor, Constantine, whose conversion and subsequent induction of Christianity as the new state religion made a deliberate effort to eliminate the rival religion of Mithraism by decreeing in 313 that December 25th was now officially Christ's Mass.
Constantine legally mandated that
December 25th was the birthday of
JESUS, the Son of God instead of
MITHRAS, the Sun God !
so Crizzmess is off to a confusing start!
btw Constantine's Mother spent years in the Holy Land, at the taxpayer's expense, searching for the Holy Grail.
If you would like a more realistic birth date for Yeshua/Jesus (nobody knows) try investigating March 25th, May 20th or even April 1st.
Shepherds only guard their flocks of sheep day and night during lambing time which is in the Spring, not in December.
Another nagging problem, aside from getting the wrong birthday for Jesus,
is that we don't know the exact year either...
unfortunately the abscence of the year zero makes matters worse
because his birthyear must be guesstimated somewhere between 4 - 6 BC.
HUH!
Jesus was born 4 years Before Christ?
In
525 AD a monk named Dionyius Exiguus tried to calculate the birthyear of Jesus and decided on
753 AUC.
The Romans dated everything from the founding of Rome:
AUC (Anno Urbis Conditae) which according to our Gregorian calendar is 753 BC.
So he decided that Jesus was born 753 years after the formation of Rome and invented 'in the first year of our lord' also known as 1 AD (Anno Domini).
753 AUC= 753 BC = 1 AD Got it?
There is a problem with Exiguus choosing 753 AUC /1 AD as the birthyear of Jesus because the three historical figures mentioned in the famous nativity story were only cast in their roles during a brief 3 year period.
The Biblical Books of Luke and Mathew, compiled decades after the event, tell us that Augustus was Emperor, Quirinius was Governor, and Herod was King when Jesus was born. Thanks to Roman records we know that all three dignitaries were only in power from 747(6BC) until 749(4BC).
So Dionysius Exiguus was out by 4 years.
He should have picked 747, 748 or 749..oh never mind.
Are you still with me? C'mon I'm almost finished!
I realise that most people don't seem to care that our history books state that Jesus was born 6 or 4 years before he should have been or that his date of birth wasn't December 25th!
However the implications of acknowledging Jesus's Birthday are far reaching because the Western World chose, and portions of it still maintain, that
THE BIRTH OF JESUS WAS THE PIVOTAL POINT IN ALL OF HISTORY,
and many regard it as a magical SYSTEM RESTORE application that overshadows everything that happened before, and some would argue since, as superfluous data.
So these other pesky problems such as
Jesuslikely being born in NAZARETH and not BETHLEHEM,
or the borrowing of the the VIRGIN BIRTH story,
or the artistic license of implicating DAVIDIC lineage without JOSEPH's sperm does matter to some extent.
Like it or not it does affect the rest of history and deserves to be corrected!
Right now it is a Very Merry MISHMASH.
BUT...
So What if Jesus wasn't born on December 25th, most Christians
don't care about that anyway, it is the tidings of comfort and joy
that matters..and So What if everything about Mythmas is borrowed,
from Virgin Births,
Yule Logs,
Sinter Claus,
to even Candles,
if somehow a message of Peace, Love, and Understanding can infiltrate through the calamity and horror of this world and give mankind (1/3rd of them anyway) some hope for a better tomorrow..why not.
*Oh before I forget, because our ancestors neglected to create a year 0
this raises another tedious problem.
The millenium actually started January 1st, 2001 and not on January 1st, 2000!
That's another blog !
So
MERRY MITHRAS /MYTHMASS or
CHRISTMAS
whichever you prefer,
to One and All!
Dear Homo escapeon:
ReplyDeleteYou lost me somewhere around 525 A.d., but then again i'm tired. So Christmas in July sale at Leon's is ok then? I think the mad hatter had it figured out with the unbirthday day.
H.E. I think you're the only guy who put "Virgin Mary" and "Sperm" in the same sentence...
ReplyDeleteWash your mouth with mulled wine!
hodedoodle,
ReplyDeleteYes your old comment was saved because your exasperation will no doubt be echoed throughtout my GRINCHFEST message.
