Christmas
is so many things: a religious holiday and a secular holiday...
a time
to meditate on the highest goals and aspirations, such as peace and
charity, and a time to wallow in consumerism and ostentatious
display...
a time of giving and a time of getting...
a special treat for
kids and a great excuse for adults to party.
Its origins are not just
from the early Christian religion, but also from the Roman holiday
Saturnalia and other pagan traditions.
Santa
Claus may appear in a cozy, furry outfit with a sleigh and arctic
reindeer, in some places, but he may appear in a red-and-white
striped swimsuit, astride a surfboard, in others because Christmas
occurs in the summer in the Southern Hemisphere!
Anniversary
of important coronations
Charlemagne
was King of France in the 700s, and for decades he went about Europe
conquering countries and tribes and “converting” people by force
to Catholicism. He also helped Pope Leo II regain power in Rome. To
show his gratitude, the pope crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the
Romans during Christmas Day mass in 800 C.E. This coronation was
symbolic and did not add to new powers, but it did give a sort of
legitimacy to Charlemagne's rule over the lands he had conquered in
northern Italy.
Flash
forward 266 years and blip over to England, where William the
Conquerer was crowned king at Westminster Abbey, also on Christmas
Day. William had been the Duke of Normandy, in what is now northern
France, and he had invaded England and challenged its King Harold.
When William and his army defeated Harold's army at the Battle of
Hastings (and Harold was killed by an arrow), William became king and
Norman French became the language of nobility in England...for a
while.
Also on this date:
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