[plug][still OT] Muslim Xmas

[Leon Brooks]

So this is Christmas...

What the heck, I've done the reasearch, I may as well post some of it... (-:

On Thursday 26 December 2002 09:56 pm, John Knight wrote:
> Santa is from an old Germanic belief if I remember correctly (he's
> certainly not mentioned in the bible), with there also being a 'Black Pete'
> as an alternative for the bad kids (bwahahah!).

True. Thor was/is towed around on a red chariot by two goats, starting in `the 
northland'. The extra six and reindeer conversion, as I've said elsewhere, 
were American additions. Thor's element was fire, so it was natural for him 
to wear red and come down the chimney into one's fire.

> The image of the cross is a
> Tammuz related (I probably misspelled that name) symbol, a noted
> Babylonian, trinitarian 'martyr', which many beliefs have stemmed from.

Tammuz himself, AFAICT, wasn't trinitarian. He and his mum Semiramis (AKA 
Astarte from whom we get the word `Easter') and his dad Nimrod (see Genesis 
10:8ff and bear in mind that `before' in this case seems to mean underfoot as 
in `getting in the way of') do form a triumvirate which is repeated again and 
again throughout history. For example, some denominations use 
Jesus-Mary-Joseph in the same way (many of the religious establishments in 
our southwest are named for `the sacred heart of Saint Joseph'). The son is 
often a reincarnation in some eway of the father.

The crucifix, in wide use by the Romans, is indeed a symbol of Tammuz, and of 
other pagan dieties. For example, today's order of the Vestal Virgins, 
imported holus bolus from the tradition of worship of the goddess Vesta, 
still wear a peculiar crucifix around their necks which is unchanged from the 
one worn well over 2000 years ago. It's singularly appropriate, from the 
Roman perspective, to exhibit the justice of your chosen diety by nailing 
your (implication: his) enemies up on it.

> Legend has it that he slept with his mother and there was a father involved
> somewhere along the line too, an interesting root that's been linked to
> most (if not all) trinitarian beliefs, including those worshipped in
> ancient Egypt.

Not exactly. Semiramis fell pregnant [gotta love that turn of phrase, `oops, I 
tripped over, and there I was, pregnant'] in the course of one of her many 
misadventures (maypoles derive from her worship, possibly a clue to her 
personality) and justfified it by claiming that Nimrod had come down from his 
place as king of the sun for a spot of nookie with her and Tammuz was the 
result.

> Interesting things of note are pagan symbols heavily involved in
> Christendom's celebrations, the rabbit, mistletoe, and other evergreen
> plants (pine trees in our culture), all of which are fertility symbols.

Um, the rabbit is Easter, and AFAICT isn't an evergreen plant. (-:

I was more put off by the worshippers hanging nine heads (think baubles) on 
the sacred tree (often of humans) and slinging the bodies (think presents) 
underneath. As you can imagine, their god-possessed trees (think of a fairy 
named Freya atop the tree) responded well to the blood-n-bone.

> Most of the reasons why the Organisation of Bible Students (now called
> Jehovah's Witnesses) has nothing to do with these celebrations.

It does seem to make them cranky, though. An inordinate proportion of our 
Kingdom visitors are grumpy and easily offended. The Mormons are much 
friendlier and more helpful (of course, they get brownie points for exactly 
that). They all stop visitng after I ask enough polite questions. (-:

Cheers; Leon