Backwoods Hillbilly Removed From Show About Backwoods Hillbillies For Being A Backwoods Hillbilly.

[self biased]

[self biased]

****. forgot to post that as the BK login.

[Ben Kenobi]

That doesn't change the fact pagans were celebrating the solstice long before Christians and Christmas

Who are we talking about? Romans? They had lots of feasts and festivals throughout the year.

Where did earlier Christians get the idea Christmas was tied to paganism?

Why did 19th century English protestants believe this? For the same reason that Luther and Calvin did. They believed that it was a tradition put forth by a corrupted Cathoilc church.

Why is the calendar relevant to the solstice? Did the solstice occur before calendars?

It's been used for timekeeping and to adjust calendars further back than recorded history.

When is Passover?

When God smited the Egyptians permitting the Israelites to escape egypt.

The Sphinx faces the vernal equinox

*sigh*.

Which side of your house faces the Vernal Equinox, Berz?

You just asked for evidence people celebrated the vernal equinox before Passover?

Again, several things here. Vernal Equinox is defined as the point in which the sun crosses the ecliptic at dawn, rising towards the solar maximum in summer. What they did was build stuff pointing towards it for the same reason we have watches that tell time. If you wanted to know the exact day that the Vernal Equinox would occur - you would be able to tell with the building. You could also tell which side of the equinox you were on, as well as the other dates, such as the solistices just from there.

Is a giant clock a celebration?

New Years celebrations are typically timed to follow the winter solstice - like the 12 day akitu festival in Mesoptamia

So, IOW - solistice, end of the year!= New years as it is celebrated today. They are different dates.

[Ben Kenobi]

Oh god, Self. Dying over here. Just dying.

[Ban Kenobi]

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;"

So do you plan on lying to your new nation as your first act of citizenship? Or are you going to cast your queen into the gutter when it's convenient?

Don't worry Aeson... technically the queen of England isn't a prince!

[Berzerker]

Who are we talking about? Romans? They had lots of feasts and festivals throughout the year.

Pre-Christian pagans

Why did 19th century English protestants believe this? For the same reason that Luther and Calvin did. They believed that it was a tradition put forth by a corrupted Cathoilc church.

I didn't ask about 19th century English protestants, but what about Christmas did they consider pagan?

It's been used for timekeeping and to adjust calendars further back than recorded history.

The solstice doesn't depend on any calendars

When God smited the Egyptians permitting the Israelites to escape egypt.

When is it?

*sigh*.

Which side of your house faces the Vernal Equinox, Berz?

None

Again, several things here. Vernal Equinox is defined as the point in which the sun crosses the ecliptic at dawn, rising towards the solar maximum in summer. What they did was build stuff pointing towards it for the same reason we have watches that tell time. If you wanted to know the exact day that the Vernal Equinox would occur - you would be able to tell with the building. You could also tell which side of the equinox you were on, as well as the other dates, such as the solistices just from there.

Is a giant clock a celebration?

You wanted evidence people celebrated the equinox and I gave you evidence. If people didn't celebrate the equinox why would they build structures like the Sphinx pointing to it?

So, IOW - solistice, end of the year!= New years as it is celebrated today. They are different dates.

Who said anything about New Years today? We've been talking about which came first, Christians and Christmas or pagan celebrations of the solstice and new year.

[Aeson]

Don't worry Aeson... technically the queen of England isn't a prince!

But she is a potentate.

[Ben Kenobi]

So do you plan on lying to your new nation as your first act of citizenship? Or are you going to cast your queen into the gutter when it's convenient?

I am permitted to retain my Canadian citizenship, and I am not required to give it up in order to obtain American citizenship.

As for the Queen, last I checked she is one of the longest standing allies of America.

Should that change then yes, I would have a decision to make, but I see no conflict between the interests of Texas and the interests of the Queen.

[Ben Kenobi]

I didn't ask about 19th century English protestants, but what about Christmas did they consider pagan?

The fact that it was something the Catholic church celebrated. Most 19th century English protestants considered Catholicism to be paganism.

The solstice doesn't depend on any calendars

True, the calendar depends on the solistice, as for the sphinx, why do we build giant clocks? Do we worship the god of the 12? Having something large pointing to the solistice is a good way to keep time.

[snrjefe]

So they knew when it was time to celebrate, duh. "It's party time, excellent." "Celebrate good times, come on." And when it's all become too much, one worships at the porcelain altar. Christmas is just a rebranded worship of excess. We just lean towards excess consumerism instead of excess consumption.

[Ben Kenobi]

So they knew when it was time to celebrate, duh. "It's party time, excellent." "Celebrate good times, come on." And when it's all become too much, one worships at the porcelain altar. Christmas is just a rebranded worship of excess. We just lean towards excess consumerism instead of excess consumption.

In a pre-industrial society it would be notable to find a building that wasn't oriented in some way to serve these purposes. We're still doing it today, except it's done to maximize passive light exposure and minimize energy consumption, especially in temperate areas.

[Aeson]

I am permitted to retain my Canadian citizenship, and I am not required to give it up in order to obtain American citizenship.

As for the Queen, last I checked she is one of the longest standing allies of America.

Should that change then yes, I would have a decision to make, but I see no conflict between the interests of Texas and the interests of the Queen.

So you're going to lie when you swear "absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity" to the Queen of England ...

[snrjefe]

Which is why Christmas is on the 25th of December? It's really hard to take significant Catholic dates seriously since every damn day is some saint's day. I suppose it's just their clever little ploy to claim every single day is only important for them and any other occasion should take a backseat.

[Ben Kenobi]

So you're going to lie when you swear "absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity" to the Queen of England

In order for me to do so that would require me to give up my Canadian citizenship. As I am legally permitted to retain Canadian citizenship, I can only conclude that I am also permitted to remain loyal to the Queen of England insofar as there exists no conflict between her and the State of Texas. Should such conflict arise, I would have the same decision to make as my Loyalist ancestors.

[Ben Kenobi]

It's really hard to take significant Catholic dates seriously since every damn day is some saint's day. I suppose it's just their clever little ploy to claim every single day is only important for them and any other occasion should take a backseat.

Most date to a significant day in the life of the Saint. And yes, there are exceptions and revisions to the calendar.

From what I can see, the feast of the nativity from the information we possess at present predates the establishment of the canon. It likely goes back further, but we lack documentary evidence to establish this.