Christmas, December 25th, a party that knows no bounds. The whole world celebrates an anniversary that is now not only religious but is a secular and collective rite from one end of the planet. For Catholics, Christmas is the birth of a child, a son of God, who comes to earth to change the fate of the world for the better. For those who do not believe, Christmas is a celebration of greetings, gifts, decorated houses, lights and the desire to be together. Everything comes from ancient myths and rites linked to the dawn of human history.
Christmas, a holiday celebrated all over the world
Every year, however, we always try to rediscover the authentic meaning of Christmas, beyond consumerism and formalisms. For those who want to go beyond religious faith, the meaning of Christmas is linked to ancient solstice festivals which were intended to propitiate the fertility of the earth. The hope was that the spring and summer harvests were plentiful after the cold and long winter. Solstice festivals were connected since ancient times with the cult of the sun and new life. The cult of the "Sol invictus" it can be considered as the forerunner of Christmas. According to the peoples of the East, where the cult was born, the coming of the Sun was represented by the myth of a divine child given birth to a young woman. This was the triumph of light over darkness which was already celebrated in ancient times in the days close to winter solstice.
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti
The cult of the Sun continues even in Roman times and is concretized in the cult of the god Mithras. By virtue of this the emperor Aureliano establishes the date of December 25th as party of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, dedicated to the birth of the sun. From the cult of the Romans was born the Christian one that fixed for December 25 the birth of baby Jesus, the king of kings who with his sacrifice will redeem humanity.
Christmas
On the psychological level we can well say that Christmas is the feast of rebirth, of renewal. Among the 'darkness' of life, among the daily problems, the light of hope, of trust in the future, makes room. Both lay people and believers recognize in this celebration a richness of values that cannot and must not stop at exteriority and materiality. Christmas makes you think and think, it makes you remember something else, it makes you feel the importance of empathy and sharing with the real context in which we live. So Merry Christmas to the whole world: Joyeux Noël, Feliz Navidad, Frohe Weihnachten, Merry Christmas from italiani.it.
Leave a comment (0)