The Oracle of Dionysos in Ancient Thrace, Part 1: Literary Sources

In the works of some ancient writers is found information about an oracle of Dionysos in Thrace, the land of the Thracians - one of the wildest people in ancient Europe and "the most numerous people of the World, after the Indians" (according to Herodotus). The ancient sources about the oracle in question are as follows:

1. A Scholia to Euripides maintains that according to information of the "physicist Heraclides": "That [oracle?] of Dionysus was built in Thrace on the so-called Haemus, where is said, that there were some writings of Orpheus upon tablets". This could be the earliest evidence of oracle of Dionysos in Thrace. There is a clear location - in Mount Haemus.

2. Another scholia to Euripides, again with unknown and - in any event - later author, summarizes: "Some say, that the Oracle of Dionysus was in Pangaeus, other - in Haemus, where were some writings of Orpheus upon tablets, about which he speaks in Alcestis: "Not any drug in the Thracian tablets, where are written the sayings of Orpheus". And because Dionysus was and prophet, in "Bacchae" he says: "This god's a prophet, too, for in his rites the Bacchic celebrations and the madness a huge prophetic power is unleashed". The anonymous author presents an interesting localization of the oracle - in Pangaeus or in Haemus. As in the previous scholia, the oracle's localization is associated with some writings on tablets, whose authorship is attributed to Orpheus.

3. Traditionally, and not without reason, when it comes to the Oracle of Dionysus in Thrace in modern historiography, most attention is paid to the statement of Herodotus (ca. 484 - 424 BC), who wrote: "The Satrians however never yet became obedient to any man, so far as we know, but they remain up to my time still free, alone of all the Thracians; for they dwell in lofty mountains, which are covered with forest of all kinds and with snow, and also they are very skilful in war. These are they who possess the Oracle of Dionysos; which Oracle is on their most lofty mountains. Of the Satrians those who act as prophets of the temple are the Bessians; it is a priestess who utters the oracles, as at Delphi; and beyond this there is nothing further of a remarkable character." It has long been state the very general nature of Herodotus' information.

4. In an attributed to Aristotle text we read: "They say, that the rabbits, caught in Crestonia near the land of the Bisaltians, had two liver [two hearts] and had one spot sizes as one decare, in which each animal entered, dies. There is also a large and beautiful temple of Dionysus, in which was held a celebration and a sacrifice. When the god intends to make fruitful year, there appeared a great flame of fire, and it all, which are in the sacred area, see it.When the year will be barren, that light does not appeared and darkness covers the site, just as in the other nights."

5. Another text, also attributed to Aristotle, is preserved in the Saturnalia of Macrobius, drawn at the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century AD: "What was said about the Apollo can be said and for Liber. Aristotle, who wrote "Study of the Gods", claims that Apollo and Liber Pater are one and the same god, and many other evidence suggests that: even, he says, by the Ligyrians in Thrace was a temple, dedicated to Liber Pater, where predictions are issued, but they pronouncing their prophecies after drinking pure wine; as those on Claros drink water."

6. Elsewhere in his text, Macrobius wrote: "Similarly, we learn that in Thrace the Sun and Liber are considered the same: they call him Sabazius and worship him in a splendid ritual, as Alexander [Polyhistor] writes, and on the hill Zilmissos they dedicate to him a round temple, with open to the sky center. The temple's round shape points to the sun's shape, and light is let in through the roof to show that the sun purifies all things when it shines down from on high, and because the whole world opens up when the sun rises."

7. The later direct evidence about prediction, received in a Thracian oracle of Dionysus, is preserved by Suetonius: "Later, when Octavius was leading an army through remote parts of Thrace, and in the grove of Liber Pater consulted the priests about his son with barbarian rites, they made the same prediction [that the ruler of the world had been born]; since such a pillar of flame sprang forth from the wine that was poured over the altar, that it rose above the temple roof and mounted to the very sky, and such an omen had befallen no one save Alexander the Great, when he offered sacrifice at the same altar."

