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Dec 25, 2022 14 tweets 13 min read Read on X
#Thread Pagan Origins of #Christmas
In pre-Christian era Pagan celebrated Seasonal festivals around the winter solstice ("Symbol of rebirth of Sun or Son") later converted to #Christianity.
SantaClause, Decorating trees, Jesus birth also find its association with 25th Dec.

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#Saturnalia was one of Pagan ancient Roman festival in honor of the god Saturn, held from 17 December to 23 December. It was most popular holiday in the Roman calendar.

Pic By Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet #Christmas

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During #Saturnalia celebrations
1.All work and business were suspended
2.Slaves were given temporary freedom to say and do what they liked
3.People would wear a cap of freedom – the pilleum –
usually worn by slave
4.People were permitted to gamble in public
5.Chariot racing

3/14
#Saturnalia was the result of the merging of 3 winter festivals over the centuries.
1. Day of Saturn – the god of seeds and sowing
2. Bruma - Day of a feast day celebrating the shortest day
3. Opalia- feast day dedicated to Saturn’s wife

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217 BC a huge public feast was arranged at the oldest temple in Rome, the Temple of Saturn.
Macrobius confirms this, and says that the "rowdy" participants would spill out onto the street, with the participants shouting, “Io #Saturnalia!”

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Closing days of the #Saturnalia were known as "#Sigillaria" because of the custom of making, toward the end of the festival, presents of candles, wax models of fruit, and waxen statuettes which were fashioned by the Sigillarii

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#Yule is another pagan festival that had customs absorbed into the Christian #Christmas was the festival of #Yule by Germanic people.
The familiar custom of burning the Yule log dates back to earlier solstice celebrations and the tradition of bonfires
Src:Public domain

7/14
Another association of 25th Dec is the birth date of #Jesus
However, It was first identified as date of Birth by Sextus Julius Africanus in 221. For long time 6th January was celebrated as Jesus b'day

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336CE, the church settled 25 December as the date of Christ’s nativity. Christians wanted to keep #Christmas distinguished from Saturnalia traditions such as gambling, drinking, worshipping god.
Christmas become a major #Christian festival in 9th century.
Src @Britannica

9/14
Decorating #christmastrees with candles is another celebration on #Christmaseve. celebration was first known in Strasbourg in 1605.
Trees were decorated with 24 candles as 24th opening to 25th Dec from 1st Dec.
The no. of candles later reduced to 4
Src @Britannica

10/14
Santa Clause 'Saint Nicholas' 'Father Christmas' is said to be 4th Century Greek Bishop of Myra.
Martin Luther propagated gifting to children in #Christmas to focus children interest to Christ rather than Saints.

11/14 Pic 13th cnet. Saint Catherine Monastery, Sinai CC Pubic dom
Irresistible surge of #paganism worldwide as expressed in movies like Avatar, Thor and the Harry Potter series. The success of such movies worldwide suggests a deep desire among people for a more spiritually satisfying life with pantheism.
indiafacts.org/pagan-revival-…

12/14
You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: typefully.com/GemsOfIndology…

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More from @GemsOfINDOLOGY

Jun 7
Ever imagined yourself to be displayed as object in a Zoo ?

Here this thread captures real people and real agony. DONT proceed further if you are weak hearted.

This is a poster used during the era of Human Zoos. Note a "Negro" associated with an image of a monkey.

* sensitive material

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This part of a show called “Les Indes,” where captives from India are being paraded

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Black girl on display, Brussels, Belgium, 1958

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Read 9 tweets
Jun 6
Delving into Dholavira's metrology revelations.

Beyond ancient docks, lies advanced metrological wisdom.

From Mauryan architecture to now known as Qutub Minar, and Tajo Mahal the 5000 years old legacy lives on.

Bookmark this thread.

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As per latest studies, Dholavira construction used metrological units continued even in Tajo Mahal.

The author of this paper used "Dhanus" as 1.9 meters to evaluate dimensions and found that #harappan were not only fond of ratios but applied to all settlement of that period with some MOE

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The city's length EW axis and width NS are in a ratio of 5:4
The Castle also reflects the city's ratio of 5:4.
The Bailey is square (ratio 1:1).
The middle town's length and breadth are in a ratio of 7:6
The ceremonial ground's proportions are 6:1

3/12 https://www.indianculture.gov.in/other-collections/metrology-behind-harappan-town-planning
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Read 12 tweets
May 26
The Brihadeshwarar Devalaya was founded by the Tamil emperor Arulmozhivarman, popularly known as Rajaraja Chola I, in 1002 CE. It was the first major building project of the great Tamil Chola dynasty.

