BS: How Much of this is true?

Subject: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: GUEST,skeptical
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 04:01 PM

Some one on another forum I go to once in a while posted this and I was wondering how much of it is true, and how much of it is revisionist crap.

The celebration of Christmas has never been the same for Blacks and whites, has never been in harmony with the actual birth of Jesus, and was even used as a method to keep Blacks enslaved on Southern plantations.

Throughout history, almost every agricultural community around the world engaged in some sort of festive celebration toward the end of each year. Some, as in Europe, were related to the winter solstice, but most were related to the period of leisure and abundance following the harvesting of crops around late December and were intended to thank the Creator for bestowing the abundant bounty before winter set in.

During Europe's Middle Ages rulers, trying to instill Christian principles into the peasantry, attempted to infuse a religious component -- the birth of Christ -- into their well-established and debaucherous winter solstice celebrations. This, they hoped, would aid in the transition they envisioned for Europeans from paganism to Christianity, even though they were well aware of the fact that Jesus was born more than three months earlier in the year. They also knew that Nimrod, the wicked one who lived to undermine the civilization of Moses, was born on December 25th. The wise could secretly maintain their worship of him while the masses observed the "birth" of Jesus This scheme, hatched by Europe's clergy, inspired the gluttonous celebrations we now call Christmas.

Saint Nicholas, the racist

In European Christian tradition, Saint Nicholas occupied several lofty positions. He was patron saint of school children, shipping, and pawnbrokers, among other titles. Born in the fourth century in what is now Turkey, he was reputed to have "stood upright in his first bath." Whether this can be read as an extraordinary physical feat of a blessed newborn or as evidence of the infrequency of bathing among Europeans is a matter of conjecture. But young Nicholas made his mark in Christian folklore in this way and would later find his way into American culture as Santa Claus -- a mispronunciation of Saint Nicholas. Despite his now reformed and saintly image, a macabre legend developed around the saint which included a story that he raised from the dead three dismembered children. As the story goes, an innkeeper killed the boys and cut up their bodies, hiding the pieces in salt barrels, intending to sell their remains as pickled pork. Nicholas happened upon the scene, sensed the crime and reassembled the bodies from the brine.

A twisted image of the Black Man entered into the celebration of Christmas within this European folklore. Saint Nicholas's function in the church was to render judgment as to the goodness or evil in the children in his domain He would visit children and quiz them on church lessons, rewarding them with candy, gifts, or chastising them with sticks or pieces of coal. According to their racist depiction, the saint was accompanied by a servant named "Black Pete," a "hairy, chained, horned, blackened, devilish monster...clutching a gaping sack in his hairy claws." Black Pete's job was to glare at the children while the saint drilled the youths in Christian verse. Every now and then "Black Pete" "flashed his enormous canines and leaped, growling toward the frightened children, threatening to beat them with his rod." Nicholas warned the bad children that this "Black Pete" would stuff transgressors into his sack only to be released at the next Christmas.

Local European traditions shaped Saint Nicholas from this fear-inspiring overlord to a magnanimous bearer of gifts. But the practice of giving gifts in the name of Saint Nicholas was frowned upon by cleric Martin Luther who then introduced Christkindlein -- a messenger of Christ -- as the gift-bringer. Again, through mispronunciation, Christkindlein came to be known as Kris Kringle.

Though "Black Pete" didn't make the trans-Atlantic crossing to the "New World" with our African forbears, his boss Saint Nicholas and Kris Kringle did. It is commonly believed that Santa Claus reached America in Dutch form, a less daunting figure laden with gifts for the good. But other Christmas practices and pagan customs did make the voyage with the Europeans. Colonial Massachusetts Puritan Cotton Mather put it this way in 1712: "[T]he Feast of Christ's Nativity is spent in Reveling, Dicing, Carding, Masking, and in all Licentious Liberty...by Mad Mirth, by long Eating, by hard Drinking, by lewd Gaming, by rude Reveling..."