8. Cassius Dio mentions the following: "He [M. Licinius Crassus] over ran the rest of the country [Thrace] except the territory of the Odrysae. These he spared because they are attached to the service of Dionysus, and had come to meet him on this occasion without their arms; and he also granted them the land in which they magnify the god, taking it away from the Bessi who were occupying it."

So, this is what we can read in the ancient literature about the enigmatic oracle of Dionysos in Thrace. But is there was only one oracle? The answer is sought in the second part of this article.

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Was Sherlock Holmes a Myth or Real?

Who is Sherlock Holmes? Is he a mere character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? Has Holmes ever existed? If so who is he?

Prologue

"... The idea amused me. What should I call the fellow?" thought Conan Doyle. Of course, he called him Sherlock Holmes after an English Cricketer, and Oliver Wendell Holmes {1809-1894}, an American physician, professor, and author.

*****

A young man intending to be a doctor took his degree from Edinburgh University in 1881 and set up his practice as an eye-specialist in suburb of Portsmouth and waited for patients. Six years later, this struggling doctor was still waiting. Without patients and utterly in need of money he decided to try his hand at writing.

He then vividly went back to his student days at Edinburgh University to recollect events and anecdotes, and then contemplated looking at the photograph of his teacher which he kept on the mantelpiece of his study. Something struck him. He took up the pen and sharpened his wits. That's it.

Thus was born Sherlock Holmes. And the young doctor was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). The rest is history. Sherlock Holmes attained immortality - a sort of legendary cult-figure with a famous address behind him. 221 B Baker Street. It is believed, thousands of people have addressed their problems to this fictitious address desperately seeking solutions.

But sadly what is not history and what is buried under the debris of history of literature is, is the life and times of real Sherlock Holmes. Yes, he is none other than the creator's own teacher at Edinburgh University. He is Dr. Joseph Bell.

Dr. Joseph Bell (1837-1911), the eminent surgeon and medical instructor who had enthralled his students and friends with his deductive acrobatics in the Royal infirmary wards, in the dispensaries, especially in the out-patient department where ailing citizens visited him.

"Dr. Bell would sit in his receiving room," Doyle once told an interview, "with a face like a Red Indian, and diagnose people as they came in. Before they even opened their mouth he would tell them their symptoms and give them the details of their past life; and hardly ever would he make a mistake. With a woman especially, the observant doctor can often tell by noticing her exactly what part of her body she is going to talk about." Doyle concluded.

Once, a laborer with a spinal complaint has come to meet Dr. Bell. "Your back must ache badly, but carrying a load of bricks won't improve it." The laborer was stunned and asked Dr. Bell to tell as to how he guessed that he was a bricklayer by trade. And Dr. Bell replied by pointing to the laborer's peculiar rough horny hands.

Upon seeing another newcomer, Dr. Bell remarked, "A cobbler, I see." When his students put quizzical faces he explained, "that the inside of the knee of the man's trouser was worn; that was where the man had rested the lap-stone, a peculiarity only found in cobblers.

On another occasion, a tall weather-beaten patient entered the ward. Dr. Bell looked at him and turning to his students said, "Gentlemen, a fisherman." Before the students could react, Dr. Bell smilingly explained, "It is a very hot summer's day, yet the patient is wearing top boots. No one but a sailor would wear them in this season. The shade of his tan shows him to be a coast sailor; a knife scabbard too beneath his coat, the kind used by fishermen. To prove the correctness of these deductions, I noticed several minute fish scales adhering to his clothes and hands." Dr Bell ended leaving his students stunned.

One particular feat made a lasting impression on his ever-stunned students. Once Dr. Bell was seated at his desk with his internees and dresser, an old lady with a handbag hanging on her arm entered. Dr. Bell gave a quick glance and to the amazement of his students said to the woman, "Where is your cutty pipe?"

Her bag was on her left arm and instinctively she grasped it with her right hand. This act did not pass unnoticed by Dr. Bell. "Don't mind the students", said Bell to the embarrassed woman, "Show me the pipe." After a few minutes she put her hand into the bag and produced an odd short-stemmed much-used clay pipe.

Now Dr. Bell turning to his students asked, "Now how do I know she had a cutty pipe?" No answer.

