Christianised calendar
Encyclopedia
The term Christianised calendar refers to feast days which are Christianised survivals from pre-Christian times. Several Christian feasts occupy moments in the year that were formerly devoted to pagan celebrations. Familiar examples are All Saints Day
, which replaced the Celtic Samhain
; Christmas
, which replaced the Roman feast of Sol Invictus
(as well as, some argue, the Saturnalia
), and the Germanic feast of Yule
; Easter
, which replaced the Germanic springtime festival of Eostre
; and Saint John's Eve, which replaced the Germanic Midsummer Night
festival.
and an equinox
, are universally acknowledged as having had great significance to pre-Christian groups, particularly the Celts. They are also days on which Christian festivals occur, that were in mediaeval times quite significant, but have become progressively less so in modern times, particularly among Protestant groups.
Lammas
(loaf-mass) on 1 August, the first-harvest festival, derives from Lughnasadh
, the pre-Christian Celtic first-harvest festival, and is still celebrated in Ireland
and Europe with fires and dancing. The now non-religious highland games
, held around the time of Lammas, may also be survivals from Lughnasadh (a multi-day festival lasting until 15 August), whose celebrations also included contests of strength, in honour of Lugus
, the deity after whom the festival was named.
Walpurgis Night
on 1 May, which in Christian tradition is dedicated to the eve of the feast of Saint Walburga, was previously Beltane
, the Celtic spring festival, when people would ritually purify themselves by walking on glowing coal. Since this pre-Christian tradition survived in the popular form of lighting large fires, the Church did their best to allow this very harmless practice, although strongly disapproving its origin, also closely associated with the interest for witches and their sexual intercourse with demons during this specific night. The date of the Walpurgis Feast is referring to the translation of the relics of Saint Walburga to Eichstatt 870 A.D., whereupon medicinal oil miraculously began to pour from the rock around her tomb.
Candlemas on 2 February, celebrating the ritual purification
of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem, according to ancient Hebrew Tradition, has long been considered a day on which future prosperity, or not, can be prophesied. This is due to the startling prophesy of the old aged Simeon, to whom the Holy Spirit had revealed that he would not to see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah, i.e. Christ. Upon seeing Mary with her Child in the Temple, he knew that this moment had come, and exclaimed his joy beyond human reasoning, that his Master, the Lord of Israel, had granted him to hold the Salvation of the world in his arms. In America the association with Mary and Simeon has been reduced to such a level that the day is mostly known for the prophecy ritual, and is known there as Groundhog Day
. Imbolc
, the Celtic festival that had been held at the same time of year, was the festival of the onset of lactation in ewes, due to give birth to spring lambs, and was consequently seen as a time when animals had the ability to indicate future prosperity; it was also celebrated by lighting lamps or candles, representing the lengthening of the day which becomes noticeable around the time of Imbolc. Conversely, Lupercalia
on 15 February, the Roman festival at the time, was concerned with the ritual purification of women. Some historians argue, despite all evidence from Hebrew Tradition, that Candlemas, originated as a heavily sanitised Christianisation of Lupercalia, into which certain traditions of Imbolc, such as the significant presence of candles, and Christian objects for celebration, merged.
In most Christian groups, and particularly in Catholic and Orthodox groups, there is an annual commemoration of the dead on 2 November, known by various titles such as All Souls' Day, the Day of the Dead
. It follows All Saints Day on 1 November, which in western Europe and North America is preceded by Halloween
, which has become somewhat detached from the commemoration aspect. In pre-Christian times, this cross quarter day was celebrated as Samhain
, in Celtic countries, and Dziady
in Slavic countries. In many early cultures, including not only Celtic cultures, but also the Hebrew, the standard reckoning of time considered a day to start with darkness and gradually become lighter; dusk was the start of a day, not an indication that it approached its end. Similarly, in Celtic countries the year was considered to begin in winter at Samhain, and it was thought that the start of the year was a time when the world of the dead met that of the living; rather than a sinister event, this was considered a time when a feast should be laid on for the supposed temporary visit from the souls of the dead. The Orthodox tradition, deals rather with the zealous prayer for the dead, whom they believe are allowed to visit the living during 40 days after the moment of death, and always are greatly comforted and even saved from hell, through these prayers. In Catholic traditions, the night is one when the graves of dead relatives are visited, with candles being lit, under a familiarly atmosphere, often including picnic
; many historians argue that this is clearly derived from the pre-Christian events. The Christian festival was originally held annually on the week after Pentecost
, and is still held at about this date by the Orthodox churches, but in western Europe, churches began to hold it at the same time as the pre-Christian festivals commemorating the dead, and it was eventually moved officially, by Pope Gregory III
. The pre-Christian Romans also had a festival concerning the dead at 9 May, 11 May, and 13 May, known as the Feast of the Lemures
, which cultural historians have identified as the source for All Saints Day, and which the ancient Romans identified as being the same as Samhain, despite the large difference of date.
on 13 December, which was originally held on the darkest night of the year (the winter solstice
), is a significant celebration in Scandinavia
n countries, and in the Balkans
, and heavily involves candlelight. The day is dedicated to Saint Lucy
, whom Christian tradition regards as someone who plucked out her eyes, yet was still able to see. Historians see her as a fiction, derived from pre-Christian folk tales of Scandinavian night demons called the Lussi, her story coming from the association with darkness combined with folk etymologies of her name as deriving from lux, the Latin word for "light". The problem with the attempts to explain her history by linking her exclusively to northern folk stories fails to account for the veneration that she holds in both the Greek and Catholic Churches of southern Europe and historical documents of veneration that existed before the conversion of the North such as the canon of St. Gregory. She is venerated by the Christians of The Catholic Church and Orthodox Chrurches as a virgin and martyred by pagans for her sexual purity and Love of Jesus Christ.