Christmas Cream,
No worrys mate because she is regarded as a perpetual virgin by half of all believers...but just to be on the safe side..
What-Mas? Hay-Who?
ReplyDeleteI'm just gonna stick with what my pagan ancestors have done for eons......celebrate the ending of the slow death of the sun and it's rebirth, burning the yule log, reveling in drunken debauchery, looking for the days to lenghthen, and prepare for when nature leaps forth and the Green Man runs rampant throughout the land (except in the suburbs, where the god ASTROTURF rules).
Deck the halls with fresh young virgins
la la la la la, la la, la, la
try our hand at catching sturgeon
la la la la la, la la, la al
Don we now our air force parkas
la la la, la la la, la, la, la
dance to flutes and belalykas
la la la la la, la, la, la la
Rudolf the brown nose reindeer
had enough of armed rednecks
and if he ever saw one
he would break their scrawny necks
all of the other reindeer
used to think that Rud' was gay
just cause instead of flying
he would sorta of just sashay
then one frosty Christmas day
Red Ex called to say
could you fly our route tonight
for a little extra pay?
Now all the other reindeer
thought that he was such a scab
they never knew that Rudolf
earned enough to pay their tabs
Just to show you how lame I am at X-mas songs......
I also lost you on the numbers, but like you said, it doesn't matter.
ReplyDeleteThe main point is that factually, the Bible has it wrong. And so that has to raise a whole bunch of other questions about what else might be wrong in The Good Book.
The even larger point beyond the main point beyond the numbers, which you've pinpointed, is that regardless of what's right or wrong factually, people still have a time to believe in, to feel good about.
And that time is now.
THE michael!
ReplyDeleteHO HO HO If I didn't know any better I would swear that you are well into the NOG! Those are great xmas tunes that I had not heard before.
I didn't know that Rudy was gay (nttiawwt) but I am not surprised, I always suspected Prancer myself.
Setting up the giant Wicker Man in your backyard?
Well Super Solstice to you and yours my friend!
airsoftking,
You have a mysterious handle which I simply must explore. Thanks for dropping by and keeping a cool head.
withinterland,
NOWHERE in the Bible does the date of December 25th appear...
nope,nope,nope, that is all thanks to Constantine,the Emperor of Rome.
Doesn't mention 3 wise men either.
That is precisely my point most people don't even care if/when/how/why or where it all started because it's here now and everybody else is doin' it so I might as well too...
so what are ya gonna do?
Too much stress here right now to think straight (or even crooked) but as always, an excellent, thought provoking post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding me to your blogroll (I am honored), I put you on mine as well (which you may or may not be honored by).
Merry Christmas HE.
ReplyDeleteI must admit, I did not follow that history lesson.
But can we assume by this that a lot of what we (well, not me) read in the bible is reindeer shit? I mean come on, it just doesn't really add up.
Oh well, Christmas isn't about religion. It's about buying presents!
dunno the authenticity of it all, but God is worth celebrating :) No matter how slack He was when creating man.
ReplyDelete**So these other pesky problems such as
Jesuslikely being born in NAZARETH and not BETHLEHEM,
or the borrowing of the the VIRGIN BIRTH story,
or the artistic license of implicating DAVIDIC lineage without JOSEPH's sperm does matter to some extent.
LOL ur seriously funny at the same time :) U've got a good point there. I'm not sure how a baby can be born w.o. a sperm but then again we r talking abt God here :)
Anyways u have a good holiday season mate and I will see u in 2007! (or is it really 2008 according to ur theory?)
Keshi.
You're right of course.
ReplyDeletehappy christmas! you've lit my christmas lights with all that history. :)
ReplyDeleteConsider this a figurative expression of that timeworn American pastime - visiting acquaintances and leaving Christmas cheer in the form of a mummified fruitcake.
ReplyDeleteAnd a toast to our lady of perpetual motion!
Romans were good at marketing and mergers. By adopting various existing festivals and beliefs (equating Mary with some of the Roman goddesses) they assimilated those believers into the Xian faith.
ReplyDeleteSimilar things have apparently happened in South America where Catholic beliefs have incorporated native religious beliefs.
