Hamed Saber
Happy Christian Holidays
This is a gift just for you, and a kiss as an attachment ;)
Last night, dear Sepideh informed me of some interesting history about the Christmas, and the relation between Christmas and Yalda (the ancient Persian festival).
I just copy some paragraphs from the Wiki encyclopedia here:
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The festival was considered extremely important in pre-Islamic Iran and continues to be celebrated to this day, for a period of more than 6000 years.
Some historians believe that the festival spread to Europe through contacts between the Roman and Persian empires and was eventually replaced by Christmas; a theory that accounts for the celebration of Christmas on 25 December, rather than the later date of January 6 that is believed to be the correct date of birth of Christ by eastern orthodox church.
Yalda, a Syriac word (ܝܠܕܐ) imported into the Persian language by the Syriac Christians means birth (tavalod and meelaad are from the same origin) and generally refers to Christmas in the Syriac language. It is a relatively recent arrival and it is refereed to the "Shab e Cheleh Festival" a celebration of Winter Solstice on December 21. Forty days before the next major Persian festival "Jashn-e Sadeh" this night has been celebrated in countless cultures for thousands of years. The ancient Roman festivals of Saturnalia (God of Agriculture, Saturn) and Sol Invictus (Sun God) are among the best known in the Western world.
In most ancient cultures, including Persia, the start of the solar year has been marked to celebrate the victory of light over darkness and the renewal of the Sun. For instance, Egyptians, four thousand years ago celebrated the rebirth of the sun at this time of the year. They set the length of the festival at 12 days, to reflect the 12 divisions in their sun calendar. They decorated with greenery, using palms with 12 shoots as a symbol of the completed year, since a palm was thought to put forth a shoot each month.
The last day of the Persian month Azar is the longest night of the year, when the forces of Ahriman are assumed to be at the peak of their strength. While the next day, the first day of the month Dey known as khoram rooz or khore rooz (the day of sun) belongs to Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom. Since the days are getting longer and the nights shorter, this day marks the victory of Sun over the darkness. The occasion was celebrated in the festival of "Daygan" dedicated to Ahura Mazda, on the first day of the month Dey.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Added to flickr Explore (interestingness) page of 24 December 2006.
Happy Christian Holidays
This is a gift just for you, and a kiss as an attachment ;)
Last night, dear Sepideh informed me of some interesting history about the Christmas, and the relation between Christmas and Yalda (the ancient Persian festival).
I just copy some paragraphs from the Wiki encyclopedia here:
----------------------------------------
The festival was considered extremely important in pre-Islamic Iran and continues to be celebrated to this day, for a period of more than 6000 years.
Some historians believe that the festival spread to Europe through contacts between the Roman and Persian empires and was eventually replaced by Christmas; a theory that accounts for the celebration of Christmas on 25 December, rather than the later date of January 6 that is believed to be the correct date of birth of Christ by eastern orthodox church.
Yalda, a Syriac word (ܝܠܕܐ) imported into the Persian language by the Syriac Christians means birth (tavalod and meelaad are from the same origin) and generally refers to Christmas in the Syriac language. It is a relatively recent arrival and it is refereed to the "Shab e Cheleh Festival" a celebration of Winter Solstice on December 21. Forty days before the next major Persian festival "Jashn-e Sadeh" this night has been celebrated in countless cultures for thousands of years. The ancient Roman festivals of Saturnalia (God of Agriculture, Saturn) and Sol Invictus (Sun God) are among the best known in the Western world.
In most ancient cultures, including Persia, the start of the solar year has been marked to celebrate the victory of light over darkness and the renewal of the Sun. For instance, Egyptians, four thousand years ago celebrated the rebirth of the sun at this time of the year. They set the length of the festival at 12 days, to reflect the 12 divisions in their sun calendar. They decorated with greenery, using palms with 12 shoots as a symbol of the completed year, since a palm was thought to put forth a shoot each month.
The last day of the Persian month Azar is the longest night of the year, when the forces of Ahriman are assumed to be at the peak of their strength. While the next day, the first day of the month Dey known as khoram rooz or khore rooz (the day of sun) belongs to Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom. Since the days are getting longer and the nights shorter, this day marks the victory of Sun over the darkness. The occasion was celebrated in the festival of "Daygan" dedicated to Ahura Mazda, on the first day of the month Dey.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Added to flickr Explore (interestingness) page of 24 December 2006.