Lights are being switched on in main streets throughout the land; store windows are filled with tempting goodies, ad agencies work flat out to create irresistible TV impressions of their client’s products and soon forests of conifer will be cut down for private decoration as pantomimes offer new productions of Puss in Boots to Mother Goose. All of them contributing to the arrival of that great Christian festival of Christmas. Yet though it may come as a surprise, many of the traditions we take for granted as part of the Christmas celebration were taking place thousands of years before the birth of the Christ child.
The history of this feast dates back over 4000 years. Many of our present day Christmas traditions, the 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the Yule log, the giving of gifts, carollers going from house to house, the holiday feasts and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians. Their chief God was Marduk and throughout the winter it was believed that Marduk battled with the forces of chaos. With the coming of New Year the Mesopotamians held a celebration of thanks called Zagmuk which lasted for 12 days during which the king would go to the temple and swear his faithfulness to the God. Tradition required the king to die then return with Marduk to fight at his side, but to spare the King the Mesopotamians would chose a criminal as a mock king who was dressed and treated as the king until the end of the celebrations when he was stripped of his regal clothes and slain. Similar festivals called Sacaea were celebrated by the Babylonians and Persians who would change places with their slaves throughout the celebrations.
During the winter months in Scandinavia, the sun would completely disappear so after 35 days scouts were dispatched to mountain tops to watch for its return. At the first sign of light they would bring back the good news and a great festival of celebration called Yuletide would be held, with a feast served around a large fire burning the Yule log. Bonfires would also be lit to celebrate the return of the sun and people would tie apples to tree branches to remind them of the coming spring. The Romans celebrated the feast of Saturnalia in veneration of their God Saturn, decorating their houses with green trees lit with candles, feasting, giving gifts and changing places with slaves. It is said the Christian Christmas was invented to compete with the pagan celebrations held in December of which the 25th day was sacred in both Roman and Persian religions. But in 350 AD Julius I, Bishop of Rome settled the matter once and for all by proclaiming December 25th as the Christian observance of Christmas day. Although there is no historical record of the Christmas stocking it is said the tradition began in Europe where children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw, or sugar, near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then reward children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy.
So there it is, like so many other events we think we know so well, Christmas has been held a sacred feast day by other beliefs for thousands of years. Not that its history should mar our celebrations in any way, the fact its ancient origins are lost in the mists of time should if anything enhance them. For us it is the present celebration that is important and as such may I wish everyone a very happy Christmas.
Tuesday 15 November 2011
Thursday 4 August 2011
Time for people to use their new voice
However much we might find fault with democracy, Stalin's USSR, Hitler's Germany, Franco's Spain and Salazar's Portugal prove that totalitarianism ends in disaster for both right and left. But for democracy to function properly it needs the true voice of the people to be heard, and not the present form of lip service to it of one vote per person every five years. But that voice needs to be both active and informed or Churchill's quote ' The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter' will remain true and we will continue to be ruled by those who think they know best, pay little attention to our wishes and refer to us disdainfully as the general public. Up to now we have been powerless to change this system but today we have the possibility of being rescued by technology. The Internet together with all the new systems of communication have now empowered us with a voice that leaders ignore at their peril. But it is not only important we use them but be informed when we do so.
Unfortunately we are now faced with a new form of totalitarianism in the form of the EU. True we have representation by MEPs but few have much contact with their constituents who in turn usually have no idea who they are. While our own national members of parliament have increasingly less say in making legislation as most new laws are made by directives from Brussels. Here we come to the nub of the problem for these EU commissioners and their officials who decide on legislation that effects every nation within the EU are not even elected and therefore cannot be held to account by anyone.
But now this quaisi dictatorship is facing the nemesis of it’s politically created currency. The idea that euro interest rates would be viable for economies as diverse as Germany and Greece was a disaster in the making. Now the problem has spread to Ireland and Portugal with Spain and Italy waiting in the wings close behind. No matter how the EU diehards might huff and puff, if the euro is to survive it will be in a new two tier Europe divided between the stronger industrial northern countries and their weaker partners in the south.
The political elite ensured that few countries were given a vote on the creation of this new political union of Europe, despite pre-election pledges by all British parties to do so. With a gross cost to Britain of £65 billion every year at a time of cuts and hardship it is important we use the Internet and every other IT communication available to make our opinions known.
Unfortunately we are now faced with a new form of totalitarianism in the form of the EU. True we have representation by MEPs but few have much contact with their constituents who in turn usually have no idea who they are. While our own national members of parliament have increasingly less say in making legislation as most new laws are made by directives from Brussels. Here we come to the nub of the problem for these EU commissioners and their officials who decide on legislation that effects every nation within the EU are not even elected and therefore cannot be held to account by anyone.
