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).
- Michael
Michael J. Hussmann
E-mail: michael_at_michael-hussmann.de
WWW: http://michael-hussmann.de
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