December 25th Celebrating Sol Invictus

The movie is in the theaters as we speak, but few know that Invictus is the Roman god of war, a pagan holiday embraced by Constantine to bring good fortune to the Roman soldiers fighting invading Barbarians.

While Christians celebrate this day as the birth of Christ, the real date may not be what we think. Experts in history and religious archaeology believe that the true date of Christ's birth is sometime in March, 7 B.C. This may be a surprise to all of you who have a Manger under your tree at the moment.

However, I will not spoil the festivities but invite you not to feel so bad about the commercialization of the holiday. Gift giving can be a guilt driven detraction from the Lord's birthday celebration.

Since we all love Saint Nick ("Santa Claus") and the tradition of holiday gift giving, all us Christians could save our day of prayer and celebration for the later March date.

Until that day arrives just know that holiday gift giving is not really a commercial distraction from anything holy. History and archaeology think differently. Christmas day was established at the Council of Nicea for political reasons and is little more than a date set over 1,700 years ago.

(Photo above of an artifact depicting the Roman Pagan God of war Invictus)

Holiday's Bring Christmas Cheer

Last Sunday, my family and and I had our Fourth annual holiday party. The snow certainly was an inconvenience but the party was none-the-less a great success. Usually I do not share much on my blogs about my holiday endeavors, but this year was rather exceptionally special.

What made it special, was a summons by one of my guests. He came to me and said "nice touch Rock way to get the carolers here." Certainly I was perplexed, because I had no plan or organization of any carolers in my annual repertoire of holiday activities.

About a dozen of us left the warmth of my home, and braved the cold weather only to observe about twenty neighbors of mine standing on the corner, facing my home singing a holiday cheer.

The carolers, were uplifting, they brought a smile to us all, and they told a tale of the cold weather courage some people have in my neighborhood to overcome the grinches of Christmas.

This year the holiday season is strong with many united families who have put up lights, peppered their lawn with illuminated Santa's and reindeer, and done much creative work to amuse all of us.

My many thanks to all the light decors, and the carolers who made not just my night, and that of all my guests, a special one, but to every other family out there as well who has not yet enjoyed the spirit of the holiday as we did.

Milford Kicks Off The Holidays

Last night was keeping with our towns traditions as over one thousand spectators from around town arrived on the green for the annual lighting of the Christmas tree. The usual politicians were also in attendance as they are every year.

Santa was also there (with his elves) to take photos with our town kids. He heard several requests for presents and told me to tell you that he will be checking that naughty or nice list before making any commitments.

The festivities were also on the day after Thanksgiving. This day aptly known as Black Friday is the day shoppers go out and start the holiday spending spree. Some outlets like the ones at Clinton Crossing were open at midnight and kids from all over made the drive for the bargains.

The Black Friday/Christmas Tree lighting was a nice compliment to the great many retailers in Milford who are really looking forward to a profitable holiday season. Hopefully all those people who who engaged in their shopping activities are finding those pre-holiday sales and recession busting bargains that have been promised.

Till then see you all at the Mall and happy shopping days.

Christmas Santa Vs. Jesus.

This year while sending out my Christmas cards I carefully thought to find ones that said "Happy Holidays" as Christmas means different things to different people. We are a culture of diversity celebrating all aspects of tradition across all religions. These include Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and some I cannot even think of.

We try not to be insensitive to others, but in my search for the meaning of the holiday I asked several kids about what it was we celebrate on Christmas and many of them had not a clue. The only thing they had on their minds was Santa, the holiday carols, gifts, and decorations.

Quite sadly in the documentary "Supersize Me" more kids can positively ID Ronald McDonald than Jesus Christ, and of course the clouded meaning of the holiday does not stop there. Those who are vocal about Dec. 25Th being the celebration of the birth of Christ are told to take it out of school, city hall, and in essence to pack up any mangers and put them in the privacy of your own home. Those who are courageous enough to display mangers for public display are closely guarding them, especially after several vandals have damaged mangers at churches.

This year I must ask all of you who celebrate Christmas whose birthday do you think it is?