"Did you notice the ulcer on her lower lip and the glossy scar on her left cheek indicating a superficial burn? All marks of a shot-stemmed clay pipe held close to the cheek while smoking - the characteristic attitude of peasant woman smoking clay pipe as she sits by her fireside." Dr. Bell explained smilingly.

No doubt every one of his students was impressed at these feats. But of all the Edinburgh University undergraduates, it was Conan Doyle who was the most deeply impressed by his incredible mentor and his deductive prowess; and the profound influence it had on him came to the fore when he decided to take up writing.

"I thought of my old teacher Joe Bell, of his eagle face, of his curious ways, of his eerie trick of spotting details," Doyle recollected in his autobiography. "If he were a detective he would surely reduce this fascinating but unrecognized business to something nearer to an exact science. It was surely possible in real life, so why should I not make it possible in fiction. It is all very well to say that a man is clever, but the reader wants to see examples of it - such examples as Dr. Bell gave us every day in the wards. The idea amused me. What should I call the fellow?"

Of course, he called him Sherlock Holmes after an English Cricketer, and Oliver Wendell Holmes {1809-1894}, an American physician, professor, and author. Now to give features and a face Conan Doyle again remembered his old mentor. Dr. Bell was forty-four when Doyle saw him last. "He was thin, wiry, and dark, with high-nosed acute face, penetrating grey eyes, angular shoulders and a jerky way of walking. His voice was high and discordant." With this as his model, Sherlock Holmes became the familiar, tall, stooped, hawk-faced, intense and inscrutable human bloodhound.

And Sherlock Holmes, solving baffling crimes in story after story with his deductive and analytical acrobatics went on to become a fictional cult-figure. Thanks to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The success of Sherlock Holmes only too pleased Dr. Bell. But very often an Edinburgh graduate would recognize who Sherlock Holmes was.

And Sir Arthur Conan Doyle too gladly confessed to the enquirers, the press and the world that the prototype for Sherlock Holmes was indeed Dr. Joseph Bell; and went on to give graphic examples of his teacher's "intuitive powers {which} were simply marvelous."

Once when a young Doyle was working as Dr. Bell's student assistant, a patient entered and sat down. Dr. Bell asked, "Did you like your walk over the side of the town?"

"Why yes, did your honor see me?"

Doyle who was listening was stunned. Dr. Bell then explained, "On a showery day such as that had been, the reddish clay at bare parts of the golf links adheres to the boots, and a tiny part is bound to remain. {As such} there is no clay anywhere else"{except that side of the town which the gentleman has come from}, concluded Dr. Bell.

Years later, in the adventure 'The Five Orange Pips' Sherlock Holmes repeats the same feat. But the most famous incident of which Doyle was very much impressed was when a civilian out-patient, a total stranger to Dr. Bell, came into his ward. In silence Dr. Bell studied the visitor, and then said, "Well my man, you have served in the army." Not long discharged; a non-commissioned officer? Stationed at Barbados?"

To all these questions the wide-eyed stranger replied meekly, "Yes and yes."

Dr. Bell then turned to his awe-struck students. "You see gentlemen, the man was a respectful man, but he did not remove his hat. They do not in the army, but he would have learned civilian ways had he been long discharged. He has an air of authority, and he is obviously Scottish. As a Barbados, his complaint is elephantiasis which is West Indian and not British.

This incident too made its way to Sherlock Holmes through, 'The Greek Interpreter'.

There were many such instances and anecdotes that Conan Doyle used in his sixty classic stories. In fact, it is reported that Doyle always requested Dr. Bell for plots and incidents that had Holmes flavor. And Dr. Bell happily obliged and faithfully sent along such ideas and plots which thrilled the readers worldwide.

Throughout his life, Dr. Joseph Bell continually amazed his circle with the observation game. Even the Crown was very much impressed by his detecting genius and sought his services as consultant detective. And for two decades he worked, investigated and testified for the Crown thereby solving even the most complex of crimes.

Dr. Joseph Bell went on to become a legend in his own right, even before he became known as Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle also did contribute and through Sherlock Holmes popularized his teacher's amazing talents at the game of observation and deduction.

