This page and the articles are works in progress.
Redeeming Christian Holy Days and Traditions
Holidays and Traditions Related to the date of Christmas
I am in the process of updating articles and splitting them into individual topics that are a bit more manageable to read.Annunciation/Christmas Cycle-Originally Tied to Passover
-- Annunciation-March 25 --resources-- Nativity of St. John the Baptist-June 24 (Annunciation + 3 months)
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
-- Visitation-July 2
-- St. Martin's Lent (November 11-December 24)
-- Advent
-- -- Dec. 17-23 Great "O" Antiphons
-- -- Cynewulf
-- -- O Sapientia: December 17th
-- -- O Adonai: December 18th
-- -- O Radix Jesse: December 19th
-- -- O Clavis David: December 20th
-- -- O Oriens: December 21
-- -- O Rex Gentium: December 22
-- -- O Emmanuel: December 23
-- St. Lucia's Day-December 13
-- The Righteous Die on their Birthday
-- Christmas-December 25 (Annunciation + 9 months)
-- Holy Innocents-December 28
-- Circumcision-January 1 (Christmas +8)
-- Holy Family-January 2
-- Epiphany January 6 (Christmas + 12)
-- Plough Monday--First Monday After Epiphany
-- Candlemas/Presentation-February 2nd (Christmas + 40)
Some Pagan days claimed as sources for the Christmas cycle
-- Sol Invictus
-- Juvenalia [Old article Juvenalia]
-- Saturnalia [Old article Saturnalia]
-- -- -- resources
-- -- Nativity Scenes-Sigillaria
-- Brumalia
-- -- Brumalia in the Roman Republic - Pre-Julian Latin Sources
-- -- Brumalia in the Roman Empire -- working document/research
-- -- Précis: Mazza, Roberta 2005 “Dalla Bruma ai Brumalia. Modelli di cristianizzazione tra Roma e Costantinopoli.”
-- -- Précis: Harl, Marguerite 1981 “La dénonciation des festivités profanes dans le discours épiscopal et monastique, en Orient chrétien, à la fin du IVe siècle”
-- Older documents with Brumalia research
-- -- resources
-- -- Ancient Sources: Statistics and Concordance
-- Misuse of the Church Fathers regarding paganism
-- Germanic Paganism and Yule
-- -- Alexander Tille's 1899 Christmas and Yule
-- -- -- Introduction
-- -- -- Chapters 1 "The Germanic Year" and 2 "The Beginning of the Anglo-Germanic Year"
-- -- -- Chapter 3 "The Feast of Martinmas"
-- -- -- Chapter 4 "Martinmas, and the Tri-Partition of the Year"
-- -- -- Chapter 5 "Martinmas, and the Dual Division of the Year"
-- -- -- Chapter 6 "Martinmas and Michaelmas"
-- -- -- Chapter 7 "Solstices and Equinoxes"
-- -- -- Chapter 8 "The Calends of January"
-- -- -- Chapter 9 "Tabula Fortunae"
-- -- -- Chapter 10 "The Nativity of Christ"
-- -- -- Chapter 11 "Beda, De Mensibus Anglorum"
-- -- -- Chapter 12 "Nativity, Christes Maess, and Christmas"
-- -- -- Chapter 13 "The Scandinavian Year"
-- -- -- Chapter 14 "Scandinavian Offering Tides"
-- -- -- Chapter 15 "Scandinavian Yule"
-- -- -- Chapter 16 "Results"
Some Traditions Associated With Christmas Purportedly Pagan
-- Gift Giving-Strenae - resources
-- Christmas Carols
-- Constantine and Christmas
-- History of Religions School Stuff
-- Christ Myth Theory -- [covering the following]
-- -- Jesus and Pagan child gods
-- -- resources on Akkadian words for "child"
-- -- Dionysus
-- -- Horus [virgin birth from Isis]
-- -- Mithra
-- -- Baldur
-- -- Quetzalcoatl
-- Greenery
-- -- Trees
-- -- Holly and Ivy
-- -- Mistletoe
-- Father Christmas
-- Santa
-- Krampus
-- Twelve-Days
-- Yule/Norse/Yule Log
-- Wild Hunt
Holy Days and Traditions Related to the date of Easter
-- Ash Wednesday, Ashes, and Lent-- (older article on Ash Wednesday)
-- Great Week-Passion Week-and Holy Week
-- Palmorum
-- Maundy Thursday
-- Good Friday
-- Easter - Resources
-- -- False goddess Eostre, Eggs, Bunny
-- -- Oestra
-- -- Nowruz, Persian New Year and Easter Eggs
-- -- Hare/Bunny
-- -- -- A brief note on the misuse of Bodleian Library Manuscript Bodl. 264 Folio 21
-- Rogate
-- Rogation Days
-- Pentecost
-- Trinity
Holy Days and Traditions Based on Calendar Date
-- February 14th, Valentine's Day - resources
-- March 19th, St. Joseph
-- April 30th Walpurgis Night - resources
-- -- And May Day
-- June 29th, Sts. Peter and Paul
-- August 15th, St. Mary
-- September 29th, St. Michael and All Angels
-- October 31-November 1
-- -- A Short Summary Article with Links to some of the following
-- --Halloween Document History
Covers Documented history of Samhain and All Saints' Day observances
-- --Samhain and The Mound of Hostages, Tara, Ireland
-- --Halloween Reformation
Covers Luther's posting of the 95 Theses on Oct 31, 2517
-- -- Samhain, Hallowe'en, and the Celts: A Timeline of Evidence
-- -- (Halloween Resources pt 1) outdated document.
-- -- All Saints' Day A short history of Halloween. Needs updating and better sources.
-- November 11th, St. Martin's Day
Other Topics and Movements
Calendars
-- Origins and Kinds
---Geminus of Rhodes' Notes on the Egyptian Calendar
-- Origins of Liturgical Year
General Traditions
-- Seasonal Alms Begging
-- Seasonal Fire Traditions
-- Misrule and Lord Of Misrule [Historic]
-- Mumming
-----Guising
-----Dances
-- Greenery
-- -- Various Holy Days
-- -- Green Man
-- Radical Reformed Protestantism
-- -- Puritans
-- -- Millerism
-- -- Campbelite
-- -- Modern Radical Reformed
-- Wicca and Neopaganism
-- -- origins of modern Witchraft and Paganism
-- -- The Burning Times
-- -- The Wheel of the Year: The Neopagan/Wiccan Calendar
-- -- Pan-Celtism
-- -- Misrule and Lord of Misrule [Wiccan & Neopagan]
-- The French Revolution and the Church
-- -- Modern historical revisionism against the Church
-- -- Populist revisionism (History Channel)
-- -- The Atheist/Academic Reducing/Rejection of Christianity
-- Paganism v Christ: Claims of Historical Origin and How To Test Them
A set of slides to accompany a lecture about Apologetics in general and Historical Apologetics in particular.
General Research and Resources Page