Personally I like the Catalan take on Christmas traditions, incorporating the region's faecal motifs such as the sh*tter (a pooping peasant) in nativity scenes and a faecally themed Yule log that excretes sweets when hit.
Anyway, have a cool Yule. I'm just off make Rudolph-burgers and set up my baby Santa in the manger.
dmmgmfm,
ReplyDeleteSay NO to X-Stress NOW! Step away from the stress...give me the credit card..now please have a seat right here and an officer will come and take your statement.
blasphemousblogger,
I didn't quite say that and not nearly as delicately as you did..everybody reads into things what they will...what are ya gonna do?
Christmas here in North America is all about shopping NOW it is a commercial event and not a religious one...the car ads make me the sickest...give your sweetie a new Lexus for Christmas...that'll show the neighbours!
aidan,
I think that you said something good about Alice Cooper?..who was one of my heroes when I was 13 because he helped me stick it to the man..it was OK to be different..in fact it was cool! You were being nice to Alice?
keshiroo,
Guess what one of my favorite topics KOMODO DRAGONS are in the news thanks to a VIRGIN BIRTH in England...
Parthenogenesis is the fancy schmancy name that they give to self fertilising eggs...that turn into embryos...without male youknowwhat!
Anyway this is my Christmas miracle Flora the dragon has laid eggs has NEVER been near a BOY Komodo...so there it 'tis!
hi pam,
I get nervous when people agree with me but before I plotz I am assuming that you mean that all of the historical snorical stuff doesn't matter because it is the thought that counts...
{illyria}
I hope that your lights are those LED cobalt night piercing electric blue laser oooohaaaaah type...those are so beautiful.
fronty,
Back from the brink of beta! Yes indeed there are plenty of mummified fruitcakes out there at this time of year so please don't think and drive. Our lady has done an awesome job of retaining her honor even after having 7 kids...verrry european!
hey lewtrah,
Wow..that is a very touching christmas scenario..it will be hard to 'wipe' that from my memory..You are right the Romans said the more the merrier but hey they stole all of their deities anyway...bloody Romans what have they ever done for us anyway..aqueducts..oh yeah but aside from aqueducts what have the miserable bloody Romans ever done for us?...sorry everytime I see the word Romans I think of The Life Of Brian...
So I'm curious now. Will you be celebrating Christmas this year? Is there a tree set up and decorated in your home? Will you be exchanging presents with your loved ones on Christmas day (or Christmas eve)?
ReplyDeleteanna,
ReplyDeleteThanks to my goodladywife our home is beautifully regaled in Christas splendor, I decorated the tree, we have decorative lights everywhere inside and out, our little guy wrote a letter to Santa and even received a reply, we exchange gifts and have huge family gatherings with both of our families for three consequtive days, and try to see most of our close friends...
not bad for grinchmeister eh?
i always knew the devious white people are up to no good, but hell, the turkey is already ordered! :p
ReplyDeleteMERRY MISHMAS from the Ghost of (not) Christmas.
HAVE A NICE HOLIDAY AND lets fire up the logs for a great 2007 of blogging ok!
The short story comp ends on the 30th!
ghosty,
ReplyDeleteI am actually more of a creamy beige than white...and thank you I will throw a few BLOGS on the fire and I am desperately trying to finish my story in the midst of the seasonal shenanigans..
merry chrismakwanzakkuh!
Did someone say mulled wine? Where? I love this time of year; the cold, the alcohol, the candles, lights, alcohol... I've considered celebrating Yule but it's just too much work and it'll kill my Italian Catholic stepfamily. And I don't want to do that. Well, this year, anyway.
ReplyDeleteLUV your Mythmas tunes the Michael!
"If you would like a more realistic birth date for Yeshua/Jesus (nobody knows) try investigating March 25th, May 20th or even April 1st."
Also, April 17 is another possible date - b.c.e. that is.
Merry Mythmas HE.
laura e,
ReplyDeleteMerry Mythmas to you too. It is virtually impossible to escape our childhoods at this time of year and back in junior high I relished the opportunity to crash Midnight Mass with all of my Catholic bushdrinkin' buddies and take in the latin recitations, votive candlelight and sheer ornate spectacle of the competition...it stood is such contrast to my austere Lutheran buttoned up celebrations...yes, those were simpler times.
and yes April 17th.