Saint Valentine's Day on 14 February, traditionally linked to romance, is attributed by Christianity to a "Valentine". However, no early documents connect Valentine, whoever he may be, with love, and such legends only appear in the mediaeval era, while the pre-Christian festival of Lupercalia
held on the same day was strongly connected to romance, as it was a major Roman fertility festival. Pope Gelasius I
both banned Lupercalia and instituted the feast day of Saint Valentine, and many scholars think that the romantic significance of Lupercalia is the source of the romantic significance of Valentine's Day.
The Day of the Nativity of John the Baptist
on 24 June, also known as Saint Jonas' Festival
, Jāņi
, and "Saint John's Eve", is Christian mostly in name only, and is really a survival of the celebration of the summer solstice (Midsummer
celebration), the various local traditions on the day involving herbs and fire being very difficult to explain in Christian terms. In many European countries the midsummer festival has high significance, and in the Roman Catholic Church, the date is the single most significant feast day of the year, excepting those connected directly to Jesus; several historians have argued that this Roman Catholic tradition stems from the evangelizing motivation to skillfully wean European peoples from the ways of their old gods and gently replace pre-Christian religious forms with "approved" Christian ones.
and Easter
have several elements associated with them that do not have such clear Christian connections, and are often interpreted as more secular aspects of the events. The festivals themselves occur at the same time of year as several pre-Christian festivals; in some cases a connection is openly acknowledged by Christian organisations, and at other times it is only critical historians that argue that such connections exist. Many of the festivals are known to descend from paganism.
on 25 December is, according to Christian tradition, a celebration of the birth of Jesus
, and this is often the reason that many modern Christians celebrate the day. However, most scholars dating the birth of Jesus
think that he was born in late spring or early autumn, and argue that the celebration is a survival of Saturnalia
(17 December to 23 December), the most popular festival in the Roman year. Saturnalia, originally a celebration in memory of the dedication of a temple to Saturn
, had become by the 3rd century dedicated to the increasingly popular Mithras, under the title Sol Invictus
(unconquerable sun), since the winter solstice
fell during its week long festivities. The Roman Calendar
was somewhat erratic in relation to the seasons, and the exact date of the solstice consequently drifted; after this was corrected under the Julian calendar
, and once the festival became associated with Sol Invictus, Saturnalia was formally moved to December 25, by Aurelian
in 274, as this was the date of the solstice that year. Fundamentalist Protestant groups have often regarded Christmas with suspicion, and when the puritans gained control of Britain, in 1647, Christmas, and all the festivities associated with it, was prohibited by law. Saturnalia had been a week long festival, and a time when a feast would be held, gifts given, and slaves
were allowed to mistreat their masters; though the feast and gifts continue as Christmas traditions, the Feast of Fools
, a popular mediaeval event, has mostly died out since. Early Christian and non-Christian accounts portray Mithras and Jesus as similar figures, and the transformation of Saturnalia into Christmas has been cited as evidence for their position by those who believe that Jesus is a syncretism in the Osiris-Dionysus mould.
Several Christmas traditions, particularly in Northern Europe and North America, have several facets with a similarity to Yule
, the pre-Christian winter solstice festival, whose name has often been used as a synonym
for Christmas. The traditional consumption of ham
, and/or sausages, at Christmas, historically known as Christmas ham
, is widely thought by historians to derive from the sacrifice of a pig
to the god Freyr
, that occurred during pre-Christian Yule. The burning of a Yule log
is derived from the celtic of cutting a tree, dousing it with wine and grain, as offerings, and burning it for the duration of Yule, believing that it would protect the house from evil for as long as it burnt. Kissing under Mistletoe
is thought to derive from a celtic tale in which Frigga
(after whom Friday is named), goddess of love, extracted the poison of Mistletoe from her son, and when he recovered, she was so grateful that she kissed anyone passing under the Mistletoe. Covering buildings in holly
, and creating holly wreath
s, is thought to derive from pre-Christian beliefs that holly would protect the house from evil, and also be a gesture of hospitality to small woodland spirits who could use it for their protection; the sharp edges of holly allow small animals to hide inside the bush and be protected from predators.
