EA Holidays
Posted by: papabeardm <papabeardm@...>
than we do Christmas/Channukkah. Dear Folks:
If I may offer a simplistic explanation, it is longer from
March/April to December than from December to March/April. Ergo, there
is simply more time to prepare. Ever notice that Christmas programs tend
to be more elaborate than Easter programs? I mean, unless you're doing a
full-blown Passion Play, and those tend to be done by huge churches or
groups of churches, and tend to be a tradition, Christmas programs are
more elaborate because there is simply more time to organize and plan
them.
I wish it were otherwise, but WHOOMP! dere it is!
I don't believe that for most people it is a lack of Orthodoxy, but
tradition that has put us in this predicament. We all (presumably) know
that Jesus was not born "in the bleak midwinter", as all those grand old
songs proclaim, but probably in the spring or fall. It is not his
birthday that we celebrate, but the fact that he came. "Kai ho Logos
sarx egeneto..." (And the Word became flesh...) is the reason we
celebrate Christmas, and calling the period "Advent" is more appropriate
with this understanding.
If, as some believe, Jesus was concieved during Channukkah and
born during the Feast of Tabernacles, He would have been born in the
fall, and we would have two fairly equal times. But the (Roman)
government got involved and botched the whole thing. (Typical) He was
probably born in the fall of about 6 BCE, since that would also coincide
with the astronomy, which created the Star of Bethlehem. Probably an
alignment of stars and planets which represented Israel, Royalty, and the
end times. Therefore, when the Magi saw this configuration, they knew
that the King of Israel who was to reign in the last days had been born.
Though the handbook states they were astronomers and not astrologers, I
respectfully beg to differ. An astronomer would have found the alignment
interesting, but only an astrologer would have seen its significance.
Also, Herod the Great died in 4 BCE, so Jesus had to have been born at
least 2 years previous to that.
If we also take into account that the shepherds in Israel did not
and do not keep flocks in the field in December because of the cold, then
the spring or fall scenarios become even more attractive.
I personally prefer the Feast of Tabernacles scenario for several
reasons, especially since so much of the life of Jesus centered around
the Hebrew feasts. If His death was at Passover, His birth at
Tabernacles gives a nice symmetry to the whole thing. Also, as a
musician, it gives you plenty of time to do right by both ends of Jesus
earthly life. Choirs and choirmasters would love it.
Having said all that, it is unlikely that we will manage to
change 1700 years of tradition, but it still seems appropriate to
celebrate the Light coming into the world, even if we don't know exactly
when to do it.
To me, also, the astrologer model of the Magi has more to
commend it. God spoke to the Magi in a language they could not mistake.
They followed it, and it led them to the Christ. Interestingly, the
priests and lawyers in Jerusalem who were consulted when the Magi visited
Herod never made it to the manger. And they were only a few miles away.
This says to me that, no matter what a person's background, if he truly
follows the Light God has given him, his path will always lead to Jesus.
C.S. Lewis said, "If a man would be an atheist, he must be constantly on
his guard, for God is quite unscrupulous in the ways in which He will
reveal Himself to a man."
Re: EdenAgain, when do they celebrate whatever they call Easter?
The books don't really say, though they do indicate that they celebrate
the Great Rescue. Maybe we could do it "right", and have them celebrate
His coming, arguably a part of the Great Rescue, in the Autumn and His
giving of Himself for His followers in the Spring. I figure this was
bound to come up with us, just as it did for the early Christians. Maybe
this is an opportunity. However, if you try to explain this to a bunch
of kids, they'll probably just stare at you and go, "Huh?", so...
Way more than you EVER wanted to hear, I'm sure, but it sure
feels good to get that out of my system.
In the service of the OLMN,
Dariel the Aged and verbose
aka Dave Milner