According to Luke, Mary
“…gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
According to Matthew, when wise men from the East
“…saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
After they had departed, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, to say:
“Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
In Occidental Mythology, volume III in the masterwork THE MASKS OF GOD, Joseph Campbell writes that January 6 was the date of a festival in Egyptian Alexandria of the birth of a new personification of Osiris from Isis, of whom the bright star Sirius rising on the horizon had been for millenniums the watched-for sign. The rising of the star announced the rising of the flood waters of the Nile, through which the world-renewing grace of the dead and resurrected lord Osiris was to be poured over the land. Campbell quotes Saint Epiphanius (c. 315-402 A.D.) who stated that:
“On the eve of that day it was the custom to spend the night in singing and attending to the images of the gods. At dawn a descent was made to a crypt, and a wooden image was brought up, which had the sign of a cross and a star of gold marked on hands, knees, and head. This was carried round in procession, and then taken back to the crypt; and it was said that this was done because ‘the Maiden’ [Isis] had given birth to ‘the Aion’ [Osiris].”
Campbell, citing two articles by Kirsopp Lake, “Epiphany” and “Christmas”, goes on:
“The present custom of celebrating the Nativity on December 25 seems not to have been instituted until the year 353 or 354, in Rome, under Pope Liberius, possibly to absorb the festival of the birth of Mithra that day […] so that Christ, now, like Mithra and the Emperor of Rome, could be recognized as the risen sun.”
Thus, concludes Campbell, “we have two myths and two dates of the Nativity scene, December 25 and January 6, with associations pointing one hand to the Persian and on the other to the old Egyptian sphere.”
::: ::: :::
[Miniature: Nativity by Grigor (dated: 1232)] (fragment - manuscript #2743, kept at the Matenadaran Museum in Yerevan)
Christmas is a celebration; it means understanding, the joy of knowing that all what lives will die will live will die again. Old holy days take new forms; ancient formulas for life give form to new incarnations, new beings to enjoy the beauty of it all.
A few days ago, I saw a two and a half year old child running round a Christmas tree. “What do you do?” I asked her. “I’m running round the tree” she answered without stopping. “But why?” I wanted to know. She did not say. Instead, she called for me to join her, and so we danced round the tree, shaking our arms after an odd fashion that she had invented--we celebrated.
“…gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
According to Matthew, when wise men from the East
“…saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
After they had departed, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, to say:
“Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
In Occidental Mythology, volume III in the masterwork THE MASKS OF GOD, Joseph Campbell writes that January 6 was the date of a festival in Egyptian Alexandria of the birth of a new personification of Osiris from Isis, of whom the bright star Sirius rising on the horizon had been for millenniums the watched-for sign. The rising of the star announced the rising of the flood waters of the Nile, through which the world-renewing grace of the dead and resurrected lord Osiris was to be poured over the land. Campbell quotes Saint Epiphanius (c. 315-402 A.D.) who stated that:
“On the eve of that day it was the custom to spend the night in singing and attending to the images of the gods. At dawn a descent was made to a crypt, and a wooden image was brought up, which had the sign of a cross and a star of gold marked on hands, knees, and head. This was carried round in procession, and then taken back to the crypt; and it was said that this was done because ‘the Maiden’ [Isis] had given birth to ‘the Aion’ [Osiris].”
Campbell, citing two articles by Kirsopp Lake, “Epiphany” and “Christmas”, goes on:
“The present custom of celebrating the Nativity on December 25 seems not to have been instituted until the year 353 or 354, in Rome, under Pope Liberius, possibly to absorb the festival of the birth of Mithra that day […] so that Christ, now, like Mithra and the Emperor of Rome, could be recognized as the risen sun.”
Thus, concludes Campbell, “we have two myths and two dates of the Nativity scene, December 25 and January 6, with associations pointing one hand to the Persian and on the other to the old Egyptian sphere.”
::: ::: :::
[Miniature: Nativity by Grigor (dated: 1232)] (fragment - manuscript #2743, kept at the Matenadaran Museum in Yerevan)
Christmas is a celebration; it means understanding, the joy of knowing that all what lives will die will live will die again. Old holy days take new forms; ancient formulas for life give form to new incarnations, new beings to enjoy the beauty of it all.
A few days ago, I saw a two and a half year old child running round a Christmas tree. “What do you do?” I asked her. “I’m running round the tree” she answered without stopping. “But why?” I wanted to know. She did not say. Instead, she called for me to join her, and so we danced round the tree, shaking our arms after an odd fashion that she had invented--we celebrated.
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One of my favourite parts, the child and you.:)
ReplyDeleteI like the picture, reminds me of a light abstract.
Soon after I moved into my house, a new neighbor moved in next door to me. The neighbor lady was outside with a little girl, about three years old. I was in my front yard. The child ran gleefully into my yard, greeting me like a friend she had waited long to see. The lady looked frightened and, with admonishment, called the little girl back. I said,
ReplyDelete"That's all right." I understood. Strangers are dangerous. Even if they live next door.
Christmas celebration could mean the joy and celebration of never a danger from a stranger or a friend.
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