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Essay Subject:
History of the early Church and its traditions.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
History of the early Church and its traditions. Meanings and importance of Christmas, Easter, Lent and Good Friday. Evolution of each holiday, and differences in the manner in which they are celebrated. The holidays as holy days. Pagan origin of many Christmas and Easter customs and observances. Holy Week as a time of spiritual preparation. Good Friday as celebration of crucifixion of Jesus.
Paper Introduction:
Introduction
Each of the four (4) Roman Catholic holidays discussed herein (Christmas, Easter, Lent and Good Friday) has its own history, meaning and importance. Similarly each has had its own evolution and the manner in which each is celebrated is decidedly different.
The Catholic holidays (holy days) and their traditions came from ancient Babylon (via the Babylonian “mysteries”), through Rome, and then through the Catholic church. All of the ancient civilizations (Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, and China) had beliefs, traditions, gods and goddesses that were related in some way to Babylon (Tennuchi).
In 313 AD the Roman emperor, Constantine, adopted the Christian faith and declared it to be the state religion. While he embraced Christianity,
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The Good Friday liturgy is composed of three (3) parts: readings andprayers; the veneration of the cross; and a communion service. The custom of the "Season" was common in both pagan Rome as well asin Ancient Egypt. Since the very early days of the church,Good Friday has been dedicated to fasting, prayer and penance (Toon). New Jersey (Neptune): Loizeauz Brothers. Introduction Each of the four (4) Roman Catholic holidays discussed herein(Christmas, Easter, Lent and Good Friday) has its own history, meaning andimportance. Similarly each has had its own evolution and the manner inwhich each is celebrated is decidedly different. Circa 166 , the General Court of Massachusetts made a decreethat anyone found observing Christmas, in any manner, including feastingand/or "excessive merriment," would be fined (Tennuchi). All of the ancient civilizations (Egypt,Greece, Rome, India, and China) had beliefs, traditions, gods and goddessesthat were related in some way to Babylon (Tennuchi). Lent Holy Week is the last week of Lent and the week that immediatelyprecedes Easter. Neither is there mentioneda period of fasting, yet today, Catholics observe a forty (4 ) day period(Sundays are excluded), known as Lent, that precedes Easter Sunday. Egyptians used a palm tree whereas the Romans used a firtree. In this regard,the church was very quick to continue its practice of compromising withpagan beliefs as long as it could continue to add to the number of peopleit was converting to Christianity from paganism. Lent is also atime of the "spiritual preparation" of believers to observe the passion,death, and resurrection of Jesus. This approach can still bewitnessed today, especially in Central and South America where the "idols"of the ancient civilizations have been replaced by the statues of varioussaints (Tennuchi). Good Friday represents the oldest "feast" in the Catholic calendar,although the origin of the "Good" in Good Friday is obscure, it isgenerally believed to be a corruption of "God's Friday" (Toon). 1986.Gilmartin, T.P. ThePuritans when first coming to America actually worked on their firstChristmas. In 1644 English Parliament passed an act that forbade the observanceof Christmas because it was considered to be a "heathen" holiday. Upon his death, his wife, Semiramis told their people that Nimrodwas the sun god and that when she died she would dwell in the moon asNimrod already dwelt in the sun (see "A Look At the Historical Origins ofEaster"). The Two Babylons. To honor Semiramis, peopleestablished a time to honor the moon on the first full moon following thevernal equinox, March 21. Tammuz was born onDecember twenty-fifth. It is also called the day of the Pasch as well as "Paschastaurosimon" (passage to death) or "Pascha anastasimon" (the resurrection). The celebration was typically held betweenthe seventeenth and the twenty-fourth of December (see "Its Origin andFoundational Roots"). Thiskicked off a period of mourning equal to one day for each day of his life.Some believe this to have been the real beginning, or basis, of the Lentenobservance (see "The 4 Days of Weeping for Tammuz"). "Good Friday." 