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| Snowmaiden / Snegurochka |
As you may know not everyone is celebrating the end-of-year yuletide like crimbo weihnacht with a tree and presents, and calls it christmas, of course not. The importance of the solstice and shift of solar energies back to the northern hemisphere may be key to it all. Yet the return of light is equally celebrated, as is the birth of Jesus. Whatever your latitude and longitude, whatever the reason to celebrate – neither agreement nor accuracy on which day to celebrate appears to be an issue.
Зимняя песенка (Winter Song):
The Germans have their Heiligabend on the 24th, whereas the English prefer the 25th passing gifts. If one looks further East to Russia, commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ falls – though celebrated on 25th December in the Julian calendar (used by the church) – actually on 7th January in the common Gregorian calendar.
Confused ? Great, read on.
"It’s generally accepted that December 25th was not even the day Jesus was born, but the day that closely corresponded with the ancient Roman celebration of Saturnalia, the pagan festival and holiday honoring the Roman agricultural god Saturn. All sanctions were lifted during this festival, permitting the Christians to likewise celebrate the birth of Christ unbeknownst to the Romans. That this day also corresponds with the Winter Solstice is no coincidence. The Romans observed the sun’s elevation at mid-day slowly increase with each day after the winter solstice; the sun, the bringer of life and warmth, was returning and thus, a cause for celebration."
source: https://astronomyforchange.org
