Christmas in Düsseldorf and RomeIt was at least as long ago as the lifetimes of such people as Copernicus or Galileo. They were both persecuted for having scientific beliefs, that is to say beliefs that were contrary to the teachings of the church. That is the key, I think. That their beliefs were contrary to the teachings of the church. So perhaps the question is better phrased with that in mind. When did the beliefs of science become the business of the church? When did the church and religion start messing with science's turf? I promise you that the ancient Greeks (the inventors of science) weren't sitting around worrying about whether the concept of all matter being composed of atoms was in line with the teachings of Zeus. Let's not forget that it was the Greeks who came up with the idea of the Earth going around the Sun in the first place, and that it was those same Greeks who believed that the Sun was carried across the sky by some powerful god in a fiery chariot. (The worst and most boring job of all the deity postings, let me tell you.) These two ideas are mutually contradictory but the first one is pragmatic and the second one is stupid, so all is well in the world of the Ancient Greeks - go with the idea that makes sense. So, in other words, it was the advent of Christianity that screwed everything up. Christianity being based on Judaism (who were actually not popular with the Greeks, what with their insistence on desecrating the human form) and both of them leading to Islam. The big three religions, as long as you don't count Buddhists and Hindus. And all three selling the idea of a singular god instead of multiple deities. Interesting... apparently the idea of a single all-powerful god is inconsistent with common-sense and scientific thinking. Someone should do a thesis on that. Nowadays we live in a world where science is all around us. The bible thumpers don't have any problems with teaching that the Earth goes around the Sun (that was the Catholics, after all) anymore but they sure have issues with ideas like evolution and the like. And these are the same people whose ranks are swollen with people claiming to have been abducted by aliens. Scientific thinking is clearly within their grasp if they believe in aliens, but independent thought is clearly not. In the ancient ancient world it was the priests themselves, the conveyers of religion, who were the holders of the mysteries of the universe. THEY were the scientists. They were the ones who knew their astronomy and could predict events in the heavens to dazzle their congregations and regulate the planting schedules and what-not. I guess the Christian / Muslim / Jewish "priests" can't keep up with scientific learning and resent that their gig has been taken over by a bunch of nerds. And god is the worst for it, I think. When did god become so small and religion no longer the key to the secrets of the universe? And that, children, is why we celebrate Christmas. Which reminds me of something I wrote more than three years ago... (Excuse me while I quote some Iain-wisdom from the distant past) The NetherWorld News Issue 216 - Zaterdag 26 December 2000 An oft-heard complaint from some is that the "Christ" is being taken out of Christmas (as in a reference to its being less about the religious significance and more about commerciality). But in a way that perhaps isn't so bad since December 25th really wasn't the birthday of Jesus anyway and was rather just a day settled upon as being the "official" day of observance by the Christian church (and later Emperor Constantine) a long long long time ago and was chosen (as many religious holidays are) because it was the day of an already existing pagan festival for something or other. As for the actual birthday of Christ... well I don't know really. But from the sound of the events surrounding it in the bible I would guess that it was certainly not in the area of mid-winter. (Like what? You may ask.) Well, first off in my brain is the whole reason that Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem in the first place. They were en route to Jerusalem to pay some taxes (as everyone had to) and ended up with nowhere to sleep (which is why they were in a stable... remember your Sunday School?). Taxes, presumably, to pay for Herod's extravagant construction projects in Jerusalem. Since this was an annual thing that people had to do one would assume that they would NOT chose to have it occur during mid-winter since it's cold then. Makes sense, right? (Duh Iain! It was in the Middle East. It's not cold there.) Au contraire. It WAS cold there. Two thousand years ago it snowed there regularly. Not to mention it was a lot more tree-filled and temperate then as well (and therefore also colder in winter). And even if it were like nowadays it STILL gets bloody cold out in the desert in the middle of December anyway. Especially cold for people used to that kind of weather on top of it and definitely NOT the season to ask everyone in the empire to come travelling to pay taxes. Secondly, the government of the time was the Romans who (as you probably don't remember from my Email of 2 years ago) had a vastly different calendar than we have today (although as you also don't remember from that Email our current days of all 12 months come from the Roman calendar). Originally the Roman calendar had only 10 months (March to December... "Dec" meaning ten, is this sounding familiar yet?) but since that was too short they added two extra months at the end of the year. Their year still started with March and even with the two extra months was STILL too short and needed an extra two months added every two years to put it (almost) in sync with the rotation of the Earth around the sun. Now I'm no calendar expert or anything here but neither were those people who decided on December 25th as Christ's birthday 1800 years ago. Maybe at the time they were but if they were all that insightful it wouldn't have taken another 1200 years for what was eventually called the "Gregorian" calendar to be introduced. Another thing to think about has to do with the whole shepherd thing in the story of Jesus's birth. Shepherds certainly wouldn't have been out in the fields with their flocks in the middle of winter. Anyway... the short of it is this. December 25th definitely isn't the actual date of Christ's birthday. If it was at the time it was in the wrong calendar anyway and therefore isn't anymore. Or even if the adjustment was made from the actual date at the time it was decided upon by the church then it is STILL wrong because their calendar was wrong as well. Not to mention the other indications that it was more likely in the Spring time (which would have been when taxation would have taken place). Then again, what we observe as birthdays in our culture isn't exactly right either if you agree (and I would) with those cultures who count a baby's birthday as being the day of conception as opposed to "pop out of the womb" day. The important thing is the observance I guess. And that, children, is why we celebrate Christmas when we do. Personally I do it for the turkey. 