In the English-speaking world the Christmas tree
was popularised by Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, having brought the tradition over from Germany, from where it had also spread to other nations. The earliest written references to decorated trees as having an importance at Christmas come from 16th century Germany, and these suggest the tradition had already been established for some time; it thus somewhat uncertain from where the tradition evolved. Although some conservative Christian groups have recently argued that the tree is an important Christian tradition that should not be secularised, others feel that it is an obviously pre-Christian tradition and should not be used, some even arguing that it is explicitly prohibited by a passage from the Book of Jeremiah
. It is known that in celtic belief, the evergreen held a particular value as symbolising the continuation of life during the dark times of winter, and that bringing a tree indoors was considered to be offering hospitality to its sprite
. Complicating the picture is the fact that Dionysus
, the central figure of one of the Osiris-Dionysus group of mystery religions, appears to have been associated with a conifer of similar appearance to a Christmas tree, at least in what is now Tunisia
.
According to Christian tradition, the gift giving Santa Claus
is based on Saint Nicholas
, whom legend states rescued the daughters of a poor man, from the prospect of a career of prostitution, by secretly throwing purses filled with gold to the family. Historically, Nicholas was a prominent, and somewhat violent, anti-Arian
church father at the First Council of Nicea, and an advocate of the destruction of non-Christian places of worship; forensic examination of his supposed remains suggests that he had been involved in fights, including the fact that he had a broken nose. Many historians argue that the discrepancy between the historic individual and legends attributed to him are due to the legends originally having been applied to someone else. Woden
(after whom Wednesday is named) is considered the most likely ultimate origin of Santa Claus by most historians, since Woden was said to lead the Wild Hunt
, riding his horse through the sky, at Yule (the traditions of mainland Europe have Santa riding a horse), and is based in northern Europe, in areas where reindeer pulled sledges were normal modes of transport. Food for Woden's horse was left out by people as an offering, and in return Woden was said to provide gifts, and although Santa is said to leave gifts for other reasons, food for him or for his animals is left out all the same. Woden was portrayed as an old man with a beard, as is Santa, and it is possible that the historical Nicholas became associated with the traditions of Woden because Nicholas is one of the very few early Christians to be known to have managed to live into old age. In many traditions, particularly those of Germanic countries
, Santa is said to have certain sinister companions
, with black clothes and faces, which are now thought to be derived from Woden's ravens
.
Though now identified as Santa Claus, before the 20th century Father Christmas
was a distinctly separate individual, middle aged not old, with a crown of leaves, and in a green fur lined robe, not a red suit, and rather than secretly visiting homes to deposit gifts, Father Christmas would roam the streets, plying people with alcohol and jollity. Father Christmas is considered to be derived from the Pre-Christian, Green Man
, a foliage covered figure from European mythology associated with the connection of man to nature, and thought likely to have been considered in early times to be similar to Bacchus
, the Roman deity of wine, who was the main figure associated with the practice of Saturnalia
. In mediaeval times, and later, Green Man was a popular name to chose for a pub, indicating strong connections to joyous consumption of alcohol.
, since to Christians this has strong theological significance, and many adjectives relating to Easter, such as paschal, and the name of Easter in non-English speaking countries, are etymologically
derived from the Hebrew term for passover. The tenebrae
, a service held by most, but not all, Christian groups, is clearly based on the idea of darkness covering the earth, though Christian apologists usually argue this is representative of Jesus being removed from the earth (due to impending death
), not on the ominous foreshadowing of the passover portrayed in the bible.
Though one of the central tenets of Christianity is usually considered to be a belief that the Biblical events of Easter
are based on similar (or exactly identical) actual historic events, more secular and non Christian scholars have argued that the Biblical description is a heavily contrived allegory
simply using the passover as its template to appeal to Jewish sensibilities. Historic records indicate that Easter was not always celebrated in early Christianity, and Socrates Scholasticus
(b. 380) argued that the observance of Easter by the church (which he believed should continue) was simply the perpetuation of local custom (most likely meaning the Jewish passover), and that neither Jesus nor his apostles enjoined the keeping of this (or any other) festival.
In eastern Europe and Scandinavia, many Easter traditions have obvious connections to the death of Jesus, such as whipping, and murder mysteries, but other traditions, mostly kept in the western world, are less obviously so. The name of Easter itself is usually considered to derive from a pre-Christian northern European deity of springtime, known as Eostre
, an argument which is thought to have been first made by the Venerable Bede, now recognised as a doctor of the church
. Studies by Jacob Grimm
, a renowned scholar of linguistics and of mythology, agreed and suggested that the German name of Eostre was Ostara, and that the names are derived from a term meaning dawn, and with spring as the dawn of the year the deity became associated with the season. It is, however, otherwise unknown who this goddess refers to, or what her characteristics were, though Grimm does suggest that the figure might have a shared root with Austri
, the dwarf that Norse mythology believed held up the eastern corner of the world, the direction in which the sun dawns.
In Christian tradition, decorated Easter Eggs are sometimes said to have an origin in Mary Magdalen giving a red painted egg to a Roman emperor who had previously said that red eggs were more likely than the resurrection of Jesus
. There are also many theological interpretations of the eggs as having strong Christian symbolism. However, the giving of decorated eggs at the start of spring pre-date Christianity by several hundred years, eggs having long been a symbol of fertility, a property strongly celebrated during spring time. More difficult to reconcile as a Christian symbol is the Easter Bunny
, traditionally regarded as the deliverer of Easter eggs. Hares are very promiscuous animals, and consequently they have always been strong fertility symbols, and many scholars think that the two spring fertility related traditions of the giving of eggs and the symbolism of rabbits gradually merged together, until the bunny was considered to lay highly decorative eggs (rather than give live birth
, as real rabbits do). Grimm wrote that similar myths of an egg laying rabbit had been present in Germany for centuries, and suggested that they were somehow connected to the goddess Ostara, though this suggestion was simply a speculation as he had no concrete evidence to demonstrate the association clearly.