Often people blackened their faces or disguised themselves as animals or cross-dressed, presumably to maintain anonymity for much ruder acts. Similar accounts of the early Christmases abound. Reverend Henry Bourne decried the transvestitism, the "Uncleanness and Debauchery," as well as rampant unlawful fornication or "chambering." Indeed, there was a marked increase in the number of births in the months of September and October -- meaning that sexual activity peaked during the Christmas season. Ultimately, the Puritans of early Massachusetts actually outlawed the celebration of Christmas in their settlement in 1659 and fined those who skipped work or celebrated in any way 5 shillings. They also outlawed the days Thursday and Saturday (the names, that is), because of their pagan origins: Thursday meaning "Thors" day, and Saturday, "Saturn's day." The Christmas holiday was reinstated in 1681 but not before it was roundly condemned as blasphemous and far-removed from the way of Jesus.

Christmas and Plantation Slavery

The Plantation South had its own reasons for promoting the Christmas myth. Slavery came under attack from abolitionists of various motivations. The grand vision of the idyllic garden with the happy slaves was developed in response to this movement and Christmas became central to this myth. The reality faced daily by the enslaved Blacks contrasted sharply with this account. Traditionally, Christmas was a time when planters recorded their year's profits and losses and hired or leased out slaves for the next year. As in other agricultural economies, this is also when the end of harvesting idled the workers. The brutality of the planters temporarily receded and the enslaved Blacks came to regard these times as their only respite from the grueling plantation life.

In many places throughout the South they created their own distinctive traditions known by various related names including John Canoeing, John Kunering, Koonering, or other related terms. The festivities included singing, socializing, dancing, feasting, and dressing up in the white man's cast-off clothes. The permission granted Blacks for this annual merrymaking had more devious designs, according to former slaves Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington. Fearful of insurrection and discontent, the planters often forced the slaves to drink heavily during Christmas in maintenance of a drunken stupor. Recalled Douglass, "not to be drunk during the holidays was disgraceful." Said one Georgia observer: "It would make a northern abolitionist change his sentiments in reference to slavery could he see as I have seen the jollity & mirth of the black population during the Christmas holidays. Never have I seen any class of people who appeared to enjoy more than do these negroes...." This also fit in well with the practice of Christianizing" the Africans which in reality had nothing to do with the empowering truth of Jesus, and everything to do with preparing the free African mind to accept lifelong bondage.

The expectation of gifts or rewards on Christmas led to a crisis after the Civil War when it was believed that the 40 acres and a mule would be distributed among the "x-slaves" on Christmas Day. Gen. O. O. Howard (for whom Howard University is named) mounted an effort to dispel this notion among the Blacks of the South lest the ruse might trigger mass revolt. His officers of the Freedman's Bureau ordered Blacks not to expect anything on Christmas and to instead make a work contract with their former masters. Nothing was to change on that Christmas or any other.

Just as the early Christian leaders bargained with the truth of the birth of Christ, the burgeoning merchant class in America positioned themselves to make Christmas a bonanza of mass marketing, consumption and boundless profits and to make Santa Claus the department store spokesperson for unrestrained consumerism. Between 1880 and 1920, advertisers began to encourage the purchase of manufactured gifts instead of homemade gifts. Wrapping paper and Christmas cards were introduced and the ritual of removing price tags became customary. Christmas bonuses "Christmas Club" bank accounts all promoted the holiday as the season of boundless spending. As the Hon. Elijah Muhammad wrote: "The merchants' pockets are made fat for Christmas -- the tobacco factories, the beer and whisky traffic, and wine. There is no holy worship on that day for [Jesus]." (Our Saviour Has Arrived, pp. 173-81)

Black people never truly accepted the contrived infusion of a "Christian" element in this crass celebration of mass consumption and historical evil. Their Jesus has been removed entirely and His gifts to humanity have been bargained away and replaced by the red-suited, obese deity of all that is holy in white America.

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: Amos
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 04:05 PM

You're going to have to do your own research on this one, I suspect. Notice that whoever is offering all these historical sweeping conclusions is not providing a lot of reference for his sources of data.

