{ELEMENTISTS OF WILLOW FOREST BOOK IV} The Day of Death

Christmas I

7: Christmas I

 

 

 

Perhaps you believe in God. Perhaps you don't.

Maybe you believe in the Christian God, or the Jewish God, or the Hindu God, or the Muslim God, or the Sikh God, or the Buddhist God. Or you don't believe in God at all.

You might be a Christian who does Christmas. Or you might not believe in Jesus, and not celebrate Christmas. Or maybe, even if you don't believe in Jesus, you sort of celebrate Christmas anyway, because everyone else you know does, because it's a good excuse to watch trashy films and get presents. You're not celebrating the birth of Christ, because you don't believe in Christ, but you like getting presents and watching trashy films, and everybody else does Christmas, so you do too.

Jesus wasn't necessarily born on Christmas day. In fact, he was probably born in early Autumn. It's kind of like when you have your birthday on a school day, so you pretend your birthday is on the closest Saturday and eat cake and open your presents then. (Bonus points if your birthday is on a Monday, then a Tuesday the next year, then a Wednesday the next, so you actually get your presents a day earlier every year.) The Romans had a festival called Saturnalia around Christmas time, in honour of their god Saturn. (The Greeks called Saturn Kronus, and they had a festival too at the same time, called Kronia. Actually, Kronus isn't a god. He's a titan.)

Anyway, when the Romans all became Christians, they presumably liked getting presents and watching trashy films, (or they would have if TV had been invented) so they decided to celebrate the birth of Christ around Saturnalia.

Et voila, Christmas.

I'm not sure whether I believe in God or not. Some people think that myths about pagan gods, like the Greek gods, are based on Elementists. So, Zeus would have been based on an Air Elementist, Poseidon on a Water, Hades on a Death, Demeter on a Life, Hestia on a Fire and so on. Others like Hera and Aphrodite, who don't necessarily link up with a certain Element, could have been completely made up, or based on normal people.

Huh. Hera could have been based on a Life Elementist, perhaps. That's the only thing I can really link marriage and family and childbirth to.

I know some Elementists who believe in God. Some who don't. I've even met one who thinks we are gods. I disagree with that one, but I don't know which of the other two I am.

Mama, Gama and I celebrated Christmas anyway. Not necessarily because we believed in Christ. But because we liked the idea of snuggling up by the fire in the snow, and wrapping up presents, and making mince pies. Not watching trashy films, because, if you can remember, we didn't have a TV.

Oh, and because we could have a wicked Christmas tree.