TRIVIA BITS …
TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
When the early Christians adopted the date of the pagan festival of the sun to celebrate the birth of their God, they also preserved many of the customs and rituals which went with it.
The flaming brandy on the Christmas pudding for instance symbolizes the re-birth of the sun’s fire;
the yuletide log is a reminder of the ancient Norse Yule Sun-worship and mistletoe was the symbol of Druidical magic.
The Christmas tree too, although originating in its present form in Central Europe was believed to be sacred because it was the only tree which retained its leaves through the hard Northern Winter in order to shelter the good spirits of the forests.
Today we accept these long-forgotten religions as part of the Christian celebrations with little or no thought for their real significance.
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