26 November 2 2 .Hislop, Alexander. It is observed in many Christian churches and celebratesthe suffering and death of Jesus Christ. The time of Lent, forty (4 ) days, has no mention ineither the Old Testament or the New Testament. The Catholic holidays (holy days) and their traditions came fromancient Babylon (via the Babylonian "mysteries"), through Rome, and thenthrough the Catholic church. From the sixteenth century, the Good Friday service in the Catholicchurch was held in the morning. It is likely that for at least 3 years following the birth ofChrist, "Christians" really knew nothing about it. Observance includes penitence andprayer. "The 4 Days of Weeping for Tammuz." 26 November 2 2 . Lighted candles are also not present in the worship of God aspresented in the New Testament, but they did have a place in the worship ofthe sun god in pagan religion (Hislop 9). There was nothing Christian about this practice. Thecommunion service, in the past, has been called the "Mass of thePresanctified"(Toon). "A Look At the Historical Origins of Easter." 26 November 2 2 .________. More specifically, "Holy Week"consists of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday(see "Holy Week"). On taking thethrone of England, he became an advocate of the Anglican Church because hebelieved it to be more compatible with his own value and belief structureinstead of that which had become spoiled by the superstition and idolatryassociated with the Catholic church. (Deedy 36 ). The number forty (4 ) is common in the scriptures. Today, the word "Pasch" is used in the sense of meaning the resurrection(Gilmartin). Semiramis never remarried after the death of Nimrod, but curiously,gave birth to a son, Tammuz, a number of years later. Traditionalpractitioners hold the service in mid-afternoon to correspond to the finalwords of Jesus (see "Holy Week"). Thislatter practice dated back to the seventh and eighth centuries (see "The 4 Days of Weeping for Tammuz"). Each culture that has been "assimilated" by or into the Catholicchurch, has had its own contribution to the celebration of Christmas. In 313 AD the Roman emperor, Constantine, adopted the Christian faithand declared it to be the state religion. The exchange of gifts, merriment, and candle lighting, forexample, all were extracted from the Roman "Feast of Saturnalia," which wascelebrated in honor of Saturn. Historians place the origin of Lentsomewhere during the fifth-century, A.D. Over time, different variations haveoccurred such as kissing the cross in the Anglo-Saxon Church. Thechurch, itself, introduced the concept of Mass and is embedded in the name"Christmas," meaning (in Old English) "Christes maesse" which means themass or festival of Christ (Tennuchi). Traditionally, in theCatholic church, no communion is observed on this day. In the Catholic church, Good Friday is especially dramatic.The unveiling and adoration of the Cross was introduced into the LatinLiturgy sometime during the seventh or eight century and originated in theChurch of Jerusalem (Gilmartin). "Its Origin and Foundational Roots." 26 November 2 2 .________. Good Friday This is the day that the church celebrates the arrest, trail,crucifixion, suffering, death and burial of Jesus. The Christian Church of the time became the Roman Catholic Church andit quickly began a practice of compromising with paganism. His birthday was subsequently honored with greaterfrequency and the first day of the week was called "Sun"day as Tammuz wasthe "son" of the Sun (i.e., Nimrod). In further support of this point, King James I of England wasalso strongly opposed to the celebration of Christmas. Easter Nimrod was a great-grandson of Noah and was himself, the first empirebuilder. New York: Thomas More Press. "The True Meaning of Christmas." 26 November 2 2 .Toon, P. Possibleorigins include "Gottes Freitag" (God's Friday, from the German), "GuteFreitag" and "Long Friday" as held by the Anglo-Saxons, and still referredto in this way in Denmark (Gilmartin). In 1955, Pope Pius XII changed this to theafternoon or evening, such that the formerly observed "Tre Ore" (three hourservices) became virtually obsolete. "Holy Week." 26 November 2 2 .________. The Catholic Fact Book. Works CitedDeedy, John. While he embraced Christianity,he retained many of the trappings of the former Pagan Roman beliefs asevidenced by figures on his coins and the continued use of traditionalpagan titles (Tennuchi). "Good Friday, Great Friday." 26 November 2 2 .________. 1959.Tennuchi, Joel. The actual day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ rarely coincides withthe vernal equinox. Tammuz, himself, died at the age of forty (4 ). Earlier there was some discussion as to opposition to celebratingChristmas. Christmas There is no indication in the Bible that the early Christians observedChristmas. Many of the customsthat are today associated with Christmas, really originated in paganrituals. Each day of this period has a special Mass assigned to it.
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