We all know the iconic images of Christmas, both secular and sacred. At it’s roots, it is undeniably a Christian holiday (celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and all).

But, like any good story, there’s a lot of embellishment that’s made its way into the Christmas tales of the birth of a savior.

In fact, the whole December birth (and the adventure that lead to it happening in a manger) is, at best, highly unlikely.

So why does Christmas happen in late December? And what does a decorated pine tree have to do with the baby Jesus?

These are the things that happen when you have a religion that spreads far and wide. It has to adapt to at least some of the culture already in place (or, sometimes more often, is subverted by those who are forced to “convert”)… so as it spreads, it gathers up trappings from other faiths and sets it’s major celebrations on the dates that are already festivals.

In the case of Christmas, the narrative of a savior being born to bring light to the world fits in very well with the Yule celebrations that were already part of numerous other cultures. After all, that’s a celebration of the return of the sun, on the shortest day of the year.

Watch today’s vlog and see what else I have to say about this.

Also, merry/blessed Yule to all the pagans out there. May your days continue to get brighter! 🙂

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

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