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
, which replaced the Celtic Samhain
Samhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
; Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, which replaced the Roman feast of Sol Invictus
Sol Invictus
Sol Invictus was the official sun god of the later Roman empire. In 274 Aurelian made it an official cult alongside the traditional Roman cults. Scholars disagree whether the new deity was a refoundation of the ancient Latin cult of Sol, a revival of the cult of Elagabalus or completely new...
(as well as, some argue, the Saturnalia
Saturnalia
Saturnalia is an Ancient Roman festival/ celebration held in honour of Saturn , the youngest of the Titans, father of the major gods of the Greeks and Romans, and son of Uranus and Gaia...
), and the Germanic feast of Yule
Yule
Yule or Yuletide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January...
; Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, which replaced the Germanic springtime festival of Eostre
Eostre
Old English Ēostre and Old High German Ôstarâ are the names of a Germanic goddess whose Anglo-Saxon month, Ēostur-monath , has given its name to the festival of Easter...
; and Saint John's Eve, which replaced the Germanic Midsummer Night
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
festival.
Cross quarter days
The Cross-quarter days, i.e., the days falling exactly half way between a solsticeSolstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
and an equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
, are universally acknowledged as having had great significance to pre-Christian groups, particularly the Celts. They are also days on which Christian festivals occur, that were in mediaeval times quite significant, but have become progressively less so in modern times, particularly among Protestant groups.
Lammas
Lammas
In some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere, August 1 is Lammas Day , the festival of the wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year. On this day it was customary to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop...
(loaf-mass) on 1 August, the first-harvest festival, derives from Lughnasadh
Lughnasadh
Lughnasadh is a traditional Gaelic holiday celebrated on 1 August. It is in origin a harvest festival, corresponding to the Welsh Calan Awst and the English Lammas.-Name:...
, the pre-Christian Celtic first-harvest festival, and is still celebrated in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Europe with fires and dancing. The now non-religious highland games
Highland games
Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...
, held around the time of Lammas, may also be survivals from Lughnasadh (a multi-day festival lasting until 15 August), whose celebrations also included contests of strength, in honour of Lugus
Lugus
Lugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from placenames and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gallo-Roman inscriptions to Mercury, who is widely believed...
, the deity after whom the festival was named.
Walpurgis Night
Walpurgis Night
Walpurgis Night is a traditional spring festival on 30 April or 1 May in large parts of Central and Northern Europe. It is often celebrated with dancing and with bonfires. It is exactly six months from All Hallows' Eve.-Name:...
on 1 May, which in Christian tradition is dedicated to the eve of the feast of Saint Walburga, was previously Beltane
Beltane
Beltane or Beltaine is the anglicised spelling of Old Irish Beltaine or Beltine , the Gaelic name for either the month of May or the festival that takes place on the first day of May.Bealtaine was historically a Gaelic festival celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.Bealtaine...
, the Celtic spring festival, when people would ritually purify themselves by walking on glowing coal. Since this pre-Christian tradition survived in the popular form of lighting large fires, the Church did their best to allow this very harmless practice, although strongly disapproving its origin, also closely associated with the interest for witches and their sexual intercourse with demons during this specific night. The date of the Walpurgis Feast is referring to the translation of the relics of Saint Walburga to Eichstatt 870 A.D., whereupon medicinal oil miraculously began to pour from the rock around her tomb.
Candlemas on 2 February, celebrating the ritual purification
Ritual purification
Ritual purification is a feature of many religions. The aim of these rituals is to remove specifically defined uncleanliness prior to a particular type of activity, and especially prior to the worship of a deity...
of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem, according to ancient Hebrew Tradition, has long been considered a day on which future prosperity, or not, can be prophesied. This is due to the startling prophesy of the old aged Simeon, to whom the Holy Spirit had revealed that he would not to see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah, i.e. Christ. Upon seeing Mary with her Child in the Temple, he knew that this moment had come, and exclaimed his joy beyond human reasoning, that his Master, the Lord of Israel, had granted him to hold the Salvation of the world in his arms. In America the association with Mary and Simeon has been reduced to such a level that the day is mostly known for the prophecy ritual, and is known there as Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end...
. Imbolc
Imbolc
Imbolc , or St Brigid’s Day , is an Irish festival marking the beginning of spring. Most commonly it is celebrated on 1 or 2 February in the northern hemisphere and 1 August in the southern hemisphere...
