Coopernundrums

    Atheists get a bad rap in my opinion.  We like a good party just like the rest of the world.  We like Evergreen trees and wreaths and twinkly lights and delicious home cooked meals as much as all  the theists out there. We ge spanked pretty hard by the theists at this time of year.  I think we should start a movement to take back this holiday for ourselves.  After all, it belonged to us first.  In fact, one could make an intelligent argument that it was stolen from us.   Myself, personally,  I also have this nagging need to know why people do the things they do.  So here are some facts that you may or may not find interesting about the holiday lovingly referred to as “Christmas”. 

  – No one celebrated “Christmas” until over 300 years AFTER the death of the man called Jesus

    – December the 25th was originally a Holiday called the Natalis Solis Invicti, the Birth of the Unconquerable Sun celebrated by the Romans.  This feast, which took place just after the winter solstice of the Julian calendar, was in honor of the supposed sun god, Mithras.  You should note that the Romans were around at the same time as the man called Jesus.

    – According to Biblical evidence surrounding his birth, Jesus could not have born in the wintertime, but is thought to have born in the fall, perhaps October. The date of Christ’s birth is not known. The Gospels themselves indicate neither the day nor the month.

    - The practice of Christmas gift giving is not based on what was done by the Magi (or wise men). They did not arrive at the time of Jesus’ birth. The scriptures indicate that Jesus was a young child, possibly as much as two years old, living in a house by the time they arrived.

    – In an attempt persuade pagans to accept the Catholic faith, the church took the celebration of the Saturnalia and  a few other sundry pagan festivals, renamed it “Christ’s Mass,” and declared it “Christian.”

    – Other aspects of Christmas were adopted later from other Pagan sources, such as the Christmas tree, the mistletoe, and the wreath, which were originally used by Pagans as symbols of fertility and life.

    So, in reality it is the Christians, the Catholics in particular, that in essence hijacked the holiday of “Christmas” to persuade the rest of we pagans to join them. Thus we have the great “Christmas” caper.

Ever wonder what the seasons are like in the grand ole state of Tennessee? 

     Tennessee’s climate varies from east to west, but it is generally considered to be moderate with four distinct seasons. The budding of wildflowers and dogwoods occurs in spring and honeysuckles welcome summer. Fall foliage and crisp air make Tennessee autumns memorable and the wintry weather brings mild flurries of snowfall.

     The driest time of the year is the fall and most precipitation occurs in winter and early spring. Northeastern Tennessee tends to experience more snowfall in the winter, due to its lower temperatures and mountain terrain. Winters are mild with the average temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The summer months are a prime time for outdoor recreation, with an average temperature of 83 degrees Fahrenheit.

     I lifted most of that text straight off the Tennessee Tourisms website. Being a native Tennessean, I agree with most of it. Since the gist is to entice you to live here in the state they leave out most of what I am about to tell you.

     The winters in Tennessee are GREY, DREARY and WET! Most of the average 50 inches of precipitation occurs from the beginning of winter to the early spring. Christmas here is usually wet and mushy. NOAA the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a federal agency focused on the condition of the oceans and the atmosphere. According to them we get, on average, 10 inches of snowfall per year. I can tell you it’s RARELY that much and we are super lucky if we get more than 2 or 3 inches of snow in a winter.

     Don’t get me wrong I love Living in TN it’s a marvelous state with a lot to offer in terms of the people and sights but man oh man, if you are easily depressed stay away from here in the winter!

     Ever wonder what that weird woven basket thing in the shape of a cone or horn that you see around  thanksgiving is called?  Well, wonder no more. The cornucopia (Latin: Cornu Copiae) is a symbol of food and abundance dating back to the 5th century BC, also referred to as horn of plenty, Horn of Amalthea, and harvest cone.

     In Greek mythology, Amalthea was a goat who raised Zeus on her breast milk. When her horn was accidentally broken off by Zeus while playing together, this changed Amalthea into a unicorn with 17 whiskers. The god Zeus, in remorse, gave her back her horn. The horn then had supernatural powers which would give person in possession of it whatever he or she wished for. This gave rise to the legend of the cornucopia. The original depictions were of the goat’s horn filled with fruits and flowers: deities, especially Fortuna, was depicted with the horn of plenty. The cornucopia was also a symbol for a woman’s fertility.

     In modern depiction, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket typically filled with various kinds of festive fruit and vegetables. In North America, the cornucopia has come to be associated with Thanksgiving and the harvest.

     Cornucopia is also the name of Whistler’s annual Wine and Food celebration held in November.

     Two cornucopias are seen in the flag and state seal of Idaho. There is also one seen in the state seal of North Carolina, the state seal of New Jersey and the coat of arms of Peru.