Dr. Bell at the age of 16 entered Edinburgh University and graduated before he was twenty-one. Two years later he became a house surgeon in the Royal infirmary, and at twenty-six he was lecturing in the extra-mural medical school. He married at the age of twenty-eight. It was a happy but short-lived marriage. His wife died nine years later. He lived to his end a widower. Dr Bell was reserved and hated spotlight.

Dr. Bell preached what he practiced. He often told his students that the development of observation was a necessity to doctors and detectives and strongly recommended laymen to learn this thrilling sport.

His favorite demonstration before each new class in this regard was that he used to take up a tumbler filled with an amber-colored liquid. "This contains a very potent drug". Dr. Bell would say, "To the taste it is intensely bitter. Now I want to see how many of you developed your powers of perception. Now I want you to test it by smell and taste. I don't ask anything of my students which I wouldn't be willing to do myself. I will taste it before passing it round." said Bell.

Dr. Bell would then dip a finger into the liquid, put his finger to his mouth, suck it, and grimace. He would then pass the tumbler round. Each student likewise would dip a finger into the vile concoction, suck it, and make a sour face. When the tumbler had made the rounds Dr. Bell would gaze at the assembly and begin laughing. "Gentlemen, Gentlemen," he would say, "I am deeply grieved to find that not one of you developed this power of perception, which I so often speak about. For, if you had watched me closely, you would have found that, while I placed my forefinger in the bitter medicine, it was the middle finger which found its way into my mouth!"

Most of all he possessed a wonderful sense of humor. When visitors begged him to recount tales of his deductive prowess, he used to relate the story of his visit to a bed-ridden patient.

"Aren't you a bandsman?" Dr. Bell asked, standing over the patient.

"Aye," admitted the sick-man.

Dr. Bell turned cockily to his students. "You see gentleman, I am right. It is this quite simple. This man had a paralysis of the cheek muscles, the result of too much blowing at wind instruments. We need only inquire to confirm." Dr Bell said to his students proudly. Now turning to the patient he asked, "What instrument do you play my man?" The sick-man got up on his elbows, "Big Drum Doctor!" Now this time the students had a last laugh.

Dr. Joseph Bell, the prototype for Sherlock Holmes died at the age of seventy four in 1911.

This research-based article was published in my personal blog http://writersden-jay.blogspot.in/ under Human Interest Features Category.. You will find more such interesting stories on my blog. Also you can go through my other spiritual blog on Shirdi Sai Baba http://shirdisaibaba-jay.blogspot.in/

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The Pseudo-Gems and Flowering of Islamic Glass in Egypt, Persia, Iraq, Syria

Throughout the Middle Ages, public opinion considered the many-colored glass of Roman or Byzantine or Islamic origin, like precious stones and stored as such.

So it was considered the hemispherical blue Roman cup, known as "owned by the Queen Teodolinda", in the Treasury of the cathedral of Monza in Italy, which for a long time was thought to be cut by a colossal sapphire, as well as the green glass plate in the Abbey of Reichenau on Lake of Constance, called "the emerald of Charlemagne", because according to tradition, it was given to the sovereign by the Byzantine Empress Irene.

Most famous of all, the hexagonal green emerald cup with internal recess decorations, called the "Holy Basin" taken by the Genoese in 1101 during the sack of Caesarea and still preserved in the Treasury of San Lorenzo in Genoa.

This cup was believed in the past made from pure emerald and was in turn identified with the Holy Grail, or a gift of Solomon King to the Queen of Sheba, or the cup of which, after the torture, the head of St. John the Baptist was placed. Instead, it is probably a medieval Egyptian work, as no doubt is the plate of green emerald mentioned above. The emerald green glass that was made in Alexandria and Fostat (old Cairo) was well-known in the Middle Ages.

We will find in the following centuries among the Murano glass makers, the same passion for the counterfeiting of gems that we have seen in the Roman and Islamic world. The vibrant research of complex mixtures of colors to get the tonality and shades very similar to those of the gems, especially in ruby-red, emerald green and in the blue sapphire passionate since the nineties, constantly and proudly, the best bead makers in their realization of glass beads for Pandora, which recently have been able to even include semi-precious stones like cubic zirconia into the molten glass.

