"Jangchub" wrote in message

On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 07:55:27 -0800, Persephone wrote:

On 28 Dec 2005 15:29:30 -0800, "Chuckie"
wrote:

The winter soltise is a druid holiday
Chuckie in the frozen north, zone 5

Wrongie, Chuckie. The Winter Solstice
is an astronomical phenomenon:
In layman's terms, the day is at its shortest.

What different cultures, including the Druids,
do at the Solstice is another matter.

Persephone


And to add further to the Winter Solstice (which was my 50th
birthday)

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

On December 21st, the sun reaches its nadir on this travels
across
Earth's horizons, an event we call the Winter Solstice. The Sun
appears to hesitate for the next three days before beginning
its
six-month return to zenith on June 21st, which we call the
Summer
Solstice.

In ancient times it was believed that the Sun began is ascent
exactly at midnight three days after the Solstice. Though there
were no clocks in those days, our ancestor' method of
calculating
that precise moment was accurate. The same method is not quite
as
accurate today, due to the slight shift in the heavenly bodies.
This ancient method is as follows:

At nightfall on December 24th, in the eastern sky you will see
three
prominent stars. These are the belt of the constellation of
Orion.
These stars are often called the Three Wise Magicians, or the
Three
Kings of the Orient. If you imagine a straight line through
these
stars towards the east, you will come to a point on the horizon
that
the Egyptians, in 2000BCE called "Aptah", which means "crib or
cradle". It is exactly at this point that in a very short time
the
brightest star in the winter sky, Sirius, will appear. The
place of
Sirius' emergence marks the exact spot where the Sun will make
its
appearance at dawn.

The birth place of the newborn Sun is in the foreground of the
constellation of Virgo, the Virgin. The constellation of
Taurus, the
Bull, and Capricorn, the Goat, are situated close by, which is
why
this area of the sky was called "the Stable". So we have
before us
in the winter sky the entire nativity scene: the three kings of
the
Orient pointing to a star that marks the precise birthplace of
the
infant God-King, born of a virgin in a celestial stable.

The ancients charted the travel of the star Sirius as it moved
westward. At the mid-point of its travels, it marks the rebirth
of
the night Sun at midnight of December 25th, the beginning of
many
gay festivities and celebration, then just like today.

What gay festivals?


To our ancestors this meant the Sun had won out over Old Man
Winter, that
all life would be saved by its warm, life-giving rays. The Sun
had
experienced death for three days, but on December 25th it was
resurrected, reborn on Natalis Solis Invicti, "The Birth of the
Unconquered Sun." "Christ's Mass or Christmas", really means
"Sun's
Mass." The title Christ may be traced to the Chaldean "Chris" a
name of the Sun. Its Hebrew equivalent, "Heres" occurs several
times in the Old Testament where it is always translated as
"Sun".

Solar theology has inspired some religions to bolster their own
deities by borrowing from the power of the Sun, and much
confusion
exists because of this practice. However, anyone can look for
themselves: on a December midnight clear, the truth is
revealed. To
know that the Sun will bring us warmed, green crops, and
renewed
life is certainly grounds for rejoicing.

Blessings to all

--


Travis in Shoreline Washington