Dec 8, 2008
AUTHOR: MATT BORS
EDITORIAL CARTOONIST FOR UNITED MEDIA, GRAPHIC NOVELIST, ILLUSTRATOR, witticist. BLOGS AND SCRIBBLES FROM PORTLAND, OR.
Previous Posts
- Gifts!
- It Don't Gitmo Better
- Cry Off: Gandhi vs. Lady Liberty
- Mailbag Douchebags
- Great Gift Idea
- Union
- Spread the Wealth Around (Then the Bombs)
- Bigot Bailout
- Computer Trouble
- Civil Discourse
Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]
2 Comments:
Great toon.
WWJD? He'd push an old lady on her walker just to get that TV! Booyah!
Well, Christmas originally had as little to do with Jesus as apple pie and Mahamud.
I live in Norway, a country in northern Europe. European agricultural societies celebrated this holiday long before anyone here had ever heard of Christianity; the 22nd or 23rd day of December is the longest night of the year (different from year to year) because the earth's axis is tilted and the northern hemisphere is "in the shade". After this, the days get longer and you can start growing crops again. Vikings, German and French peasants as well as Russians celebrated this day with feasts.
In Norse, this feast was called "jòl", which is the origin of the English word "Yule tide". In Scandinavia we still call Christmas "jul".
When Christianity was introduced, the authorities wanted to remove old rituals by replacing them with new, more Christian ones. So, the celebration of the birth of "our savior" was put in the middle of December. Jesus was probably not born in December; the date is not mentioned in the Bible, but the story mentions shepherds being out with their fold. Shepherds weren't herding sheep at this time of year.
So, excuse me while I praise Thor and Odin.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home