yeah, jeremiah something something--the person who wrote the essay I linked to cited it. I always wondered if the missionaries who invented Christmas just took the chance to go, "Well, OUR god was born on your feast day, guess what you've really been celebrating all this time? Gotcha!" or whether they shrugged and went, "Whatever, feast and get drunk all you want, just say it's in Jesus's name now."
Yule is hardcore. "The saga states that when Haakon arrived in Norway he was confirmed a Christian, but since the land was still altogether heathen and they retained their practices, Haakon hid his Christianity to receive the help of "great chieftains". In time, Haakon had a law passed that established that Yule celebrations were to take place at the same time as when the Christians held their celebrations, "and at that time everyone was to have ale for the celebration with a measure of grain, or else pay fines, and had to keep the holiday while the ale lasted."" ...huh.
and yeah, I think most cultures with the concept of winter end up having a holiday like this. It's just one of those things.
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Date: 2009-12-17 12:09 pm (UTC)Yule is hardcore. "The saga states that when Haakon arrived in Norway he was confirmed a Christian, but since the land was still altogether heathen and they retained their practices, Haakon hid his Christianity to receive the help of "great chieftains". In time, Haakon had a law passed that established that Yule celebrations were to take place at the same time as when the Christians held their celebrations, "and at that time everyone was to have ale for the celebration with a measure of grain, or else pay fines, and had to keep the holiday while the ale lasted."" ...huh.
and yeah, I think most cultures with the concept of winter end up having a holiday like this. It's just one of those things.