THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | RELIGION | CHRISTIANITY

Christianity/9612.chrstms.ms

To: alt.bible.prophecy,alt.christnet,alt.religion.christian,alt.christnet.bible,alt.athiesm,talk.atheism,talk.origins
From: mls@panix.com (Michael L. Siemon)
Subject: Re: Explaination of Jesus not being born in december.
Date: Wed, 25 Dec 1996 19:50:33 -0500

In article <01bbf2ab$6a37ecc0$19ce77cc@mpainter>, "Michael D. Painter"
 wrote:

+December 25th was a miscalculation of Dec 21st the real solstice.

??? December 25th was the date of the solstice after Julius Caesar's
institution of a Roman solar calendar.  The inaccuracy of that calendar
with respect to the tropical year (its 365.25 days per year versus the
more accurate (and non constant) 365.2421896698...) led to a shift in
the quarter dates (solstice and equinox) by ~2.8 days at the time of
the Nicene Council (which concerned itself indirectly with calendric
matters, in determining a rule -- dissociated from the Jewish luni-solar
calendar -- for celebrating the Paschal feast central to Christianity.
When Gregory promulgated the 16th century redress of this problem in the
Julian calendar, he also promulgated a return of ancient solstice and
equinox dates, but not a return to those at the time of Jesus, but to
those at the time of Nicea. [At the time of Jesus' birth, in other
words, and to be totally explicit, the winter solstice *was* near the
date of Dec. 25th; in Constantine's time it was near Dec. 21st.]

And yes, on some of your other points, there were other dates named
in Christian sources for the birth of Jesus before ever Dec. 25th was
mentioned (in any extant source), and obviously no common opinion of
Christians on this point.  The Dec. 25th date seems to have become a
principal one also in the time of Constantine, hence some 3+ centuries
after the fact.

People who are desperate to defend the "traditional" date really should
deal honestly with the fact that it is a relatively late tradition, that
won out over a number of competing (and to all appearances, earlier) ones.
Elaborate arguments that "defend" the Dec. 25th dating are pointless if
not offered with some honest treatment of the mere fact that it was *not*
"the date of Christmas" for several centuries after Christ's birth.
-- 
Michael L. Siemon                             mls@panix.com        

Awaslah jabberwok adek, rahang mengigit, kuku tangkap;
Awaslah pun burong jubjub, dan ferumi bandersenap.

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races