The Nordic Undertones of Christmas

ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS about Christmas is that it comes at the perfect time of the year. Right smack dab after the winter solstice. There, at the very beginning of winter, in the very dead of winter, there is a bright light, psychologically, and it means everything. We are reasonably sure that Jesus was born sometime in early April, possibly April 6, in the year 6 B.C. And we know that the celebration of the birth of Jesus was moved to just after the winter solsitce to coincide it with the winter celebrations of the northern germanic europeans. It was a brilliant way to spread the Christian faith in northern europe. People living in the far north watched the sun get lower each day, and teh days shorten, then the first day after teh solstice, they noticed teh days beginning to lengthen, the sun starting to return, and another summer would eventually come, they realized. So, on about the twenty fifth, they celebrated. Maybe they celebrated with feasing, drinking, and bonfire building. But they really needed the psychological boost that the passage of the solstice gave them, because event hough the sun was now returning north, it would take at least another two long months of frigid winter weather to bring it all the way back. Christmas for us gives us a big day of happiness and joy before we plunge headlong into the new year, and what a great send off to the old year. Psychologically, Christmas serves the same purpose for us today that the winter festival did gor the northerneres thousands of years ago. It is difficult to imagine Christmas being the same, having the same feel, far to the south, or in the southern hemisphere, such are its obvious nordic undertones. Maybe we should consider moving Christmas to the last Monday in December, thus making it a three day weekend. Why not? Its already been moved at least once already, for extremely practical reasons.