wow -- in which calendar? Do you know that the Gregorian and Julian calendars are pretty much later than Tammuz?
and did you know that we don't celebrate Tammuz' birth but rather Christ's?
I don't know what you celebrate, but Christians for 2000 years have celebrated CHRIST's birth
Furthermore, Tammuz's birth was not celebrated by the Sumerians, rather they celebrated him as the change of seasons -- so Dec 21 would be the death of Tammuz with the winter solstice
don't believe all the rot your pastors teach!
He is the patron saint of tiny little nuclear explosions covered with confetti and extra-hot habenero sauce, held aloft in a pinata made out of plastic explosives and JuJuBees, and the pinata is being sung to by hypnotized laser-eyed Rottweilers that bark, and when they bark, M&M's fly out.
Happy Sam Edmund Botswain's Day!!!!!
It was a quite obvious time for a celebration ~ particularly for that longer days part!
Oh my God! I'm afraid to open my appointment book!
>>>”so Dec 21 would be the death of Tammuz with the winter solstice”<<<
December 21 in Iran, even today, is known as Shab_e Cheleh (night of the 40th) or Yalda (a Syric word). It is still celebrated today in Iran, but many do not know its true meaning or origins. Although, most recognize that it isn’t an Islamic or Shia celebration.
Yalda, as you say, is part of winter solstice, the longest night or the shortest day of the yr in the Northern Hemisphere. In Iran it has been associated with Zoroastrianism, but in fact its origins are Pre-Zoroastrian, in Mithra (Indo-Iranian deity aka sun-god).
Post-Zoroaster, it was believed that the forces of evil (Ahriman in Persian) are very active on that night, because it is the longest night of the yr, and evil is associated with darkness. Therefore, on that night, candles in-house and contained bon-fires outside would be kept burning until dawn to keep away the forces of darkness (evil or Ahriman).
A fairly good account of Yalda celebrations in Iran:
http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Celebrations/yalda.htm
Btw, Hannuka is also celebrated around the same time, as is Christmas.
Yes, Iranians were Mithra worshipers (also pronounced Mitra in Persian, which is a fairly popular girl’s name) before Zoroaster (Zarathustra or Zartosht in modern Persian language) came along.
A few national celebrations in Iran even today are based on ancient Mithraic ones & based on 2 equal seasons i.e. winter & summer. Spring heralds the arrival of summer & autumn (fall) the arrival of winter. However, unlike the Arabs & generally semitic races, Iranians/Persians have always used a Solar Calendar. Zoroaster was essentially a reformer of Mithraic concepts.