But in these centuries the art of glassmaking had a new miraculous rebirth in the Islamic East, whose influence was heard first in the Byzantine Empire and then in Venice.

To this revival that lasted from the eighth to the fourteenth century competed all major Muslim countries: Egypt, Iraq, Persia and Syria, with stylistic characteristics, at least until the year one thousand, almost identical, given the real artistic and cultural unity form which arose with Islam in its early centuries of life, as could you prove the impressive series of discoveries made in 1912-1914 by a German archaeological expedition in Samarra (Iraq), the famous city on the Tigris built-in 840 by the Caliph Billah Motasemm, where the Abbasids Caliphs lived until 970.

The Islamic glass from this period include different types and techniques: glass mosaic similar to Alexandrian "Murrini", but different from those for a typical dull yellow color, with motifs of eyes formed by dotted circles, probably carried by Egyptian artisans moved to the capital of Mesopotamia and used as wall decorations.

Small cups and bowls in transparent yellow glass, or dark green and amethyst, also of Egyptian production of the VIII-X centuries, mold decorated with isolated or grouped dots in clusters, and sometimes stylized animals, enclosed in medallions, worked with the pliers (these glasses remind to small medallions in molded glass, used by late Roman times onwards as measures of weight or capacity).

Large bowls and cups, and more rarely mugs and jugs in dark green or amber, with Kufic inscriptions or decorations, even with pliers, in linear shapes, geometric (knots and rosettes), and sometimes zoomorphic, probably made in Egypt between the tenth and the eleventh century; even small vials and perfume bottles, in blue or green glass, often with the neck almost cylindrical, sometimes decorated to the wheel, of Egyptian origin from the centuries IX and X.

Beautifully carved bowls and plates through a blue or green surface layer, with drawings of animals and arabesques, in patterns evidently derived from similar contemporary works in Islamic rock crystal, which suggests that these objects, all assigned to the ninth and tenth centuries, they have been produced by craftsmen close to those of Iraq and Egypt and in medieval times they had a reputation for very talented engravers of precious stones.

Some of these items show the particularity to present the detected decorations, obtained by lowering the bottom, such as cameos. The result is the most dazzling. Later a subspecies of this type to which it belongs among others, a beautiful bulb decorated with rams, kept in the Treasury of San Marco, consists of a series of glasses likely coming from Egypt in the form of calyx, decorated mostly with animals (lions, eagles, griffins) engraved in bas-relief, which in medieval Europe were used as reliquaries and are now stored in the Treasures of the cathedrals of some cities in Germany and Poland (the so-called glassware of St. Hedwig).

Is highly controversial the source of some glass items of the treasures in the cathedral of Halberstadt in Saxony and in the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, in the form of plates or scales of circular pans, mounted in the guise of hanging lamps, decorated with concentric circles in relief or circular concave and shallow facets. Some are reproductions in glass of silver lamps described by Paul Silenziario, originally existing in the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and so the Byzantine manufacturing; according to others they should be attributed to Persian art of the Sassanid period.

Again in the Treasury of San Marco also are included two cups, respectively in turquoise and emerald green glass, with carved reliefs of crudely stylized hares, the second of which recalls the vials of perfume and the Holy Basin of which has been discussed above, and would be Egyptian, while the former, although bears engraved the words "Khorasan", it is not necessarily have to be Persian, partly because we know that it was offered as a gift to the Signoria from Agi Mohammed, legate of the Shah of Persia Uzunhassan in 1472, as authentic turquoise stone of the region, so the inscription might have had fraudulent intent.

Poor implementation was rather in the Islamic world the engraving by diamond tip, at least judging from the few pieces processed in this way and found in Samarra and Egypt.

I am an Italian glass jewelry designer, researcher, developer and a passionate problem solver for my glass masters and customers.

I'm writing a monumental History of Murano Glass

STRAVAGANTE Glass Jewelry Company is the only Italian producer of glass beads for Pandora. We are producers of quality and artistic handmade glass jewelry in about 10 glass laboratories based in North Italy.

