https://wearyourvoicemag.com/entertainment-culture/christmas-pagan-roots-winter-holiday As Im not a religious person. Anyone else?
All church holidays are older than the Christian church. Just like the "Virgin of the <insert name here>" in Catholic tradition is rebranding the mother goddess to make the new religion understandable to the locals. Terry Pratchett's "Hogfather" is closer to the Celtic roots.
No and no.....I think Stephen Fry summed it up beautifully in that interview on some Irish chat show.
The Gay Byrne show? Yep, he was ace on that. That said, I take Christmas as it is, a mix of the religious (which I'm not) and the Pagan. I like that its mix n match. I dont worry too much about it tbh.
Not at all ....i celebrate the turn of the sun more than 25th christmas ....It's more real and relevant .
Winter solstice at Stonehenge, by Mike Browne. I follow his videos on dslr photography, great teacher.
I have in the past run around the stones, naked, covered in woad. Oh, hang on. That was in John Lewis. I remember now.
People tend to be nicer to each other around Christmas, we make an extra special effort to see friends and family, send cards that remind those further away that we still think of them, swap gifts with people we love, take a bit of holiday to slow down our busy lives...…. I'm an aetheist, but I love Christmas for all of these reasons.... if folk want to celebrate the birth of someone they believe in, why not? Who cares where it comes from and why, who invented it first, all that rubbish, just enjoy it.
This is very true but my favourite quote from that article is: "Fruitcakes are everywhere, no matter how hard you try to avoid them." I need say no more!
Go to Arbor Low ...Between Ashbourne and Buxton ...nothing like the size of stonehenge but very much a local circle of importance . Then there is the Nine Ladies Circle at Birchover ...nice walk to that one, both are in Derbyshire .
