Christmas Forum!!!

[Rachel]

Awwww...just wanted to say what a nice Christmassy effect you have put on the forum (the change from folders to tree decorations ) I dunno if you have changed anything else, Firefox has the tendency to not show some things

Anyway, great work Igor!

[nath]

It's beautifuuuuuuuuuuuuullll !!!!
Each year, I feel the same amazement and like to discover the new little details...
The balls are spendid!!!!
Thanks Igor !

[midori]

I love it

[fanoff]

yes,from now i wish all the christians in here a merry christmas.and i wanna know if it means soomething other than jesus' birth

[Rachel]

It means food & presents!

[KillaQueen]

thank you, Igor!

[QueenBee]

Yeah, Igor is really doing a good job even with these small details..

[haku]

Originally Posted by fanoff

i wanna know if it means soomething other than jesus' birth

Jesus was not born on a 25th of December, nobody knows when Jesus was born. Before Christianity, Europeans used to celebrate the Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year), this was common in the Roman Empire but also among Celtic and Germanic tribes in northern Europe. Long after the Christianization of Europe, people continued to celebrate the Winter Solstice even though it was a pagan rite, the Christian Church realized that there was no way it would manage to forbid people to continue that celebration, so it was arbitrary declared that Jesus was born on the same date as the Winter Solstice, it was a way for the Christian Church to give a Christian face to a pagan celebration it was unable to ban.

Nowadays in Europe, Christmas is essentially a commercial celebration and the Christian religious meaning is lost on most people, in a way this celebration is going back to its true Winter Solstice origin by becoming essentially an occasion for families to gather to eat and drink a lot.

[fanoff]

Originally Posted by Amber

Jesus was not born on a 25th of December, nobody knows when Jesus was born. Before Christianity, Europeans used to celebrate the Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year), this was common in the Roman Empire but also among Celtic and Germanic tribes in northern Europe. Long after the Christianization of Europe, people continued to celebrate the Winter Solstice even though it was a pagan rite, the Christian Church realized that there was no way it would manage to forbid people to continue that celebration, so it was arbitrary declared that Jesus was born on the same date as the Winter Solstice, it was a way for the Christian Church to give a Christian face to a pagan celebration it was unable to ban.

Nowadays in Europe, Christmas is essentially a commercial celebration and the Christian religious meaning is lost on most people, in a way this celebration is going back to its true Winter Solstice origin by becoming essentially an occasion for families to gather to eat and drink a lot.

thanks for the info!

[forre]

Da! Igor rocks!
*runs away to give him some points*

[Igor]

Thanks

[spyretto]

Originally Posted by amber

Nowadays in Europe, Christmas is essentially a commercial celebration and the Christian religious meaning is lost on most people, in a way this celebration is going back to its true Winter Solstice origin by becoming essentially an occasion for families to gather to eat and drink a lot.

How true is that, I was putting the question forward to some of my Brit friends - as to why they celebrate Christmas so much then they must be very religious themselves; the reply was that it's just a time of the year when they buy the kids presents.
And It's true that the 25th of December does not coincide with Jesus Christ's birth, I was thinking exactly the same thing and in any case, having the biggest celebration of the year and a break in the middle of a harsh winter makes a lot of sense.
In countries of Europe where people are more traditionally religious it's Easter that is considered a more important holiday because it signifies events that are more important for Christianity and for humanity itself ( the life, teachings and miracles of Jesus, the trial, the passion, the crucifiction and ultimately the resurrection and ascension ) It's also more important for Christianity to celebrate the death of Jesus more than the birth - as we usually do when we celebrate the life of a person - because by his death Jesus spared humanity of death; let alone when Christmas happens to coincide with a pagan celebration, as you very well said.

[taturocks8]

Thanks igor I love it.

[taty994945]

.....

[Rachel]

Noooo don't say that!!! I was hoping he had forgot

[Lux]

LOL yeah..i kind of like it