The Reason for the Season!
December 21, 2009It’s Winter Solstice today, which means that the days will now start getting longer until the Summer Solstice next year. Interestingly, the Wikipedia entry for Winter Solstice explains:
Since the event is seen as the reversal of the Sun’s ebbing presence in the sky, concepts of the birth or rebirth of sun gods have been common and, in cultures using winter solstitially based cyclic calendars, the year as reborn has been celebrated with regard to life-death-rebirth deities or new beginnings such as Hogmanay’s redding, a New Year cleaning tradition. In Greek mythology, the gods and goddesses met on the winter and summer solstice, and Hades was permitted on Mount Olympus. Also reversal is another usual theme as in Saturnalia’s slave and master reversals.
Does that sound familiar?
In any case, it was interesting to watch this “discussion” between Faux News’ Laura Ingraham and Annie Laurie Gaylor from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Who represents their position the best here?
