The Festivals of the Lights
Festivals are quite characteristic of the human race and, therefore, have been in existence for many, many centuries.
All of the religion scholars agree that the “new” religions evolved from older ones. And the “new” ones adapted the old festivals to their own concepts. This is the reason that all of the present religious festivals have prehistorical roots. The most important old festivals were those of the spring equinox, the winter solstice and the harvests. We recently enjoyed a “new” harvest festival, particularly important in the United States and not really linked to any special religion, in spite of the fact that we are basically thanking God for the blessings that He bestowed on us. Thanksgiving is a very meaningful festival that I particularly enjoy.
We are now approaching the winter solstice. It seems that this festival originated in the Scandinavian countries, where the days become definitely shorter as the solstice approaches. And people would light fires and pray that the sun would not disappear completely – as we know, in Lapland it does disappear for months at a time.
The Jews used the winter solstice to rededicate the Temple of Jerusalem after an important civil war. It was a heroical enterprise, initiated by people without military training and with no arms, and yet they won.
This was the origin of Hanukkah, the Jewish Feast of Lights. During the times of Roman occupation the Jews could not mention their military feats, therefore they had to find another explanation to celebrate Hanukkah. My personal belief is that the miracle of the oil that kept the lamps burning for eight days was created for this reason. It is not that I do not believe in miracles; life is an enormous miracle. But I agree with Maimonides, the great Jewish physician and philosopher of the 12th century, that God does not change Nature’s laws. He felt that miracles were simply natural phenomena, the explanation of which was unknown to us.
And, of course, there is Christmas.
Nobody knows the date that Jesus was born. Christmas day was established in the 4th century at the time of Emperor Constantine, who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. The church chose the day of December 25 because it was close to the winter solstice and it was the birthday of a Persian god, Mithra. Mithraism was a religion that, like Christianity, emphasized good actions. But it was not monotheistic. The Roman soldiers liked it and spread it all over Europe. This was a convenient way of attracting Mithra’s followers to Christianity.
And where are the lights? They are in the Christmas trees, of course. They are reminders of the old prehistoric festivals. And do not forget that Santa Claus lives in Lapland, and travels in a sleigh pulled by reindeers. Are these Christian symbols? Of course not. But they are extraordinary symbols, cherished by millions of people.
I wish you the best Season’s Greetings, with lots of lights.
Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas!
All of the religion scholars agree that the “new” religions evolved from older ones. And the “new” ones adapted the old festivals to their own concepts. This is the reason that all of the present religious festivals have prehistorical roots. The most important old festivals were those of the spring equinox, the winter solstice and the harvests. We recently enjoyed a “new” harvest festival, particularly important in the United States and not really linked to any special religion, in spite of the fact that we are basically thanking God for the blessings that He bestowed on us. Thanksgiving is a very meaningful festival that I particularly enjoy.
We are now approaching the winter solstice. It seems that this festival originated in the Scandinavian countries, where the days become definitely shorter as the solstice approaches. And people would light fires and pray that the sun would not disappear completely – as we know, in Lapland it does disappear for months at a time.
The Jews used the winter solstice to rededicate the Temple of Jerusalem after an important civil war. It was a heroical enterprise, initiated by people without military training and with no arms, and yet they won.
This was the origin of Hanukkah, the Jewish Feast of Lights. During the times of Roman occupation the Jews could not mention their military feats, therefore they had to find another explanation to celebrate Hanukkah. My personal belief is that the miracle of the oil that kept the lamps burning for eight days was created for this reason. It is not that I do not believe in miracles; life is an enormous miracle. But I agree with Maimonides, the great Jewish physician and philosopher of the 12th century, that God does not change Nature’s laws. He felt that miracles were simply natural phenomena, the explanation of which was unknown to us.
And, of course, there is Christmas.
Nobody knows the date that Jesus was born. Christmas day was established in the 4th century at the time of Emperor Constantine, who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. The church chose the day of December 25 because it was close to the winter solstice and it was the birthday of a Persian god, Mithra. Mithraism was a religion that, like Christianity, emphasized good actions. But it was not monotheistic. The Roman soldiers liked it and spread it all over Europe. This was a convenient way of attracting Mithra’s followers to Christianity.
And where are the lights? They are in the Christmas trees, of course. They are reminders of the old prehistoric festivals. And do not forget that Santa Claus lives in Lapland, and travels in a sleigh pulled by reindeers. Are these Christian symbols? Of course not. But they are extraordinary symbols, cherished by millions of people.
I wish you the best Season’s Greetings, with lots of lights.
Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas!
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