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The modern Icelandic festival of Þorrablót is sometimes considered a "pagan holiday" due to folk etymology with the name of the god Thor. [5] The name, while historically attested, is derived from Þorri which is not explicitly linked to Thor, instead being the name of a month in the historic Icelandic calendar and a legendary Finnish king.
A late fourth-century sermon by Saint Augustine explains why the winter solstice was a fitting day to celebrate Christ's birth: "Hence it is that He was born on the day which is the shortest in our earthly reckoning and from which subsequent days begin to increase in length.
Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of European origin.
Krampus actually predates Christmas—it is of pagan origin, according to History, appearing in early celebrations of the winter solstice—but since then, he has become a Christmas icon ...
Modern pagan observances are based to varying degrees on folk traditions, regardless of the historical practices of world civilizations. [1] British neopagans popularized the Wheel of the Year in the mid-20th century, [ 2 ] combining the four solar events (" quarter days ") marked by many European peoples, with the four midpoint festivals ...
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, it does the soul good to slow down and remind yourself what the holiday is really about. One way to do that is by reading Christmas Bible verses.
The Christmas tree is considered by some as Christianisation of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan tree worship; [26] according to eighth-century biographer Æddi Stephanus, Saint Boniface (634–709), who was a missionary in Germany, took an axe to ...
In France, the "Fête de la Saint-Jean" (feast of St John), traditionally celebrated with bonfires (le feu de la Saint-Jean) that are reminiscent of Midsummer's pagan rituals, is a Catholic festivity in celebration of Saint John the Baptist. It takes place on June 24, (St John's day). Nowadays it is seldom celebrated.