, the Celtic festival that had been held at the same time of year, was the festival of the onset of lactation in ewes, due to give birth to spring lambs, and was consequently seen as a time when animals had the ability to indicate future prosperity; it was also celebrated by lighting lamps or candles, representing the lengthening of the day which becomes noticeable around the time of Imbolc. Conversely, Lupercalia
Lupercalia
Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility...
on 15 February, the Roman festival at the time, was concerned with the ritual purification of women. Some historians argue, despite all evidence from Hebrew Tradition, that Candlemas, originated as a heavily sanitised Christianisation of Lupercalia, into which certain traditions of Imbolc, such as the significant presence of candles, and Christian objects for celebration, merged.
In most Christian groups, and particularly in Catholic and Orthodox groups, there is an annual commemoration of the dead on 2 November, known by various titles such as All Souls' Day, the Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in many cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it attains the quality...
. It follows All Saints Day on 1 November, which in western Europe and North America is preceded by Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, which has become somewhat detached from the commemoration aspect. In pre-Christian times, this cross quarter day was celebrated as Samhain
Samhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
, in Celtic countries, and Dziady
Dziady
Dziady was an ancient Slavic feast to commemorate the dead. Literally, the word is translated as "Grandfathers". It was held twice every year . During the feast the ancient Slavs organized libations and ritual meals...
in Slavic countries. In many early cultures, including not only Celtic cultures, but also the Hebrew, the standard reckoning of time considered a day to start with darkness and gradually become lighter; dusk was the start of a day, not an indication that it approached its end. Similarly, in Celtic countries the year was considered to begin in winter at Samhain, and it was thought that the start of the year was a time when the world of the dead met that of the living; rather than a sinister event, this was considered a time when a feast should be laid on for the supposed temporary visit from the souls of the dead. The Orthodox tradition, deals rather with the zealous prayer for the dead, whom they believe are allowed to visit the living during 40 days after the moment of death, and always are greatly comforted and even saved from hell, through these prayers. In Catholic traditions, the night is one when the graves of dead relatives are visited, with candles being lit, under a familiarly atmosphere, often including picnic
Picnic
In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...
; many historians argue that this is clearly derived from the pre-Christian events. The Christian festival was originally held annually on the week after Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
, and is still held at about this date by the Orthodox churches, but in western Europe, churches began to hold it at the same time as the pre-Christian festivals commemorating the dead, and it was eventually moved officially, by Pope Gregory III
Pope Gregory III
Pope Saint Gregory III was pope from 731 to 741. A Syrian by birth, he succeeded Gregory II in March 731. His pontificate, like that of his predecessor, was disturbed by the iconoclastic controversy in the Byzantine Empire, in which he vainly invoked the intervention of Charles Martel.Elected by...
. The pre-Christian Romans also had a festival concerning the dead at 9 May, 11 May, and 13 May, known as the Feast of the Lemures
Feast of the Lemures
The Lemuralia or Lemuria was a feast in the religion of ancient Rome during which the Romans performed rites to exorcise the malevolent and fearful ghosts of the dead from their homes. The unwholesome spectres of the restless dead, the lemures or larvae were propitiated with offerings of beans...
, which cultural historians have identified as the source for All Saints Day, and which the ancient Romans identified as being the same as Samhain, despite the large difference of date.
Significant Saint's Days
St. Lucia DaySt. Lucia Day
Saint Lucy's Day or the Feast of St. Lucy is the Church feast day dedicated to St. Lucy and is observed on December 13. Its modern day celebration is generally associated with Sweden and Norway but is also observed in Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Bosnia, Bavaria,...
on 13 December, which was originally held on the darkest night of the year (the winter solstice
Winter solstice
Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
), is a significant celebration in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n countries, and in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, and heavily involves candlelight. The day is dedicated to Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy , also known as Saint Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is 13 December; with a name derived from lux, lucis "light", she is the patron saint of those who are...
, whom Christian tradition regards as someone who plucked out her eyes, yet was still able to see. Historians see her as a fiction, derived from pre-Christian folk tales of Scandinavian night demons called the Lussi, her story coming from the association with darkness combined with folk etymologies of her name as deriving from lux, the Latin word for "light". The problem with the attempts to explain her history by linking her exclusively to northern folk stories fails to account for the veneration that she holds in both the Greek and Catholic Churches of southern Europe and historical documents of veneration that existed before the conversion of the North such as the canon of St. Gregory. She is venerated by the Christians of The Catholic Church and Orthodox Chrurches as a virgin and martyred by pagans for her sexual purity and Love of Jesus Christ.
Saint Valentine's Day on 14 February, traditionally linked to romance, is attributed by Christianity to a "Valentine". However, no early documents connect Valentine, whoever he may be, with love, and such legends only appear in the mediaeval era, while the pre-Christian festival of Lupercalia
Lupercalia
Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility...
held on the same day was strongly connected to romance, as it was a major Roman fertility festival. Pope Gelasius I
Pope Gelasius I
Pope Saint Gelasius I was pope from 492 until his death in 496. He was the third and last bishop of Rome of African origin in the Catholic Church. Gelasius was a prolific writer whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages...
both banned Lupercalia and instituted the feast day of Saint Valentine, and many scholars think that the romantic significance of Lupercalia is the source of the romantic significance of Valentine's Day.
