Be Merrie All: Medieval Christmas Celebrations

Just as with the appropriation of Pagan sacred sites by Christian authorities, as recommended by Pope Gregory I to St Augustine in the late sixth century, there was a natural tendency in the late Antique and early medieval Christian world to convert previously well-observed                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]() for more [Be Merrie All: Medieval Christmas Celebrations]( Dec 25   [READ IN APP](   [Medieval celebrations ]( Just as with the appropriation of Pagan sacred sites by Christian authorities, as recommended by Pope Gregory I to St Augustine in the late sixth century, there was a natural tendency in the late Antique and early medieval Christian world to convert previously well-observed [Pagan festivals]( to newly designated religious observances. This usually took the form of imposing Saints’ Days on established festivals, such as the celebration of the apostles Philip and James at the Spring festival of Beltane (May 1) or constructing feast days to mark incidents in the gospels such as The Presentation of Christ and the Purification of the Virgin Mary at the time of Imbolc (February 1), which was a Pagan festival associated with the goddess [Brigid]( (later converted into St Brigid). [Feast at the French Royal Court (14th century) (Erica Guilane-Nachez/Adobe Stock)]( Feast at the French Royal Court (14th century) ([Erica Guilane-Nachez]( Stock]( Pagan Festivities And Cristes Maesse This allowed for a smooth socio-cultural transition, where ingrained calendrical rituals could be maintained, whilst the meanings of those rituals could be transformed.  A clear example of this in Celtic and Germanic countries is the transformation of Samhain (October 31) into All Hallow’s Eve and All Saints’ Day on November 1. Samhain was a European-wide, pre-Christian celebration and commemoration of ancestors, but by the eighth century the Church had requisitioned the date to mark its own special ancestors - the martyred saints... Keep reading with a 7-day free trial Subscribe to Ancient Origins UNLEASHED to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. [Start trial]( A subscription gets you: High-quality articles, podcasts, and video interviews Post comments and join the community   [Like]( [Comment]( [Restack](   © 2023 Ancient Origins 6 Abbey Business Park, Baldoyle Industrial Estate, Baldoyle, Dublin 13, D13N738, Ireland [Unsubscribe]() [Get the app]( writing]()