But now this quaisi dictatorship is facing the nemesis of it’s politically created currency. The idea that euro interest rates would be viable for economies as diverse as Germany and Greece was a disaster in the making. Now the problem has spread to Ireland and Portugal with Spain and Italy waiting in the wings close behind. No matter how the EU diehards might huff and puff, if the euro is to survive it will be in a new two tier Europe divided between the stronger industrial northern countries and their weaker partners in the south.
The political elite ensured that few countries were given a vote on the creation of this new political union of Europe, despite pre-election pledges by all British parties to do so. With a gross cost to Britain of £65 billion every year at a time of cuts and hardship it is important we use the Internet and every other IT communication available to make our opinions known.
Monday 25 July 2011
Writing is a Strange Business
Writing is a strange business. For some, ideas and words flow with the steady reliability of a great river while others struggle for hours or even weeks in search of either. Yet more write in the manner of a small stream, quietly placid one moment then like rippling rapids galvanized into frantic activity the next. But the majority of writers, and I include myself amongst them, fall somewhere in between. We have our moments of writer’s block but know that if we force ourselves to sit down and write, no matter what rubbish results, the block will lift and the way ahead will become clear once more.
In a recent interview I was asked what I thought was the secret of successful writing. Taking the question to be one of financial success I replied that probably one of the most important aims was to find a particular genre that came naturally then stick with it. Build up a following of those who like crime, thrillers, adventure or love stories. One only has to browse down a library shelf to see the truth in this, yet for some reason, probably lack of mental discipline, I have never managed to follow my own advice. Instead finding myself gripped by some new topic, sitting down to scribble my views on the subject only to discover the idea for a book emerging as a result. Which was how Mr Christopher was conceived.
One of the major problems facing the World today is man made Global Warming, at least that’s what we are told by a large part of the scientific community. Personally I tend to doubt the man made part though accept that Global Warming may well be taking place. After all the earth has been cooling and warming for millions of years, a classic example being the Swiss town of Geneva, which would have been covered by ten thousand feet of ice had it been built before the last ice age. Anyway, after a long discussion on the subject I sat down at the computer to put my views on record at which point as often happens the storyteller in me took over. I decided to go with man made global warming because it offered the best scenario for emotions like anger, blame, guilt, fear and love which are so important when constructing a storyline to hold the reader’s attention.
Next came the two principle characters. I decided the girl should be young and attractive yet old enough to have a history. Enter Holly Daffodil, aged 28 an ex advertising executive recently widowed from older professor of entomology husband from the local university. As no one on earth had come up with a global warming solution I had to look elsewhere for the man if the book was to end with a message of hope. At which point a Chrysltot Thought Entity from deep space who had arrived in the solar system in error a million odd years before and funnelled down to earth to relapse into thought mode and review the situation entered the story. As the Chrysltot begins to return from thought mode strange things happen to Holly and her farmhouse, ranging from lawns being miraculously mowed to seeing her dead husband in the sitting room and her cat Mr Magnus starting to talk, but eventually he materializes in human form and they meet. But as Holly finds Chrysltot too difficult to pronounce she calls him Mr Christopher and the story begins.
In a recent interview I was asked what I thought was the secret of successful writing. Taking the question to be one of financial success I replied that probably one of the most important aims was to find a particular genre that came naturally then stick with it. Build up a following of those who like crime, thrillers, adventure or love stories. One only has to browse down a library shelf to see the truth in this, yet for some reason, probably lack of mental discipline, I have never managed to follow my own advice. Instead finding myself gripped by some new topic, sitting down to scribble my views on the subject only to discover the idea for a book emerging as a result. Which was how Mr Christopher was conceived.
One of the major problems facing the World today is man made Global Warming, at least that’s what we are told by a large part of the scientific community. Personally I tend to doubt the man made part though accept that Global Warming may well be taking place. After all the earth has been cooling and warming for millions of years, a classic example being the Swiss town of Geneva, which would have been covered by ten thousand feet of ice had it been built before the last ice age. Anyway, after a long discussion on the subject I sat down at the computer to put my views on record at which point as often happens the storyteller in me took over. I decided to go with man made global warming because it offered the best scenario for emotions like anger, blame, guilt, fear and love which are so important when constructing a storyline to hold the reader’s attention.
Next came the two principle characters. I decided the girl should be young and attractive yet old enough to have a history. Enter Holly Daffodil, aged 28 an ex advertising executive recently widowed from older professor of entomology husband from the local university. As no one on earth had come up with a global warming solution I had to look elsewhere for the man if the book was to end with a message of hope. At which point a Chrysltot Thought Entity from deep space who had arrived in the solar system in error a million odd years before and funnelled down to earth to relapse into thought mode and review the situation entered the story. As the Chrysltot begins to return from thought mode strange things happen to Holly and her farmhouse, ranging from lawns being miraculously mowed to seeing her dead husband in the sitting room and her cat Mr Magnus starting to talk, but eventually he materializes in human form and they meet. But as Holly finds Chrysltot too difficult to pronounce she calls him Mr Christopher and the story begins.
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