A

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: curmudgeon
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 04:18 PM

Perchance, ths is the Troll of Christmas Past?

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 04:24 PM

I'd call it irrelevant flannel rather than revisionist crap.

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 05:54 PM

Some of this has been discussed before. See my comments here.

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 06:03 PM

Schwartz Pieter always accompanied St. Nicholas to my grandparents house when I was small. He wasn't black or anything, that was simply the name we knew him by (and he, like Nick, looked a LOT like my uncles). Peter, or Black Peter (and NEVER "Pete"), always carried switches for bad little children. They were never used; we always received candies and small toys.

I agree with Kevin and Amos.

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 06:19 PM

A good deal of it is true or partially true, but I'm not going to waste my time answering it point by point.

The Christians did indeed graft Christianity onto preceding Solstice festivals, and moved Jesus' birthdate to that time of year. So? Most religions have been built partially or even largely upon the structure of preceding religions. What's the big deal?

If you want to get upset about something, get upset about the crass commercialization of what was once a holy religious festival, a sacred harvest festival, and a sacred return of the sun/Son festival. Every culture recognized the Solstice as a vitally important time. The return of the sun (the Light of the World) is symbolically identical with the return of the Son (Jesus "the Light of the World") in his resurrection from death and the darkness of the tomb. The Solstice is on Dec 22nd. The fact that the fictional birthdate of Jesus was arbitrarily assigned by the early Church to the 25th of Dec...3 days later...Christmas Day...is indicative of the period of 3 days he spent in the tomb.

All existence is One, so it is not surprising that Nature mirrors and demonstrates great spiritual forces in action.

And if you don't believe that, well then, just celebrate the Solstice itself, without which Spring would never come. That's something pretty special, whether or not you call yourself a Christian.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: Kim C
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 06:57 PM

I have an idea. Let's enjoy the holidays, whether it's Christmas or Hanukkah or the Solstice or Kwanzaa or whatever, reflect upon our accomplishments of the past year, review our goals for the upcoming year, and have fun in the company of friends and family. How about that?

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: Amos
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 07:06 PM

Yayyyyyyy!


A

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: GUEST,Tiny Tim
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 07:07 PM

GOD BLESS US.... EVERYONE

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 09:32 PM

I thought there was a local rule against copying & pasting LONNNNGGG articles? Especially as a troll.

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: kendall
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 09:49 PM

Reason and logic are religion's worst enemies.

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 12:54 AM

There isn't a whole lot to do on a farm at the end of December or the beginning of January, unless you're raising sugar, then it's harvest time. If you're growing tobacco, harvest has just ended, and celebration is in order.
The early church converted the Roman festival of Saturnalia, when no work was done, into the twelve days of Christmas, when peasants partied from 12/25 to 1/6. (Only December wasn't the twelfth month then, and January wasn't the first.)   
It would make sense that slaveowners would allow their slaves that time off.
Booker T. Washington wrote about free Blacks who continued the custom of not working during the Christmas season. Washington harped more or less continuously on the indolence of African Americans.

In central Pennsylvania the Belsnickle (I may not have spelled that right.) turns up to frighten bad children. I don't know what color he is.
The Hopi Kachina have a creature called the oger, who appears to frighten naughty children. I don't know what his color is either.

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: mack/misophist
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 11:24 AM

If you had asked one or two questions, answers might have been appropriate. But for that many, do your own research.

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 10:42 PM

so a guest asks what he thoughts was a legitimate question about history and folklore surrounding christmas and basically gets called a troll (because he is a guest) and told to fuck off. Well This just goes to show the lack of standards on this board in the last couple of years or so. Boy, they have sunk even lower than I ever thought imaginable. Of course this failed experiment of a site helped fan the egos of many here inflating their already overlarge heads so much, they seem no longer able to extract them from their respective anuses.

slainte.

Subject: RE: BS: How Much of this is true?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 10:54 PM

Reason and logic are the worst enemies of a party-based political system too, Kendall. :-)

Slainte, some very angry GUEST is posting as you for some reason. Odd...