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Aerial Dogfight Over Tramore in WW2

My town Tramore is located in a quiet and peaceful corner of Ireland and during WW2 was not massively affected by what was going on in the rest of the world. People were aware of the war and food was rationed but life continued unaffected.

On Sunday morning 23rd of August 1942 things were to get a lot different, as many townsfolk made their way to 10am mass at the local church they heard loud noise from a German aircraft being chased by two British spitfires. Local people had to dive to safety as bullets rained down on the street as the Junker decreased altitude dramatically and came under fire.

The German plane a Junkers 88 taking fire from the British spitfires force landed in a field near Carriglong. The action seen over Tramore Bay, St Otterans Terrace and the Racecourse was part of a series of much larger events that started many hours earlier.

In a small airfield outside of Paris 4 German Luftwaffe airmen: Paul Stormer (Pilot), Karl Hund, Gottfried Berndt and Josef Reiser took off on a reconnaissance mission to obtain details about Belfast Harbour in Northern Ireland. The Junkers 88 flew along the east coast of Ireland and was spotted by many lookout boxes and eventually also by British radar that scrambled available Spitfires to intercept.

The first spitfire on the scene chased the Junkers 88 inland over Co Meath and in the aerial fight took a hit and crashed to the ground in flames. The pilot Officer Boleslaw Sauwiak died later from his injuries in hospital.

Not long after Sauwiak crashed his plane two more spitfires arrived on the scene from North Ireland. They chased the plane southward but after running out of ammunition and fuel had to retreat. The Junker headed its course towards Waterford flying over Kildare and Kilkenny on its way back to France. When over Waterford two more spitfires joined the fight this time from Wales causing the plane to force land in Tramore.

A local farmer seeing the plane crash on his land ran out to help, he was held at gun point by the 4 Luftwaffe men and once he calmed them down brought them back to the farmhouse where they were given a full Irish breakfast. Later that day the Irish Army arrested the men and brought them to the Curragh Camp where they were interned.

One of the Officers many years later returned to Tramore to see again the big bay over which his plane crashed.

This article was put together after reading the book Tramore of Long Ago by Andy Taylor and Internet Sources.

My name is Abbygail Wood and if you would like to read more about the History of Tramore then you should check out the Tramore community website.

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Was Christ Really Born on 25th of December?

Was Christ really born on 25th of December? What does the Holy Bible say on Christ's birth? What does pagan customs and traditions has to do with the celebration of birthday of Christ? Read on... here are the interesting facts dug out from the pages of ancient history.

Let history say whatever it has to say. But one thing is true. Jesus Christ was born. Doesn't mind the date and time. This article is only written from the point of academic interest. Treat it thus and correct me if I am wrong.

***

The Birth of Christ

"... behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people. For unto you is born this day... a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2: 10 & 11.

Its indeed good news that Christ the Lord, "... died for our sins... and buried; and rose again on the third day... " I Corinthians 15: 3 & 4. So that whosoever believeth on Him should have everlasting life... " John 3: 36.

What isn't good news is that the way the Christmas - supposed to be birthday of Lord Jesus Christ - is being celebrated. It has become a ritualistic festival with many pagan (non-Christian) customs being observed as a tradition on that day, thereby diluting the very essence of Christ's birth and His mission on this earth. I Peter 2: 24; Colossians 1: 14; and Isaiah 53: 5 & 6.

Even the ardent believer whose faith in the Word of God is unshakable seems to have fallen victim to the ritualistic celebrations, which is indeed abhorrence to Lord God.

For Christmas does not mean the birth of Christ. The word is made up of Christ + Mass which means Christ's Mass. The Mass is a much-sanctified religious service of the Roman Catholic Church, the performance of the sacrament of the Eucharist, i.e. ceremony performing Lord's Supper. And Mass is a Latin Word meaning dismiss.

Further, there is no precedence in the Bible where Christ's birth was celebrated. But the Lord did ask His people to remember His death. Luke 22: 19 & 20; and I Corinthians 11: 24 to 26.