Inspired by Shaivism, the temple stands as a significant testament to this tradition.

The frescoes on the Devalaya walls were damaged due to exposure to smoke and camphor. The Tanjore Nayak replaced the damaged paintings with their own. Later, @ASIGoI repaired the paintings. However, a few of the original artworks have begun to reappear.

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This exquisite fresco, dating back over a millennium, vividly captures the grace of two female and one male dancer in a mesmerizing performance. Nestled within the revered Brihadeshwarar Devalaya in Tamil Nadu, this ancient artwork reflects the region's rich cultural heritage and the timeless allure of classical Indian dance traditions.

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Lakshmi
Brihadeshwarar Devalaya, Tamil Nadu

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Read 16 tweets
May 25
Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, and other gods and goddesses blessing Guru Nanak Ji as a child

Paiting at Baba Atal Gurdwara, Amritsar.

Bābakalasī Gurū Nānak Jī Nali'ā Paḍata | ਬਾਬਕਲਸੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਜੀ ਨਲਿਆ ਪੰਡਤ (Translated using Google Translation. Please correct me if there are any errors).

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Another wall painting were Hindu God and GOdesses are praying before Gurudwara

"Sansarik" is imprinted on the cow. Can someone elaborate its significance.

Paiting at Baba Atal Gurdwara, Amritsar.

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A community feast probably celebrating the auspicious moment. Hindu Gods and Godesses are also witnessing the event.

Paiting at Baba Atal Gurdwara, Amritsar.

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Read 5 tweets
May 7
In 1770, the British Invasion on Australia's native territories, along with the determined original Australian opposition, was thoroughly documented by both James Cook and Joseph Banks, the British botanist who journeyed with the Endeavour expedition. In his journals, which can be found on the State Library of NSW website, Banks described the efforts of Aboriginal fighters to block the expedition's landing at Botany Bay.Image
Cook similarly recorded the armed resistance to the British landing party, writing in his journal on April 30, 1770, that "all they seem'd to want was for us to be gone." Image
British colonial settlement, which officially began in 1788, was far more violent. Hundreds of massacres were carried out against Aboriginal communities that resisted European encroachment. Image
Read 6 tweets
Apr 4
The Ṛgveda is believed to originate from the early 3rd millennium BCE., with some hymns possibly tracing back to the late 4th millennium BCE.

Its compilation likely ended around 1500 B.C., not in 1500 BCE as commonly believed, just as the Indus Valley civilization was fading and Mesopotamia was undergoing a time of uncertainty and turmoil (Levitt 2003: 356b).

Here in this thread, a commonality between Sumerian and Bhartiy text.

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The argument links an Indo-European view with the Vedic origin of the god Indra's name from the Sanskrit "indh-" meaning "to kindle." However, this doesn’t explain all of Indra's traits, which resemble those of the Sumerian god Enlil.

Both Indra and Enlil lead their pantheons, surpass higher moral gods, separate heaven from earth, and are storm gods in both literal and figurative senses. Indra's defeat of Aryan enemies parallels Enlil's conquests.

In Vedic and 3rd millennium B.C. Sumerian traditions, major natural forces were personified. Both have chief gods of air and storm—Indra for the Vedic and Enlil for the Sumerian—showing the significance of rain and storms in their cultures (Dandekar 1958: 13, Jacobsen 1949: 150). This connection is clear.

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Enki is often seen as cunning and crafty, much like rivers that skillfully navigate around obstacles. Víṣṇu’s three steps may parallel Enki’s journey through the civilized world and his establishment of world order and earth’s fertility, as depicted in "Enki and the World Order" (Kramer 1963: 171-174). The name Nārāyaṇá, explained by the Mānavadharmaśāstra 1.10 as 'moving in the waters' (with nāra meaning 'waters'), typically refers to Víṣṇu, although in this context it refers to Brahmā.

Víṣṇu is associated with Garuḍá, the sun-bird, while Enki is linked to Imdugud, an eagle-like thunderbird. It is important to note that the Ṛgveda provides limited information about Víṣṇu, as he is incidental to its primary purpose.

Image representational, generated using AI.

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Read 7 tweets

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