On Tue, 2 Apr 2002 21:11:24 +0200,
=3D?ISO-8859-1?Q?Michael=3D20J.=3D20Hu=3DDFmann?=3D wrote:
>
>
>John Goggan (jgoggan_at_dcg.com) wrote:
>
>> Um, so because we don't know the exact date, it must be pagan?
>
>No, it's because there was a pagan feast at about that date that was
>later supplanted by Christmas. In ancient Rome, the Saturnalia started on
>December 17 and lasted 7 days. Celtic and Germanic people had their own
>feasts around the winter solstice. Santa Claus is obviously not a
>biblical character, but has pagan roots, as is the case with many or most
>customs connected with Christmas. Claude Levi-Strauss has written a very
>interesting essay on this subject ("Le Pere Noel supplicie", in: Les
>Temps Modernes 77, 1952/52, pp. 1572-1590).
>
.. or you could read "Hogfather" by Terry Pratchett and Iearn basically
the same stuff, but have a lot more fun in the process.
-- Karel Jansens kareljansens_at_tiscalinet.be-- Read the List FAQ/Etiquette: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Read the Newton FAQ: http://www.guns-media.com/mirrors/newton/faq/ This is the NewtonTalk mailing list - http://www.newtontalk.net
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