No one can dispute the fact about Christ's birth. But it was definitely not on 25th December as believed by Christians throughout the world.

The Possible Scriptural Evidence

There is possible evidence to believe that Christ was born during the Feast of Tabernacles, which falls in the intervening months of September\October. Of course, one only has to study the Scriptures diligently and relate all the Old Testament prophecies concerning Jesus Christ and place all the feasts of the Lord in proper perspective in relationship to the Savior, (like Passover is related to His crucifixion and First fruits to His resurrection etc.) and interpret it correctly in the light of the Gospels.

Well, as of December and 25th; it is written in Luke 2: 8 to 11 that... shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night were told by the Angels of the Lord about Christ's birth. But this incident couldn't have happened in December. In Judea, at that time December was cold and at that a rainy season, which is most unlikely that shepherds were out in the field by night.

Also in verse 1 of the same chapter Luke says, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that the entire world should be taxed or registered for census purposes; and in subsequent verses 3 to 6, "all went to be taxed... Joseph also went up... to be taxed with Mary. This incident also cannot be traced to the month of December because middle of the winter was not fitting for such a business, especially for women with child, and children to travel in those days.

Even Christ has warned his disciples. "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter." Mathew 24: 20. If winter was so bad (like hell) even to flee, then it was certainly not fit time for shepherds to be in the fields nor for women and children to travel.

Thus in the light of this argument we could well say, that Christ's birth and the occurrences of the events in Luke Chapter 2, could not have taken place during winter or more precisely in the month of December as was believed by Christians throughout the world.

Then how come December 25th has come into wide acceptance as the day of the birth of Christ?

The Significance of December 25th

To get at the root of this, one should go back to the ancient times and have a look at their customs and traditions that has unique relationship with the day of 25th December.

* December 25th was the day on which was celebrated the accouchement of the Queen of Heaven, the celestial Virgin, and the birth of her child, the sun-god.

* The Savior of Greeks, Bacchus or Dionysus was born of a Virgin on the 25th of December.

* So was Hercules. Isis, the Egyptians' Virgin Queen of Heaven delivered the child called Horus towards the end of December [probably 25th December].

* The Egyptians apart from worshiping the Virgin Mother, they also to the congregation exhibited the effigy of her babe lying in a manger, a custom that is very much in practice even today in churches and homes throughout the Christian world.

* In Rome, the day of winter solstice December 25th was celebrated as the birthday of the unconquered Sun; and it was the birthday of Mithra, the Persian sun-god, whose worship spread far and wide in the Roman Empire.

* Even in Hinduism, from time immemorial and to this day, Sun is worshiped as God. Yet Hinduism did not influence in fixing the Birth of Christ like other customs of the nations across Europe and West Asia did.

* In Rome, there was another festival called Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of seed-time and harvest. This festival was celebrated with much gaiety and revelry for a week-long period during the end of December at winter solstice. It was just a kind of Christmas.

* The ancient Germans, Britons and Saxons burnt the Yule (Yule is the Chaldea name for an 'infant' or 'little child') log and banqueted at the winter solstice. Their bonfire symbolically represented the sun god's regeneration as he returned from his winter-home. Thus Christians of that time thought it fit to celebrate the birth of Christ on that day as burning of Yule log supposed to represent the Light of life.

* During the reign of Constantine the Emperor of Rome, the Church at Rome under Bishop Liberius, around 320 A D or 354 A D assigned and fixed December 25th as the day of celebration of Christmas.

December 25th was Fixed as Christ's Birthday

Thus by the end of the 4th century the whole of the Christian world was celebrating Christmas on 25th of December.

This is how the day of Mithraic feast of sun god; festival of Saturnalia; and the Yuletide feast; including the veneration of the Queen of Heaven followed by celebration in Egypt, Greek and other parts of the world under Roman Empire strongly influenced the day of Christ's birth, which came to be the 25th of December.

But not all fell in line and upright men like Tertullian (230 A D) protested and lamented. They blamed the Disciples of Christ in this respect and demanded they keep themselves away from world's idolatrous corruption. They couldn't stem the tide and gradually the church was submerged under pagan superstition.

