Oh its got to be Silent night for me.
A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.
Kevin, I'm a bit curious how you could ever link that song to Christmas!
Shane McGowan's/Pogues version is probably the worst I've ever heard!
Hear the author of the song sing it! Eric Bogle.
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease, with 100% fatality." R.D.Laing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxm1FlLSfe4
Seriously great vocals, suitably religious lyrics, the best styled afro ever and a wonderfully evocative harmony humming solo (1m 50s).
What more could you want?
"It makes my blood burn with metal energy..."
Nope, IIRC the celebration was shifted to coincide with Pagan midwinter festivals. I haven't looked it up, so the detail may be wrong, but thats the general gist of it.
Gist? Is that a word?
(edit)
Lifted this off a Christian site, doesn't mention the Pogues or Kirsty Macoll...so the info may be dodgy :
Was Jesus born on December 25, or in December at all? Although it’s not impossible, it seems unlikely. The Bible does not specify a date or month. One problem with December is that it would be unusual for shepherds to be “abiding in the field” at this cold time of year when fields were unproductive. The normal practice was to keep the flocks in the fields from Spring to Autumn. Also, winter would likely be an especially difficult time for pregnant Mary to travel the long distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem (70 miles).
“A more probable time would be late September, the time of the annual Feast of Tabernacles, when such travel was commonly accepted. Thus, it is rather commonly believed (though not certain) that Jesus’ birth was around the last of September. The conception of Christ, however, may have taken place in late December of the previous year. Our Christmas celebration may well be recognized as an honored observation of the incarnation of ‘the Word made flesh’ (John 1:14).”.........
......(The word “Christmas” means “Christ mass,” a special celebration of the Lord’s supper—called a mass in the Roman Catholic Church and a Communion supper in most Protestant churches.)
- Why do many Christians celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December, if that is not when he was born?
The date was chosen by the Roman Catholic Church. Because Rome dominated most of the “Christian” world for centuries, the date became tradition throughout most of Christendom.
The original significance of December 25 is that it was a well-known festival day celebrating the annual return of the sun. December 21 is the winter solstice (shortest day of the year and thus a key date on the calendar), and December 25 is the first day that ancients could clearly note that the days were definitely getting longer and the sunlight was returning.
So, why was December 25 chosen to remember Jesus Christ’s birth with a mass (or Communion supper)? Since no one knows the day of his birth, the Roman Catholic Church felt free to chose this date. The Church wished to replace the pagan festival with a Christian holy day (holiday). The psychology was that is easier to take away an unholy (but traditional) festival from the population, when you can replace it with a good one. Otherwise, the Church would have left a void where there was a long-standing tradition, and risked producing a discontented population and a rapid return to the old ways.
Last edited by northener; 17-Dec-09 at 10:09. Reason: Cut and pasting
Last edited by northener; 17-Dec-09 at 19:03.
Greg Lake's 'I Believe in Father Christmas' tops the Future Legends personal chart.
An absolute classic.
(By the way Merry Christmas one and all).
Mine is 'Mistletoe and Wine' by Sir Cliff.Legend.Or Sydney Devines 'All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth'.Its funny cos Sydney sung this in the sixties and his fans loved it.Now in this day,the fans don't just want their two front teeth but the whole set.
Fairytale in New York or Little Drummer Boy,either or,cannae choose which is ma favourite.
Their coming to take me away.....haha-hee-hee-ho-ho
Some very interesting facts emanate from the research by northener and Jox, but my question had a more simplistic meaning to it.
Metalattakk posted the Boney M song with the lyrics in the first verse that said "Marys boy child Jesus Christ was born on Christmas day"
What I meant by my question,....... was it called Christmas because Jesus was born on that day? A bit of a chicken and egg situation really.
A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.
Thanks for the link Metalattakk, it led me into an old video clip from a Johnny Cash Christmas show which I had watched many years ago, two great performances by him. Silent Night and Little Drummer Boy. (two of my favourite christmas songs)
What a singer he was, one of my all time favourites. Bonny M were great as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2FYz...eature=related
Last edited by Whitewater; 18-Dec-09 at 01:01.
Live the Dream, don't dream the life
Jingle Bells
'Christmas' is the celebration/marking (mass) of Christs' birth. The same as Martinmas (Nov 11th) is the celebration of St Martin. Both have Christian celebrations placed on top of Pagan celebration/events.
Christmas has already been covered. Martinmas places the celebration of St Martin squarely on top of the old agricultural start of Winter, that's the Church being canny and utilising pre-existing events again.
So the answer to the question is that Christmas doesn't mean the 25th of December in particular, it means the celebration of Christs' birth - which was officially placed on the 25th of Dec by the Church.
"Metalattakk posted the Boney M song with the lyrics in the first verse that said "Marys boy child Jesus Christ was born on Christmas day"
That's being somewhat anachronistic if you think about it. Of course Jesus Christ was born on his birthday...most people are. When else could he have been born?
It couldn't have been called Christmas until after his birth......
Last edited by northener; 18-Dec-09 at 10:30.
Further to Kevin's question, where did the 'Christ' come in? It's been many a year since I've read the Bible, however I don't recall anyone in it having a 'surname'. Jesus' parents are only referred to as Joseph and Mary so who decided on the Christ part?
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