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by Fred C. Wilson III
December 25, 2010
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
-St. Luke’s Gospel-
The Origins of Christmas
Nobody knows exactly when Jesus Christ was born. Some historians say early spring, mid-July, or September. Many theologians agree that December 25th was the chosen date for celebration to nullify the pre-existing pagan winter solstice celebration of Saturnalia. In ancient times the Roman holiday consisted of marathon bacchanals (binge drinking), orgies (sex parties), and ‘eat-em’-outs’ (binge eating).
Back then these amusements were considered good healthy fun for the whole family. The Church brought all that good stuff to an abrupt halt. December 25th was designated as the day to celebrate Our Savior though we moderns try to celebrate both Saturnalia and Christmas hence the secularity surrounding the current end of the calendar year festivities. Another reason was to give adequate spacing between Christmas and the premier feast of Easter.
NOEL IDEAS
The Philippines is known as the Land of Fiestas. People will hoard money for years just to blow it all during fiestas. This is especially true at Christmas. Filipinos formally start Christmas on December 16th with the nine traditional Simbang Gabi predawn Liturgies though Yule decorations are usually up by mid-November. Like the rest of the holiday season Christmas closes on Epiphany the first Sunday of the New Year.
MORE CHRISTMAS RECIPES
Reader you may remember last year when I gave you some Yule Tide recipes; here’s two easy to make desserts that’s good for the whole year. CHURROS are the Spanish name of a shaggy coated sheep. You prepare them right these crullers look as shaggy as the sheep it’s named after.
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cooking:
* Heat 1 to 1 1/2 inches of oil to 360 degrees F in fry pan.
* Heat water, butter and salt to rolling boil in 3 quart saucepan; stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute; remove from heat.
* Beat in your eggs until smooth.
* Spoon mixture into star tipped cake decorators’ tube. Squeeze 4 inch strips of dough into hot oil. Fry 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes on each side; drain. Mix sugar and cinnamon; roll crullers in sugar (Source: www.timesoftheinternet.com)
Anybody who’s been back home has more than likely dined at one of the many Dulcinea restaurants. Churros dipped in TSUKOLATE (Hot Chocolate) are their signature dessert.
Ingredients:
One 18.6-ounce pack chocolate
containing 6 tablets (Ibarra the recommended brand) can be purchased at Hispanic food stores).
6 cups milk
6 egg yolks
Cooking:
* Cut chocolate tablets into small pieces.
* Boil the milk and add all the chocolate.
* Stir constantly till chocolate is liquified.
* Beat the egg yolks and them to the pot.
* Beat the whole mixture until frothy.
* Serve!
To properly enjoy this delectable dish, diners usually dip sticks of churros into small cups of steaming hot chocolate. (Source: www.kumain.com)
THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS
Today’s secularists take a ‘winner take all attitude’ in their attacks on Christmas. In the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia the idea of a national religious holiday is ideologically opposed to them in their efforts to relegate Christianity to the trash bin of world history. So far they’re doing a good job. In the U.S. well educated white folks hide behind their supposed allegiance to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in their efforts to erase not only Christmas but Christianity from American life. We are not alone; case in point: Europe’s rabid secularism was the only thing needed for Islam to fill that continent’s religious void. You see Reader Christianity, Catholicism in particular, is seen as the ‘embarrassment’ to the ‘educated’ West.
What do most Christians do in defense of our holy religion against defamation, not a damn thing. This reminds me of the Negro spiritual the part that goes, ‘and He never said a mumbling word.’ This further draws my mind to the fat German Army Sergeant Shultz character in the old TV show ‘Hogan’s Heroes’ whose famous line was ‘I see nothing.’ Western Christians generally take the familiar head in-sand-approach in their profession of Faith. Secularist playwright Oscar Wilde was purported to have said, ‘The last time Christians were the light of the world was at the Burning of Rome.’ Emperor Nero used early Believers as human torches to light up the streets of ancient Rome; that’s a very sad commentary.
Pope St. Pius X once made all clerics and teachers at Catholic schools take a solemn oath against Modernism. Modernism doesn’t mean that Christians are to reject scientific and contemporary thought. In short the oath implied that the regular guardians of the deposit of Faith shouldn’t get too high and mighty and attribute all human progress to them and forget GOD. Here’s a slice from that oath:
‘…Finally, I declare that I am completely opposed to the error of the modernists who hold that there is nothing divine in sacred tradition; or what is far worse, say that there is, but in a pantheistic sense, with the result that there would remain nothing but this plain simple fact-one to be put on a par with the ordinary facts of history-the fact, namely, that a group of men by their own labor, skill, and talent have continued through subsequent ages a school begun by Christ and his apostles…” Go to: The Oath against Modernism to read the entire thing.
The list of anti-Christmas antics perpetrated by the secularists is enormous. For lack of space I can’t cite my personal encounters with the enemies of the Crib and Cross like I did in former articles. Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights lists ‘tons’ of ‘em. Reader that’s all; next we do New Years! GOD bless you and your loved ones, go to church on Christmas, and don’t drink too much like I did the Sunday before Christmas which is why I submitted this article…late. Have a very Merry Christmas!