John Chrysostom, an Antioch born zealous pastor and archbishop of Constantinople writing in Antioch about 380 A D says, "The birth of our Lord was unknown on the very borders of the Holy Land where He was born; but was made known in all the European regions of the west, from Thrace even to Spain... "

It is quite clear from the above statement that in those days itself the birth of Christ was unknown in a land where He was born.

Finally December 25th was Accepted as Christ's Birthday

By the turn of the 4th century, Christians began defending the celebration of Christmas on 25th December on the ground that it got an opportunity to turn the people away from pagan traditions to that of worshiping the Christ as Lord God and Savior.

To this effect, there went out an official decree to all to observe the festival of Christmas on 25th of December, for it gave them, they believed, a chance to put Jesus Christ, the "Sun of Righteousness" ( Malachi 4: 2 ) in peoples' hearts in place of the sun god Mithra. Yes, David also proclaimed in his Psalms 84:11 as "For the LORD God is a sun and shield... "

Thus, gradually by the year 450 A D and to this day, the 25th of December came to be observed as Christmas, the birth of Christ, throughout the Christian world.

This is Jayanarayana, a professional content writer based in Hyderabad, India. I have been providing content for various websites for the last 8 years. Writing is my passion. I own a couple of blogs http://writersden-jay.blogspot.in/ and http://shirdisaibaba-jay.blogspot.in/. Kindly go through them. You will find interesting articles which stimulate your thinking. Make you proactive.

Writersden-jay unravels the world the way it is. And why it is. Human Interest Features, Fiction, Jokes, Health & Lifestyle, Science & Spiritual and many more takes you into the world of mysteries and reality. I would be more humbled if you would enrich Writersden-jay with your wise comments and healthy criticism.

Shirdisaibaba-jay is another blog of mine that speaks about Lord God Shirdi Sai Baba, whose very Name evokes unspeakable joy in my heart. His Grace and Love is what I breathe. This blog is still under revamp stage. I am eagerly looking for His Grace to be upon me to complete this blog.

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Hemingway's Writing and Some Major Features

Iceberg Theory-

Ernest Hemingway's 'The Iceberg Theory' describes the symbolic interpretations of a form of art. As a writer he had opted for this technique where he would write a surface story that omits the hidden point of the story. To apply this technique, an author has to omit the items that are already stated or the figures of speech or facts that seem too obvious. This technique make the readers compelled to think, understand, and really delve into the writing to understand the whole story.

Hemingway applied this technique because he used to believe that true meaning of a literary work should not be understood completely from the surface story. He believed that the heart of the story is to remain below the surface. In one of his writings he says-

"If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water" (Death in the Afternoon)

Code Hero/ Hemingway Hero-

The basic concept of the 'Hemingway Hero' came as an outcome of the First World War. The American man suddenly realized that the old concepts and values or other ethics of the western world had not served to save the mankind from all the catastrophic results of the WWI. After this realization many sensitive, especially young writers began to look for a completely new set of values to replace the old ones after the War. Hemingway was one of these seekers. His search had resulted in a new sense of beliefs that reflected through his writings and through his heroes. Hemingway defines the "Code Hero" this way- "a man who lives correctly, following the ideals of honor, courage and endurance in a world that is sometimes chaotic, often stressful, and always painful."

The Hemingway Hero generally abided by a set of general principles. He can be said to be a "man's man". His characteristics generally included- heavy drinking, womanzing nature, involving in multiple love affairs, participating in hunting, enjoying bullfights. He was involved in all those 'manly' activities that a typical American man did not participate in.

Cubist Style/ Cubism-

Cubism is a form of art from the early 20th-century that is said to be pioneered originally by Picasso and Braque. This became a revolutionary technique in European painting and sculpture. This also inspired literature, music as well as architecture afterwards. In cubism, an object of art is analyzed, broken up and reassembled in various abstracted forms. This way a subject can be interpreted from a multiple point of views rather than depicting it only from a single point of view. Gertrude Stein was one of those people of the time who had been influenced by this form. Both Stein and her brother were important influences on Cubism themselves. In reading Hemingway, the concept of Cubism is important.

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