If only it were that simple. I’m not stressing about the presents, I’m stressing about the presence, or lack thereof. Despite our best attempts, my son cannot be home for Christmas, yet again. Being mom, and the fixer of all things (in my mind at least), I have tried moving heaven and earth to get him here, but have failed. There’s no fighting Mother Nature or Denver International Airport, for that matter.
ReplyDeleteOn orders from my son, however, I am not going to be maudlin. We will postpone Christmas until sometime in January.
You will have to make merry without me this year.
Phew!
ReplyDeleteChristmas was never hyped in India as much as it is done now. I must say it is not a bad thing either. If we get to the spirit of love and togetherness than we should celebrate festivals of all religions.
Does it matter when Christ was born? And how?
BTW, the term virgin birth seems redundant now. If one has test-tube babies(to use an obsolate term!!) being a virgin, what do you call that?
Merry Christmas to you!
HE,
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is Merry Christmas to you and your family!
It's been a pleasure getting to know you this past few months. You always have interesting topics and never fail to inject intrigue into any topic no matter how ordinary.
Thanks for sharing through your blog. More power to you!
he, so much for my catholic upbringing and teachings. thank you for confirming what i already knew. it's good to get the facts straight.
ReplyDeletehappy holidays to you and your family. that's really all it's about, and since there is nothing more important than our relationships, let me say i enjoy getting to know you and your blog.
i'd love to see you and ww hanging out together!
best wishes!
:)
dmmgmfmzzzz,
ReplyDeleteThat is one WHOPPER of a storm!!
Talk about Mother Nature not cooperating! What a drag but there is nothing that you can do but adapt and make the most of being buried alive..hope that he made it to the store.
Stay warm and in touch.
gautami,
You're right whatever it takes to make us more humane has got to be better than what is goin' around these days. You have really challenged me and I want you to know how much I appreciate that.
You are one of the few people who will not hesitate to let me know when I cross the line.
Thank you for your support throughout my brief tenure on the blogosphere.
ces,
You are very kind. Your restraint is admirable but I have no qualms about people completely disagreeing with me.
It would be sooo boring out here if we all had the exact same cosmological outlook on Life.
We are all in this together feeling our way through it and sharing what we have discovered...
we may take different paths but we are all trying to get to the same place...a place called Stepford.
kj,
It is about the relationships and the banality of our new pseudo self awareness is a godsend for us bloggers! It is almost impossible to understand why the real world hasn't arrived and realised that we have solved nearly every issue known to mankind. What on earth are they waiting for?
Keep up the exquisite work and all the best to you in the year two thousand and seven!
It's so strange, when I was a kid back in the 60s, I always thought that we would have world peace and flying cars by now...
but now that we have sooo much immediate information about the world I have to wonder if it has always been this bad and we just didn't know it..I sure hope that we're actually making progress.
There is still much to discuss and that is why this is so addictive!
I had a similar conversation with a friend the other day. As always you teach me and make me laugh. Very interesting stuff.
ReplyDeleteFor me it is about just spending time with family. Watching the kids eyes light up as they open their gifts and also when they watch one of us open a gift from them. Dinner is always the most delicious of the year. I'm exhausted, my feet hurt, I almost punched a lady at the mall yesterday and yet somehow it's all worth it.
Happy Holidays to you and the fam!
Hugs
Happpy holidays to one smart and handsome man! I will be sure to drink a little of my mom's 'special' eggnog in a toast for all my Canadian blog buds!
ReplyDeleteMay the new year bring you and yours much more happiness and many many more posts!
christine,
ReplyDeleteOhmygosh! isn't that quaint..OHMYGOSH!
What was the ferfuffle at the mall? I hope that when you wrestled the disputed item from that nasty woman's unconscious cold hands that the stars circling her head reminded her of the true meaning of Christmas.
awaiting,
That's using your 'Noggin...
Toast early and Toast often.
Many more posts eh...be careful what you wish for. When you get the camera out at the Party take some photos of all the Elvish Impersonators...and a couple of yourself so that Fronty, WW and I can have a wicked Holiday Screensaver.
