So, it is a fact that the Christmas we celebrate today begun with the Druids, and so let's have a look at the Druids. First of all, most of the historical facts we have about the Druids are bull crap because they were written by the Greeks and Romans who were extremely hostile to the Celtic people, and so reading those accounts of the Druid people written in the history books is like reading Davy Crockett's writings to understand the Native Americans.
"We shot them like dogs," Crockett said after he had slaughtered 186 men, woman, and children in the Creek War.
The Romans confiscated the lives of the Druid people much as the European Settlers confiscated the lives of Native Americans. In both cases a spiritually dead group of people took over a spiritually alive people. The Romans were materialistic, the Druids spiritual. The American Settlers were greedy-land grabbers, the Native people, spiritual. For the Romans and Americans Settlers the State was a monolithic structure spread over territories deliberately organized into a hierarchy. With the Druids and Native Americans the State was a freely consented moral order with an entirely mythical central idea. The Romans and American Settlers based their law on the private ownership of land, with property rights entirely vested in the head of the family; the Druids and Native Americans considered ownership COLLECTIVE. The Romans and American Settlers looked upon women as bearers of children and objects of pleasure, while the Druids and Native Americans included women in their political and religious life. Is it any wonder that the spiritual peoples would have to be "Christianized" in the name of God, or slaughtered.
That's right, Capitalized: the gift that keeps giving.
And, least we forget, here is the Druid roots of Christmas:
The
roots of the Christmas traditions that we recognize today can be traced
back to pre-Christian celebrations of the Winter solstice. The solstice
is the twice yearly event when the sun appears to be at its highest or
lowest point above the horizon. In the northern hemisphere the Winter
solstice usually occurs annually between December 20 and December 23.
The Winter solstice was seen by the ancient Celts
as one of the most significant times of the year. The Neolithic
monuments of Newgrange in Éire, Maes Howe in Orkney, Scotland and Bryn
Celli Ddu in Ynys Môn, Wales are examples of burial chambers scattered
throughout the Celtic nations constructed to capture the full impact of
sun’s rays during the solstices.
Druids, the priestly class in ancient Celtic
society, celebrated the festival of Alban Arthuan (also known as Yule)
at the time of the Winter solstice. It was on this day that they
ceremonially gathered mistletoe from oak trees. A practice described in
the writings of Roman historian Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus
AD 23 – August 25, AD 79).
The name Christmas is from the Mass of Christ
(Christ-Mass). The actual date of the birth of Jesus is not given in the
Bible. The spread of Christianity during the first millennium (January
1st AD to December 1000 AD of the Julian calendar) was aided by the new
religion adapting to the ceremonies and traditions of the existing
religions. At times the early Christians also adopted existing deities
to ease the transition from old beliefs to new ones, as is thought to be
the case with Brigid the Celtic fertility goddess who became known to
Christians as Saint Brigid.
So when celebrating Christmas the traditional
trappings that go with this festive season have roots that go far back
into Celtic history. The Mistletoe gathered by the Druids for its
magical and health giving properties. The Yule log burnt by the Celts to
counter the darkness of mid-Winter when they thought the sun stood
still for twelve days and to bring good luck. The Holly and Ivy;
evergreens that Celts saw as important to keep evil spirits at bay. The
Tree decorated with symbols of solar objects and gifts to Celtic gods
and goddesses.
