happy chaos freedom machine

Not sure why the fact that Jesus’ day of birth was likely in June is considered to be some kind of shocking revelation.  Newsflash: “Christmas” is a co-opted pagan festival, not the birthday of some charismatic Jew with disputed paternity. You don’t have to look particularly far back to find pre-Christian traditions, either. What is amazing to me is how comprehensive the scrubbing out of any other tradition has been.

There is a fascinating story of how the anti-authoritarian roots of the season were subverted in the 18th century in The Battle for Christmas but the “tradition” of one cultural force rejiggering the previous culture’s myths for their own use is a very old one, one of the originals. Remember Kronos and the titans, the ancestors of the ancient Greek Olympian gods? The whole story of succession is what remains of the conquering of the people of the region by marauding invaders from the north, who became the Greeks.

This is what is meant by “history is written by the victors” — those who gain and seek to retain control of a given society set about rewiring the rituals and stories of those they dominate. Now that’s the Christmas spirit!