Passing Mass

I went to St. Pius X Catholic church the other day, and found it to be a very interesting place. An interesting blend of ancient traditions, and modern architecture (modern for the sixties when it was built, that is).

It is the only church I know of that literally has a door right out on to the main street. There isn't even a front step, I don't think.

Anyhoo, what with Christmas just passing and all, I thought I would say a word or two about the origins of celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25th.

From all biblical interpretation, it is seen as HIGHLY unlikely that this is even close to the time of Jesus' birth. The shepherds were out in the fields, and I am told that it often snows in the winter time in and around bethlehem. Shepherds would not send their sheep out into the fields at night in winter. It's taught in Shepherding 101 people.

No, it was probably September or October.

The date of Dec. 25th was selected in the fifth century, by Rome, as the best time to celebrate Christmas because it corresponded to the winter solstice celebration. This was not intended to encourage the pagan traditions surrounding solstice, but to overshadow them, encouraging people to remember the state religion, Christianity.

Then there is the fact that it is called Christ's Mass. Yup, there is no doubt about it, we are all adopting a Catholic tradition, set at a pagan date when we celebrate Christmas in December.

Of course, as we all know, it is largely irrelevant these days to many people, except for Macy's, the Bay, and Sears, each of whom abandonned their previous years "Happy Holidays" slogan for the less P.C. "Merry Christmas". They found that business was up when they recognized Christmas, and down in years when they tried to appease the non- Catholic and Pagans.

See you soon with a legitimate post about something more "jacob-ish".

Ciao