The original Christmas was the 6th January, the Alexandrian dare of the birth of Osiris, but why move the date to Dec.25th the date of Sol Invictus , the rebirth of the sun, and of Mithras the Roman soldiers god, it is also on the winter solstice festival, Easter is a pagan festival of rebirth hence the name taken from a pagan goddess Eoestre. In fact nearly all Cristian festivals are on pagan dates.
Ostara became Easter, Samhain became All Saints Day, Yule became Christmas. There is also speculation that "May Day" was derived from Beltaine.
Many of these holidays were modified by the early Church to ease the conversion of local Pagans from their practices to those of the Christian Church. If the Church used the same dates, and slowly altered the underlying message or purpose of the festival, they could rid the area of pagan practices all together. And it nearly worked. Those Pagans that didn’t convert went underground so to speak with their practices and kept their beliefs alive. While no pagan tradition today can directly link their practices of today with an ancient tradition, the elements and oral traditions have been kept alive. Even if some of those are from anthropological study and research.
But holidays aren’t the only Pagan influences you’ll find in a Christian Church. There are many pagan rituals that are incorporated into Christian worship.
~ Catholicism utilizes the use of incense to bless the altar before Mass. A Pagan form of clearing energy and setting shields of protection around an altar before ritual.
~ Most Christian churches light candles upon their altar to beckon the presence of Yahweh and Jesus. A Pagan form of honoring and calling the Gods/Goddesses to ritual.
~ Prayer is a petition to Yahweh for aid or to honor. Closely related to casting a Spell and invoking a God/Goddess for aid or to honor.
~ Using symbology upon an altar such as a cross or image of Jesus is also a Pagan practice used to focus energy or align one’s energy with a particular Deity or spirit (ie: an animal spirit).
~ One of the biggest uses of symbology in the Christian church is drinking wine for the blood of Jesus and eating bread for the bones of Jesus. This is an extremely pagan thing to do. By taking in the essence of the "god" into your body you are not just aligning your energies with that Deity, but you are also channeling that "god" through your body.
Whither or not some Christians want to admit it or not, we are all much more alike than we are different. Wouldn’t it be great if we could focus on our similarities instead of our differences and learn tolerance for each other?
by Sumandeep Thind through Professor Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Powell II, opensourcebuddhism.org. I like your introduction to this topic. Nice to see them all presented first, then a nice touch to go into depth. You let your audience get an overview. I enjoyed getting a deeper notion of the Diwali festival. Seeing the theme of light over darkness via the Rama story interesting. I think it is my favorite. I knew nothing about raksha-bandhan. This bond of protection is really nice. I wish we had such a holiday. Interesting connection with the Draupadi story. The good versus evil continues in the Holi festival. Once again, I did not know the story of Prahlad or the reason for the coloring. I lived through the Dashara festival, as they call it in Nepal. I knew about the Durga nine days, but not about another connection with the Rama story. Nice conclusion with the Shivaratri. I thought your visuals were very nice, music was great and your narration clear and steady.
Duration : 0:10:49
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Technorati Tags: Dashara, festivals, Hinduism, Holi, India, Indian, Religious, Shivaratri
I live in the state of California. How to I obtain a permit just to sell at local festivals around my area? I have crafts, clothing, hats, etc that I would like to sell but ONLY at festivals? Does anyone know how I can get started? Thanks in advance.
You can check with the City Treasurer and she will tell you about tax or permits. Most people do not get permits because they earn less than the minimum necessary to require a license or permit. /
The Sydney Film Festival’s Programs Manager, Jenny Neighbour, talks about her role within the festival, how film festivals and film making have changed over time, and Sydney Film Festival’s long standing relationship with documentary film making . Jenny then gives a rundown on the fantastic documentary program in this year’s festival!
Featuring clips from “Oil City Confidential”, “Budrus”, “Just Like Us”, “Drive”, and “Strange Birds in Paradise”. Check out the full festival lineup and buy tickets online at www.sff.org.au
Duration : 0:9:58
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Technorati Tags: a good man, balet, barack obama, budrus, contact, dappled cities, doctor feelgood, documentary, drive, julian temple, Just like us, le danse, lemmy, mcpherson lecture, motorhead, oil city confidential, paris, paris ballet, rockumentary, sff, sydney film festival, thames, war, wilko
I’m doing a survey and I would like people to tell me what are their favorite foods to buy at festivals?
green onion cakes
Band of Skulls take time out of their UK tour to talk about their festival heavy summer schedule.
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Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/itn_music .
Duration : 0:1:55
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Technorati Tags: band, band of skulls, death by diamonds and pearls, exclusive, interview, music, Official, rock, video, you are here
I’m planning to go to britain next year and really want to catch some of the festivals i’ve been long pining for from afar. Which are the best ones?
Glastonbury and Reading. You won’t get into Glastonbury
scenes from the Burning Man Festivals.
Duration : 0:6:40
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Technorati Tags: Art festivals, black rock, black rock city, Burning Man, burning man camps, burning the man, festivals, gifting, Larry Harvey, planned communities, the man
I have radio shows and packages created by university students and I am looking for any kind of awards, festivals, or recognition programs to submit them to. I would greatly appreciate any leads. An example of what I’m looking for is "NY Festivals Student Television & Film Awards." Any others like that for radio would be great. Thank you in advance.
Try looking online.
I need to know some of their ceremonies, festivals, holidays and rituals. It’s very important so please answer ASAP.
Based on some of the designs placed on pottery and engraved into marine shell, archaeologists believe Mississippian people divided their world into three parts: the upper world, the middle world and the underworld. The upper world includes the sun, that which gives life. The middle world is the world we live in on earth. The lower world is the source of fertility, among other things. Also Mississippian rituals often appear to depict the power of nature. Mississippian statues provide a glimpse into their beliefs. For example, the Birger figurine, which was found on the edge of the Cahokia site in Madison County, depicts a woman kneeling on the back of a serpent that has a mouth filled with animal teeth. She wields a hoe in her right hand and appears to be cultivating the back of the serpent. The serpent’s tail is growing up the back of the woman, where it turns into a vine filled with gourds or squash. Based on traditional and contemporary Native American beliefs, the serpent may be a spiritual being called the underwater monster, which is a symbol of fertility.
http://schoolcenter.gcsnc.com/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=146088&&PHPSESSID=c0363bb6a0cb4943da00d311422a664b
The Cherokee Indians, a late Mississippian tribe, migrated from the Ohio valley about 5,000 years ago, driven south by wars with neighboring tribes in the northeast. The war chief took an oath to never go to war without just cause and never to shed the blood of women, babies, old men or anyone unable to defend himself. Women played an important role in war, especially one woman often called “War Woman” by the whites. She sat with the council and cast a vote on whether to declare war, and also decided whether captives lived or died. Maternal descent was emphasized in Cherokee society. Ceremonies played an important part in the life of the tribe. The Cherokee celebrated a series of seasonal ceremonies and festivities that corresponded to the food cycle of the tribe. March was the first of thirteen moons and the feast of the deer. April’s celebration focused on strawberries, and the next harvests were “little” corn, watermelon, peaches, mulberries, and then “great” corn. In the eighth moon, our October, the festival featured turkey, followed by ceremonies for bison, bear, ducks, chestnuts, and finally nuts that were used in bread. Most of the seasonal ceremonies declined in importance in the eighteenth century, except the one held in late summer that coincided with the ripening of the late crop of corn. The Green Corn Ceremony lasted several days and had significant cultural and social connotation.
http://www.chattoogariver.org/index.php?quart=Su2004&req=indians