Pagan Christmas

Author : Christian Rätsch
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1594776601
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.01/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Pagan Christmas written by Christian Rätsch and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-10-24 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of the sacred botany and the pagan origins and rituals of Christmas • Analyzes the symbolism of the many plants associated with Christmas • Reveals the shamanic rituals that are at the heart of the Christmas celebration The day on which many commemorate the birth of Christ has its origins in pagan rituals that center on tree worship, agriculture, magic, and social exchange. But Christmas is no ordinary folk observance. It is an evolving feast that over the centuries has absorbed elements from cultures all over the world--practices that give plants and plant spirits pride of place. In fact, the symbolic use of plants at Christmas effectively transforms the modern-day living room into a place of shamanic ritual. Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling show how the ancient meaning of the botanical elements of Christmas provides a unique view of the religion that existed in Europe before the introduction of Christianity. The fir tree was originally revered as the sacred World Tree in northern Europe. When the church was unable to drive the tree cult out of people’s consciousness, it incorporated the fir tree by dedicating it to the Christ child. Father Christmas in his red-and-white suit, who flies through the sky in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, has his mythological roots in the shamanic reindeer-herding tribes of arctic Europe and Siberia. These northern shamans used the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom, which is red and white, to make their soul flights to the other world. Apples, which figure heavily in Christmas baking, are symbols of the sun god Apollo, so they find a natural place at winter solstice celebrations of the return of the sun. In fact, the authors contend that the emphasis of Christmas on green plants and the promise of the return of life in the dead of winter is just an adaptation of the pagan winter solstice celebration.

Author : Augusto S. Cacopardo
Publisher : Gingko Library
ISBN 13 : 1909942855
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.51/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Pagan Christmas written by Augusto S. Cacopardo and published by Gingko Library. This book was released on 2017-02-15 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This authoritative work sheds light on the religious world of the Kalasha people of the Birir valley in the Chitral district of Pakistan, focusing on their winter feasts, which culminate every year in a great winter solstice festival. The Kalasha are not only the last example of a pre-Islamic culture in the Hindu Kush and Karakorum mountains but also practice the last observable example anywhere in the world of an archaic Indo-European religion. In this book, Augusto S. Cacopardo takes readers inside the world of the Kalasha people. Cacopardo outlines the history and culture of this ancient but still extant people. Exploring an array of relevant literature, he enriches our understanding of their practices and beliefs through illuminating comparisons with both the Indian religious world and the religious folklore of Europe. Bringing together several disciplinary approaches and drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, this book offers the first extended study of this little-known but fascinating Kalasha community. It will take its place as a standard international reference source on the anthropology, ethnography, and history of religions in Pakistan and Central South Asia.

Author : R. J. Condon
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780903752046
Total Pages : 19 pages
Book Rating : 4.42/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Our Pagan Christmas written by R. J. Condon and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Hugh Chisholm
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 1016 pages
Book Rating : 4.09/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Encyclopaedia Britannica written by Hugh Chisholm and published by . This book was released on 1911 with total page 1016 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Trent Horn
Publisher : Catholic Answers Press
ISBN 13 : 9781683570240
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.43/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Why We're Catholic written by Trent Horn and published by Catholic Answers Press. This book was released on 2017-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "How can you believe all this stuff? This is the number-one question Catholics get asked and, sometimes, we ask ourselves. Why do we believe that God exists, that he became a man and came to save us, that what looks like a wafer of bread is actually his body? Why do we believe that he inspired a holy book and founded an infallible Church to teach us the one true way to live? Ever since he became Catholic, Trent Horn has spent a lot of time answering these questions, trying to explain to friends, family, and total strangers the reasons for his Catholic faith. Some didn't believe in God, or even in the existence of truth. Others said they were spiritual but didn't think you needed religion to be happy. Some were Christians who thought Catholic doctrines over-complicated the pure gospel. And some were fellow Catholics who had a hard time understanding everything they professed to believe on Sunday. Why We're Catholic assembles the clearest, friendliest, most helpful answers that Trent learned to give to all these people and more. Beginning with how we can know reality and ending with our hope of eternal life, it s the perfect way to help skeptics and seekers (or Catholics who want to firm up their faith) understand the evidence that bolsters our belief and brings us joy" --

Author : Clement A. Miles
Publisher : DigiCat
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 389 pages
Book Rating : 4.75/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Christmas in Ritual and Tradition written by Clement A. Miles and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-11-13 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan is a study of the history and folklore surrounding Christmas holidays in several countries. It is an amazing collection of Christmas-related traditions from the first introductions of Christianity to the early 20th century. The book covers the history of Christmas as a Christian feast day and how that developed. It also discusses pre-Christian festivals and observances and how a lot of them survived by being given a Christian veneer although the overt paganism disappeared. Clement A. Miles (1881-1918), an author and translator, was a member of the Folk-Lore Society. He had been for many years on T. Fisher Unwin's literary staff and he was the author of an important work: Christmas in Ritual and Tradition. Miles possessed a wide knowledge of European languages, and translated numerous works from French and Italian.

Author : Clement A. Miles
Publisher : DigiCat
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 387 pages
Book Rating : 4.43/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Christmas in Ritual & Tradition: Christian and Pagan (Illustrated Edition) written by Clement A. Miles and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2023-12-27 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan is a study of the history and folklore surrounding Christmas holidays in several countries. It is an amazing collection of Christmas-related traditions from the first introductions of Christianity to the early 20th century. The book covers the history of Christmas as a Christian feast day and how that developed. It also discusses pre-Christian festivals and observances and how a lot of them survived by being given a Christian veneer although the overt paganism disappeared. Clement A. Miles (1881-1918), an author and translator, was a member of the Folk-Lore Society. He had been for many years on T. Fisher Unwin's literary staff and he was the author of an important work: Christmas in Ritual and Tradition. Miles possessed a wide knowledge of European languages, and translated numerous works from French and Italian.

Author : Nathaniel Parry
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476647089
Total Pages : 261 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

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Download or read book How Christmas Became Christmas written by Nathaniel Parry and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-10-31 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In some respects, the contrasts of Christmas are what make it the most delightful time of the year. It is a time of generosity, kindness and peace on earth, with broad permission to indulge in food, drink and gifts. On the other hand, Christmas has become a battleground for raging culture wars, marred by debates about how it should be celebrated and acknowledged as a uniquely Christian holiday. This text argues that much of the animosity is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the holiday's core character. By tracing Christmas's origins as a pagan celebration of the winter solstice and its development in Europe's Christianization, this history explains that the true "reason for the season" has as much to do with the earth's movement around the sun as with the birth of Christ. Chapters chronicle how Christmas's magic and misrule link to the nativity, and why the carnival side of the holiday appears so separated from traditional Christian beliefs.

Author : Clement A. Miles
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 466 pages
Book Rating : 4.03/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan written by Clement A. Miles and published by . This book was released on 1912 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Clement A. Miles
Publisher : Xist Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1681955989
Total Pages : 390 pages
Book Rating : 4.88/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan written by Clement A. Miles and published by Xist Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-25 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reflect on the Christmas Season with a Celebration of Virtue 1900 “To be honest, to be kind--to earn a little and spend a little less, to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence....here is a task..” - Robert Louis Stevenson, A Christmas Sermon A Christmas Sermon is not necessarily a book about Christmas. In fact, it is a book that tries to educate the reader preaching the Christian values of morality, humility and kindness. It is also a book about how to approach the end of a year and the eve of a new one full of hope and optimism. ,This book has been professionally formatted for e-readers and contains a bonus book club leadership guide and discussion questions. We hope you’ll share this book with your friends, neighbors and colleagues and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.