Today I heard an intriguing story on the radio. When Father Christmas was 'executed'. The Catholic cathedral of Dijon was witness and assassin to this in 1950. They, the canons, took an effigy of Father Christmas, hung him and then burnt him in front of many children.
Why you may ask: Perhaps it is because Catholicism is a strict religion in fear of the pagan element of this festival. For the return of the sun was part of the celebration. Nowadays the festival it is just a hodge-podge of commercialism, with children writing lists of what they want. But do the children know that in Rome round the time of Saturnalia, children were offered as sacrifices for a good harvest year. So maybe they have every right to demand compensation.
The story told this morning finished with the happy note, that the town council would have none of this nonsense, and declared that Father Christmas would address the children at 6 0 clock from the roof of the Town Council building. France is of course a secular country, but it is interesting to see how stories weave themselves round each other.
Taken from;
All a bit macabre and gruesome. As I have no religion (I am a Humanist) I don't celebrate Christmas in that sense but I do love the 'celebrtion' element in so far as children are concerned. It is all rather sad this year with all this new variant around - but we just have to soldier on. Enjoy your time with the young people around.
ReplyDeleteHistory is on the whole macabre and gruesome because that what people like;) At the moment I am conducting a not very good lesson in knitting and crochet for one granddaughter, we haven't got beyond the foundation row yet!
ReplyDelete