The Day of the Nativity of John the Baptist
Nativity of St. John the Baptist
The Nativity of St. John the Baptist is a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist, a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus and who baptized Jesus.-Significance:Christians have long interpreted the life of John the Baptist as a preparation for...
on 24 June, also known as Saint Jonas' Festival
Saint Jonas' Festival
Saint Jonas' Festival is a midsummer folk festival celebrated on June 24 all around Lithuania. While midsummer day is celebrated throughout Europe, many Lithuanians have a particularly lively agenda on this day...
, Jāņi
Jani
Jāņi is a Latvian festival held in the night from 23 June to 24 June to celebrate the summer solstice , the shortest night and longest day of the year. The day of Līgo and the day of Jāņi are public holidays, and people usually spend them in the countryside...
, and "Saint John's Eve", is Christian mostly in name only, and is really a survival of the celebration of the summer solstice (Midsummer
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
celebration), the various local traditions on the day involving herbs and fire being very difficult to explain in Christian terms. In many European countries the midsummer festival has high significance, and in the Roman Catholic Church, the date is the single most significant feast day of the year, excepting those connected directly to Jesus; several historians have argued that this Roman Catholic tradition stems from the evangelizing motivation to skillfully wean European peoples from the ways of their old gods and gently replace pre-Christian religious forms with "approved" Christian ones.
Major Christian Festivals
Though having obvious Christian importance, and clear Christian rituals and practices, major Christian festivals such as ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
have several elements associated with them that do not have such clear Christian connections, and are often interpreted as more secular aspects of the events. The festivals themselves occur at the same time of year as several pre-Christian festivals; in some cases a connection is openly acknowledged by Christian organisations, and at other times it is only critical historians that argue that such connections exist. Many of the festivals are known to descend from paganism.
Christmas
ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
on 25 December is, according to Christian tradition, a celebration of the birth of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, and this is often the reason that many modern Christians celebrate the day. However, most scholars dating the birth of Jesus
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
think that he was born in late spring or early autumn, and argue that the celebration is a survival of Saturnalia
Saturnalia
Saturnalia is an Ancient Roman festival/ celebration held in honour of Saturn , the youngest of the Titans, father of the major gods of the Greeks and Romans, and son of Uranus and Gaia...
(17 December to 23 December), the most popular festival in the Roman year. Saturnalia, originally a celebration in memory of the dedication of a temple to Saturn
Saturn (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Saturn was a major god presiding over agriculture and the harvest time. His reign was depicted as a Golden Age of abundance and peace by many Roman authors. In medieval times he was known as the Roman god of agriculture, justice and strength. He held a sickle in...
, had become by the 3rd century dedicated to the increasingly popular Mithras, under the title Sol Invictus
Sol Invictus
Sol Invictus was the official sun god of the later Roman empire. In 274 Aurelian made it an official cult alongside the traditional Roman cults. Scholars disagree whether the new deity was a refoundation of the ancient Latin cult of Sol, a revival of the cult of Elagabalus or completely new...
(unconquerable sun), since the winter solstice
Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
fell during its week long festivities. The Roman Calendar
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
was somewhat erratic in relation to the seasons, and the exact date of the solstice consequently drifted; after this was corrected under the Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
, and once the festival became associated with Sol Invictus, Saturnalia was formally moved to December 25, by Aurelian
Aurelian
Aurelian , was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following...
in 274, as this was the date of the solstice that year. Fundamentalist Protestant groups have often regarded Christmas with suspicion, and when the puritans gained control of Britain, in 1647, Christmas, and all the festivities associated with it, was prohibited by law. Saturnalia had been a week long festival, and a time when a feast would be held, gifts given, and slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
were allowed to mistreat their masters; though the feast and gifts continue as Christmas traditions, the Feast of Fools
Feast of Fools
The Feast of Fools, known also as the festum fatuorum, festum stultorum, festum hypodiaconorum, or fête des fous, are the varying names given to popular medieval festivals regularly celebrated by the clergy and laity from the fifth century until the sixteenth century in several countries of Europe,...
, a popular mediaeval event, has mostly died out since. Early Christian and non-Christian accounts portray Mithras and Jesus as similar figures, and the transformation of Saturnalia into Christmas has been cited as evidence for their position by those who believe that Jesus is a syncretism in the Osiris-Dionysus mould.
Several Christmas traditions, particularly in Northern Europe and North America, have several facets with a similarity to Yule
Yule
Yule or Yuletide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January...
, the pre-Christian winter solstice festival, whose name has often been used as a synonym
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
for Christmas. The traditional consumption of ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
, and/or sausages, at Christmas, historically known as Christmas ham
Christmas ham
A Christmas ham or Yule ham is a traditional ham dish associated with modern Christmas, Yule and Fennoscandian Jul. The tradition is suggested to have begun among the Germanic peoples as a tribute to Freyr, a god in Germanic Paganism associated with boars, harvest and fertility. It was later...
, is widely thought by historians to derive from the sacrifice of a pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
to the god Freyr
Freyr
Freyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with farming, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals"...