I'm drunk. Please let me know when whatever you want to call it is over.
ReplyDelete...I got all of it...and ...wait, there's more.....but, another time, another time...
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, tradition, people are so hungry for tradition. On this tiny planet where the biggest tradition is survival of the fittest(read: big, bad, mean and greedy)it is lovely to have a tradition that makes people wonder (for one reason or another)every year.
A time out...a coming together for traditions so ancient, the reasons are scattered and smoothed by all those suns and moons whirling around.
If you don't like the commercial aspects... then throw them out of your temple...problem solved:)))
Merry Xmas to all... Peace
I Googled the history of Christmas a couple of days ago and printed about 20 pages of stuff which I am slowly working my way through. I was glad to see you had posted on this same thing. I feel like I'm on some kind of Davinci code breakthrough. It's interesting to me simply because I've never bothered to look here before...never thought it relevant, important, TRUE.
ReplyDeleteSome might still say, Who Cares. But there is more here than what first meets the lazy eye.
How ingorant we keep ourselves sometimes. This is all a part of my tearing down stage. I'm not sure what will be left when I'm through.
Thanks for this Donn.
mj,
ReplyDeleteIt ain't over 'til the fat guy in the Red Suit sings! I'll call you..and don't worry it won't be before noon. Have a couple for me.
Idahl,
Thanks for stopping by, I have seen your pensive avatar many times on my journeys in the blogosphere...
yes there is more and I would love to hear your views and experiences.
I agree that it is wonderful to have a bit of a timeout from the usual madness to dream about a better way to treat each other.
I look forward to continuing this discussion.
Brian,
Well we all seem to find our own equillibrium for our cosmology in our own time.
It took me several attempts to finally squeeze into something more comfortable and like Joni Mitchell I have looked at it from both sides now,
from near and far and still somehow,
it's life's illusions I recall,
I really don't know.. anyway to those of us who NEED to dig it is the most exciting thing on Earth.
I understand that it isn't for everyone.
How do you know they failed to have a year 0? Were you there?
ReplyDeleteSeasons Greetings and all that!
Zxx
ziggi,
ReplyDeleteYou think that you've prepared yourself for the 'tough'questions and then someone like you comes along and BAM! the whole thing just falls apart...
as a matter of fact I was there,
"doo doo
pleased to meet you,
hope you guess my name
doo doo!"
Actually I do not know how to respond to your praise. I assume that's what it is. I only say what's in my mind. At times I do get into trouble becos of that. But thats ok with me. I will never hesitate to call a spade a spade. And you too are welcome to tell me when I go overboard.
ReplyDeleteHere goes a cyber HUG for you!
Regarding what Llewtrah said about Catalans celebrations involving pooping peasants and a faecal Yule Log - was there a direct line from that to Mr Hankie The Christmas Poo, as featured on South Park?
ReplyDeleteSee, I can bring any intelligent argument down to a lowbrow level in seconds ...
Have a great Christmas.
Yolnir - the Norse counterpart to Mithras is till much honoured in this rural backwater of Devon. So match that!
ReplyDeleteIn Brighton, SE England over the last ten years a small pageant has been steadily growing in popularity on the eve of the winter solstice. Papier mache clocks are carried in procession before being set alight on the seashore. It was quite a touching and homely event to witness with my family earlier this week. Happy Christmas HE!
ReplyDeleteYou confused my wee brain for a moment because i did not remember saying that and thought an impersonator had struck....
ReplyDeleteNow i have some new thoughts...It seems we think that the 3 wisemen that passed on gift on this special day...whenever it is.... is a reason to go out and spend money we don't have to get gifts for everyone around us because we are guilty because it is Christmas.
I have come to see that i give of myself all year long and so the guilt is gone for me now and it really is not that big a deal this whole Christmas thing. I do like the getting together with friends and family and because my kids are in the hospitality industry this might be a day where we could actually get together but alas Jenny works Christmas Day evening.
So a few needed things for the kids and B and I will take our hard earned money and take a night getaway instead in the near future to reacquaint ourselves and talk about creators love.
Merry Days to you and yours.