24 December 2003 Which brings us to 24 December 2003 and my preparation of a traditional Canadian Christmas dinner for a few unenlightened souls in Germany. It's my first attempt at making Christmas dinner, and certainly my first attempt at baking a turkey, unless the Christmas Dinner in a Box from Marks and Spencer counts. (I miss Marks and Spencer so much...) Here we see the unfortunate turkey swimming in butter and herbs just after being placed in the oven.  And here we see some of the brave German souls who are going to feast on Canadian food this evening.  What a lovely Christmas scene huh? A bowl of nuts on the table, Christmas decorations and advent candles, spices and ingredients for Christmas dinner scattered all around, turkey roasting in the oven, a chill in the air. Oh yah, and cigarettes, of course. It wouldn't be Christmas without cigarettes, right? This is Germany, after all.  With the turkey baking away there is no time to waste in getting ready all of the other dishes for the meal. Here you see me preparing an authentic Canadian dessert with cookies shipped all the way from Medicine Hat, Alberta. More of that later...  The turkey seems to be coming along nicely. The oven is a bit warm at the outsides though. We'll need more tin-foil.  Time to baste the turkey. Oh... wait a second... this German kitchen doesn't have one of those giant eye-droppers. That's trouble. I guess I'll have to do it with a big spoon.  This is Shy. He is a very thin and old cat that is always looking for food but (for some reason) the Germans won't feed him more than twice a day.  Oh oh... I think that Shy is pissed that we're taking his picture!  I wonder why the Germans won't feed this poor cat?!?  This poor cat. They won't feed it and apparently it is on the verge of death every moment of the day since it's like 16 years old or something.  Enough with the cat. Back to work. Here you see me peeling some apples to put in around the turkey.  Yet another wonderful Christmas scene. The table is set and ready for dinner. A fire is burning in the fireplace. The grandfather clock (complete with the incorrect time) looks down on everything.  Even the napkins are tied up with ribbons. Someone put a lot of effort into setting this table and decorating the house. This is all so alien to me. In my house we used to have Christmas dinner together (not to mention daily meals together) but somewhere along the line we just started going to the Medicine Hat Lodge for Christmas dinner instead. Not that I am complaining, however, since The Lodge did a better Christmas meal than any single family could ever accomplish on its own.  I've been noticing something about European Christmas Trees... there doesn't seem to be any of these super-expensive $600 blue fir tree types available anywhere. Just the plain old spiky pine tree models. I wonder why that is? Don't Europeans believe in spending ridiculous amounts of money on a Christmas Tree? On the opposite side of the issue, however, it does also seem that there are fewer artificial trees in evidence in Europe. That's a positive sign, I guess. Personally I think I believe in the pre-assembled, pre-decorated Christmas Tree. You know, the kind that comes out of the box and involves zero effort. This, along with my Christmas Dinner in a Box, makes for a nice lazy Christmas season.  Back to the kitchen again. We're really getting down to it now. Things are boiling on the stove. Empty plates are at the ready on the table. There are even some freshly baked Christmas Cookies that Maxi made  There is even some homemade cranberry sauce that I made from fresh cranberries.  And that is that... the Germans are ready to try their first Canadian Christmas Dinner.  In the foreground we have the mashed potatoes, a crucial ingredient in any meal, with the gravy at the left. Behind that we have the stuffing, which is StoveTop brand imported from North America. Then we have the carrots, cut in tiny pieces to satisfy the Germans (who apparently are afraid of large carrot pieces). And finally we have the turkey itself on a bed of roasted potatoes, apples and onions (with Maxi doing the carving since none of us had any idea how to carve a turkey). Stuffing was a new thing for the Germans. They had never had such a thing before and really liked it, not that I could take much credit for it since it was StoveTop that did all the work. "Perfect stuffing, every time..." Also take note of the sparkly stars and crescent moons covering the table. Nice touch from Maxi's mom to go with all her other wonderful decorating efforts.  And this is my Christmas Dinner. Surprisingly I didn't have that much turkey. I was more interested in potatoes and gravy and stuffing.  After dinner it was time for Maxi's brother to open his Christmas present to himself. A brand new keyboard.  I guess it must be pretty complicated if he has to resort to checking the instructions on how to use it.  And this is why I like having Christmas Dinner at the Medicine Hat Lodge. They do all the carving for you there and leave you with big juicy slices of turkeys with no bones to slow you down.  Everyone wants to play with the new keyboard. I am still eating.  Maxi throws some more logs onto the fire. I am still eating. I am a slow eater, ok?  After I am finished eating the Germans expect me to play some Christmas songs for them on the new keyboard. I don't really know any songs, but manage somehow to fake my way through a few of them.  Which brings us to dessert... Canadians should know this one. This is... ummm... I am actually not sure if it has a name. It's a bunch of Mr Christie Chocolate Wafers glued together by whipped cream (authentic Dream Whip from North America, in this case). A Mr Christie Chocolate Wafer Log?  After dessert it's time for some traditional German festivities which apparently involves playing cards.  An advantage of taking pictures of people whilst playing cards is that you can see what's in their hand. Sneaky huh?  This is kind of an artsy picture huh? This is what the cards see - the table-level view. 
  |