Solstice

Solstice. Jesus was born in February, under the sign of the fish. Jesus was not born in December. Jesus was not born on Christmas day.  Christmas is quite different than we think of it, and a misconstruction in the yearly cycle. Christmas comes from Saturnalia, the Roman celebration of the Winter Solstice, when day and night are equal, the sun has stopped its motion in the sky, three days for slowing, stopping and starting again in a new year - when Light and Hope return. But Saturnalia would have to be held over the actual period when the solstice occurred, not a few shopping days later. The placement of Christmas on December 25 and New Years on January 1 are political constructions from long ago. December 25 was chosen in the late 3rd Century by Christian decision-makers to build on the already ongoing celebrations for the Solstice. They could also draw on support from those who saw Jesus as a new version of the Sun God, doing his solar stop before the resurrection. What it all boils down to is that our calendars are confused constructions from our political past. Despite the fact that holidays have moved we still are following the same solar calendar as our ancestors, and even if we are a few days off, we celebrate the same annual events.