, that occurred during pre-Christian Yule. The burning of a Yule log
Yule log
A Yule log is a large and extremely hard log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in several European cultures...
is derived from the celtic of cutting a tree, dousing it with wine and grain, as offerings, and burning it for the duration of Yule, believing that it would protect the house from evil for as long as it burnt. Kissing under Mistletoe
Mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemi-parasitic plants in several families in the order Santalales. The plants in question grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub.-Mistletoe in the genus Viscum:...
is thought to derive from a celtic tale in which Frigga
Frigga
Frigga may refer to:* An anglicized form of the Old Norse goddess name Frigg* Frigga , a fictional Marvel Comics character based on the Norse goddess* Frigga , a genus of jumping spiders* 77 Frigga, an asteroid...
(after whom Friday is named), goddess of love, extracted the poison of Mistletoe from her son, and when he recovered, she was so grateful that she kissed anyone passing under the Mistletoe. Covering buildings in holly
Holly
Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....
, and creating holly wreath
Wreath
A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs and/or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. They are used typically as Christmas decorations to symbolize the coming of Christ, also known as the Advent season in Christianity. They are also used as festive headdresses...
s, is thought to derive from pre-Christian beliefs that holly would protect the house from evil, and also be a gesture of hospitality to small woodland spirits who could use it for their protection; the sharp edges of holly allow small animals to hide inside the bush and be protected from predators.
In the English-speaking world the Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
was popularised by Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, having brought the tradition over from Germany, from where it had also spread to other nations. The earliest written references to decorated trees as having an importance at Christmas come from 16th century Germany, and these suggest the tradition had already been established for some time; it thus somewhat uncertain from where the tradition evolved. Although some conservative Christian groups have recently argued that the tree is an important Christian tradition that should not be secularised, others feel that it is an obviously pre-Christian tradition and should not be used, some even arguing that it is explicitly prohibited by a passage from the Book of Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
. It is known that in celtic belief, the evergreen held a particular value as symbolising the continuation of life during the dark times of winter, and that bringing a tree indoors was considered to be offering hospitality to its sprite
Sprite (creature)
The term sprite is a broad term referring to a number of preternatural legendary creatures. The term is generally used in reference to elf-like creatures, including fairies, and similar beings , but can also signify various spiritual beings, including ghosts. In Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books,...
. Complicating the picture is the fact that Dionysus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
, the central figure of one of the Osiris-Dionysus group of mystery religions, appears to have been associated with a conifer of similar appearance to a Christmas tree, at least in what is now Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
.
According to Christian tradition, the gift giving Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
is based on Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
, whom legend states rescued the daughters of a poor man, from the prospect of a career of prostitution, by secretly throwing purses filled with gold to the family. Historically, Nicholas was a prominent, and somewhat violent, anti-Arian
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
church father at the First Council of Nicea, and an advocate of the destruction of non-Christian places of worship; forensic examination of his supposed remains suggests that he had been involved in fights, including the fact that he had a broken nose. Many historians argue that the discrepancy between the historic individual and legends attributed to him are due to the legends originally having been applied to someone else. Woden
Woden
Woden or Wodan is a major deity of Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic polytheism. Together with his Norse counterpart Odin, Woden represents a development of the Proto-Germanic god *Wōdanaz....
(after whom Wednesday is named) is considered the most likely ultimate origin of Santa Claus by most historians, since Woden was said to lead the Wild Hunt
Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt is an ancient folk myth prevalent across Northern, Western and Central Europe. The fundamental premise in all instances is the same: a phantasmal, spectral group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, horses, hounds, etc., in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground,...
, riding his horse through the sky, at Yule (the traditions of mainland Europe have Santa riding a horse), and is based in northern Europe, in areas where reindeer pulled sledges were normal modes of transport. Food for Woden's horse was left out by people as an offering, and in return Woden was said to provide gifts, and although Santa is said to leave gifts for other reasons, food for him or for his animals is left out all the same. Woden was portrayed as an old man with a beard, as is Santa, and it is possible that the historical Nicholas became associated with the traditions of Woden because Nicholas is one of the very few early Christians to be known to have managed to live into old age. In many traditions, particularly those of Germanic countries
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
, Santa is said to have certain sinister companions
Companions of Saint Nicholas
The companions of Saint Nicholas are a group of closely related figures who accompany St. Nicholas in many European traditions.Some companions include:...
, with black clothes and faces, which are now thought to be derived from Woden's ravens
Hugin and Munin
In Norse mythology, Huginn and Muninn are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard, and bring the god Odin information...
.
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name exists in several other countries, including France , Spain , Brazil , Portugal , Italy , Armenia , India...
was a distinctly separate individual, middle aged not old, with a crown of leaves, and in a green fur lined robe, not a red suit, and rather than secretly visiting homes to deposit gifts, Father Christmas would roam the streets, plying people with alcohol and jollity. Father Christmas is considered to be derived from the Pre-Christian, Green Man
Green Man
A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit...
, a foliage covered figure from European mythology associated with the connection of man to nature, and thought likely to have been considered in early times to be similar to Bacchus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
, the Roman deity of wine, who was the main figure associated with the practice of Saturnalia
Saturnalia
Saturnalia is an Ancient Roman festival/ celebration held in honour of Saturn , the youngest of the Titans, father of the major gods of the Greeks and Romans, and son of Uranus and Gaia...
. In mediaeval times, and later, Green Man was a popular name to chose for a pub, indicating strong connections to joyous consumption of alcohol.
