Re: Religious Festivities

Laurie Gerholz wrote:
> It is now synonymous.
Very true.  I should've been clearer.

> Yule may be an earlier term for the winter
> solstice.
Around that time, yes.  It referred to the New Year's.

> After Christmas Day was set to be December 25 (in order to,
> from some sources I've heard, to encourage the heathens to stop
> celebrating in their older fashion and to start celebrating the
> Christian event),
Maybe.  It does happen to correspond to the Roman Saturnalia, and the
Mithraic (?) festival of Sol Invictis (sp?).  However, at least one
source I've read has it being co-incidence.  There was a belief in
ancient times that holy people (saints, etc.) died on the same date that
they were conceived.  Furthermore, since Christ was the Son of God, and
therefore even more perfect, he would have been born exactly nine months
after his conception, according to this view.  His crucifiction was
calculated to be March 25, thus his conception would've been March 25,
and his birth December 25.  Granted, that particular date for the
crucifiction might've been influenced by the festivals occuring on
December 25, that is, they might've set their assumptions to achieve a
date of March 25.