HE...left a shout for you on my blog.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays...and thanks for making me THINK!
Hi ...Christmas Computer Crash...slowly recovering information...will try to be up and running by end of day..
ReplyDeletemust save others....
WHAT????? The Bible is...*gasp* WRONG?????
ReplyDeleteHe, you're seriously going to hell.
/snicker
Happy Holidays HE!
ReplyDeleteMay you and your family share much love, peace and joy!
Margie
P.S From my chilly little towm
with my nose so cold and blue
I send the warmest thing I have
a Holiday greeting to you!
May the spirit of Christmas bless you, HE.
ReplyDelete1. Christmas correction: St. Helena was actually searching for the True Cross. not her personally, because that would mean digging up mass burials and other germy stuff; i mean, she had servants, right? but, yeah.
ReplyDelete2. merry midwinter spending holiday and Canadian cheese week!
XOOfn
HE:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warm sentiment. Merry Mishmash indeed! There seems to be an ancient and almost instinctive need to celebrate the turning of the seasons, the lenthening of days, and the promise of the rebirth of spring. The early Christians stole themselves a doozy of a Holiday. The feasting, the celebration of greed and the gifting fever have more to do with the bleak Winter of the Northern Hemisphere than any gift of the Zoroastrian Magi. We raise our shivering middle fingers to Old Man Winter and declare that our human spirits are uncrushed. Those of us that don't suicide that is; too much pressure for some. Confusion reigns, as the great religions of the world, past and present, squabble over the ownership of this orgy. It is bigger than all of them. Frantic shoppers collide with a colossal marketing machine, fulfilling a destiny greater than that of Titanic and the iceberg. My goddess is served. Hail Eris! ;-)
Have a wonderful holiday and a great New Year.
The lack of precision in matters of date or time recording is seen
ReplyDeleteas quaint, when looking over old historical or religious records,
but I think that they were onto something- they knew that it was pointless to dwell on exactitude,
and any references to dates, etc,
are often only extrapolations or
after the fact guesses by modern
scholars. The main details of
commonly-held beliefs were really
more about getting the concepts
down, than they were about the
precise instant and mercator locations of things (technologies
being what they were, back then).
very entertaining- and all stuff i have thought of and argued about with my family before- being a christian in a christian family makes it very entertaining indeed!
ReplyDeletegautami,
ReplyDeleteThen we agree..now we need some controversial subject matter to see how well our mutual admiration society holds out.
betty,
Thank goodness someone brought Mr Hanky into this debate...before it started to get too highbrow and relevent. Have an enjoyable repspite from the norm.
mutley,
Ahhh that is sooo sweet..where would the Anglische be today if those nasty Vikings hadn't plundered the land every spring.
Yolnir is a great name..just rolls off of the tongue.
Benjammer,
That sounds very cool..burning clocks on the shore. Sounds like you had a nice visit..I am very pleased to hear that you are well and enjoying Earth.
uncle hohohodedo,
Yes you are a giver and that is why you feel so rewarded. It is a little different because your girls are so grown up...well you know what I mean...we Dad's have a hard time separating the thingamabob about our little girls...anyway we're off for an overnight in the USof A..another chance to tease border guards about their role in the fight against terror..and protecting their countrymen from Farmers and Housewives! ooooh.
Happy Holidays, HE, to you and your lovely family.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind whose birthday we are celebrating. I'm just happy not to have to go to work x
WOOH! Cause I knew about the millenium FO SHO! OCDish pepole know these things you know! My daughter was born in 2000 so I call her an old millenium baby which gets me quite some looks from people but I refuse to budge and give in to societal pressure and idiocy! I REFUSE!
ReplyDeleteAs to the rest of the facts... dios mio am I dizzy! But THAT'S a good thing! WOOH! And mish mash you say? Bohemians loooove mish mashes FO SHO!!!
Well, what I can say, cause I am left dumbfounded by all the faboo information, is that the whole Christmas tree thing started with Yalda... a Persian celebration of the winter solstice and that the three wise men were actually Iranian... but you don't hear that too often now do you? All ties in to the whole Mithraism thing and oooh on the interconnectedness of things and life and time and space and...
Um, where was I?