Easter
Though not celebrated in many Christian countries in as lavish a manner as Christmas, Christians usually regard Easter as their most important festival. All parties acknowledge similarities of Easter to the Jewish passoverPassover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, since to Christians this has strong theological significance, and many adjectives relating to Easter, such as paschal, and the name of Easter in non-English speaking countries, are etymologically
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
derived from the Hebrew term for passover. The tenebrae
Tenebrae (service)
Tenebrae is a Christian religious service celebrated by the Western Church on the evening before or early morning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, which are the last three days of Holy Week. The distinctive ceremony of Tenebrae is the gradual extinguishing of candles while a...
, a service held by most, but not all, Christian groups, is clearly based on the idea of darkness covering the earth, though Christian apologists usually argue this is representative of Jesus being removed from the earth (due to impending death
Death and Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
), not on the ominous foreshadowing of the passover portrayed in the bible.
Though one of the central tenets of Christianity is usually considered to be a belief that the Biblical events of Easter
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
are based on similar (or exactly identical) actual historic events, more secular and non Christian scholars have argued that the Biblical description is a heavily contrived allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
simply using the passover as its template to appeal to Jewish sensibilities. Historic records indicate that Easter was not always celebrated in early Christianity, and Socrates Scholasticus
Socrates Scholasticus
Socrates of Constantinople, also known as Socrates Scholasticus, not to be confused with the Greek philosopher Socrates, was a Greek Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret, who used his work; he was born at Constantinople c. 380: the date of his death is unknown...
(b. 380) argued that the observance of Easter by the church (which he believed should continue) was simply the perpetuation of local custom (most likely meaning the Jewish passover), and that neither Jesus nor his apostles enjoined the keeping of this (or any other) festival.
In eastern Europe and Scandinavia, many Easter traditions have obvious connections to the death of Jesus, such as whipping, and murder mysteries, but other traditions, mostly kept in the western world, are less obviously so. The name of Easter itself is usually considered to derive from a pre-Christian northern European deity of springtime, known as Eostre
Eostre
Old English Ēostre and Old High German Ôstarâ are the names of a Germanic goddess whose Anglo-Saxon month, Ēostur-monath , has given its name to the festival of Easter...
, an argument which is thought to have been first made by the Venerable Bede, now recognised as a doctor of the church
Doctor of the Church
Doctor of the Church is a title given by a variety of Christian churches to individuals whom they recognize as having been of particular importance, particularly regarding their contribution to theology or doctrine.-Catholic Church:In the Catholic Church, this name is given to a saint from whose...
. Studies by Jacob Grimm
Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was a German philologist, jurist and mythologist. He is best known as the discoverer of Grimm's Law, the author of the monumental Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie and, more popularly, as one of the Brothers Grimm, as the editor of Grimm's Fairy...
, a renowned scholar of linguistics and of mythology, agreed and suggested that the German name of Eostre was Ostara, and that the names are derived from a term meaning dawn, and with spring as the dawn of the year the deity became associated with the season. It is, however, otherwise unknown who this goddess refers to, or what her characteristics were, though Grimm does suggest that the figure might have a shared root with Austri
Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri
In Norse mythology, Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri are four dwarves in the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning who each support one of the four cardinal points. Together, they uphold the heavenly dome, created from the skull of the jötunn Ymir...
, the dwarf that Norse mythology believed held up the eastern corner of the world, the direction in which the sun dawns.
In Christian tradition, decorated Easter Eggs are sometimes said to have an origin in Mary Magdalen giving a red painted egg to a Roman emperor who had previously said that red eggs were more likely than the resurrection of Jesus
Death and Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
. There are also many theological interpretations of the eggs as having strong Christian symbolism. However, the giving of decorated eggs at the start of spring pre-date Christianity by several hundred years, eggs having long been a symbol of fertility, a property strongly celebrated during spring time. More difficult to reconcile as a Christian symbol is the Easter Bunny
Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny or Easter Rabbit is a character depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs, who sometimes is depicted with clothes...
, traditionally regarded as the deliverer of Easter eggs. Hares are very promiscuous animals, and consequently they have always been strong fertility symbols, and many scholars think that the two spring fertility related traditions of the giving of eggs and the symbolism of rabbits gradually merged together, until the bunny was considered to lay highly decorative eggs (rather than give live birth
Live birth
In human reproduction, a live birth occurs when a fetus, whatever its gestational age, exits the maternal body and subsequently shows any sign of life, such as voluntary movement, heartbeat, or pulsation of the umbilical cord, for however brief a time and regardless of whether the umbilical cord or...
, as real rabbits do). Grimm wrote that similar myths of an egg laying rabbit had been present in Germany for centuries, and suggested that they were somehow connected to the goddess Ostara, though this suggestion was simply a speculation as he had no concrete evidence to demonstrate the association clearly.
See also
- Christianisation
- Christianised Myths and Imagery
- Christianised sitesChristianised sitesOne aspect of Christianisation was the Christianisation of sites that had been pagan. In the 1st centuries of Christianity churches were either house churches in whatever houses were offered for use by their owners, or were shrines on the burial-sites of martyrs or saints, which following the usual...
- Christianised rituals