Folklore is a fascinating thing; history is, in my opinion, even more so. Now, I know, I'm pagan, so my opinion probably doesn't matter, but having an historical perspective on one's religion, I believe, is important, and if you have sacred writings, well, you should read them, and not necessarily base things on the non-canonical traditions that crop up. Mind you, I also dislike neo-pagan writers who have no sense of classical history and really seem to think you can plug one Goddess into the same slot as another, because somehow with their fuzzy thinking, they're all the same. There's nothing irreligious about using critical thinking regarding religion, and in fact, in the view of many theologians, it can mean a deeper faith. Oh, and while we're at it, you do know that St. Nicholas was actually a Greek bishop in Myra, which was a city in what is now Turkey? The whole Santa Claus came much later, and had possible Norse pagan influences, as did the Christmas tree (which is why I feel justified by having a Yule tree), and which became popular in Protestant German homes in the 18th and 19th century as an alternative to the more Catholic Nativity scenes. That said, I think what matters most is that whatever faith or religion one belongs to, this is a time when we can come together to do good and help others, and it should be more about that rather than who can beat whom to a parking place at the mall and grab up the most consumable goods. So whatever holiday you're celebrating at this time of the year, hear's to light, laughter, and love in abundance.
Oh, and have you seen this?
The Real Face Of Jesus: Advances in forensic science reveal the most famous face in history.
It's trending right now on social media, but the Popular Mechanics article is date stamped from January of this year. The photo itself, done by Richard Neave using forensic anthropology to determine what someone from the area would have looked like at that time, says 'Popular Mechanics December 2002', so I'm not sure when this was done. Still, it was very interesting.From the first time Christian children settle into Sunday school classrooms, an image of Jesus Christ is etched into their minds. In North America he is most often depicted as being taller than his disciples, lean, with long, flowing, light brown hair, fair skin and light-colored eyes. Familiar though this image may be, it is inherently flawed. A person with these features and physical bearing would have looked very different from everyone else in the region where Jesus lived and ministered. Surely the authors of the Bible would have mentioned so stark a contrast.
On the contrary, according to the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane before the Crucifixion, Judas Iscariot had to indicate to the soldiers whom Jesus was because they could not tell him apart from his disciples. Further clouding the question of what Jesus looked like is the simple fact that nowhere in the New Testament is Jesus described, nor have any drawings of him ever been uncovered.
