Older than Christianity

A Dec. 25 letter from Douglas Bacon bemoans the secularization and commercialization of Christmas, and says we’d have no holidays without Christianity. I have some sympathy for his position but deplore his history.

Almost every civilization since Ur has had a winter solstice celebration. The date was set by the early church to coincide with the Roman Saturnalia to keep the members too busy to participate in the pagan orgies. The tree, mistletoe, yule log and even gift giving all predate Christianity.

Easter coincides with the spring fertility rites. Even the name is derived from the goddess Eostre, the Saxon goddess of sunrise and fertility. The colored eggs are a symbol of the spring sunrise, and the bunny of, what else, fertility.

Halloween? That was when the veil between the dead and the living was lifted and the Celtic Druid priests could commune with the dead. It became “All Hallows Eve” and eventually Halloween, but the ghosts and goblins persist. Thanksgiving? Has there ever been a civilization that didn’t have a harvest festival, usually around the time of the harvest moon?

There’s always Advent and Lent, but those aren’t public holidays.

Larry Blanchard

Spokane Valley