HORROR THROUGH THE HALLOWDAYS

Horror through the hallowdays continues. This time the subject is Christmas. I grew up like most of you thinking of it as a time of animated cartoons, Christmas carols, egg nog, and presents (I even watched "Jesus Christ Superstar" on Netflix last night).

But my research digs up real horror when we travel back to the origins of the holiday. Horror that even makes my skin crawl.

THE ORIGINS OF CHRIST'S MASS

Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of the day Christ was born. But no one knows when that really was. It is estimated he was born between 7 and 2 BC. But the exact day and month are unknown.

The day December 25th was chosen because it was a pagan holiday called Saturnalia. The church found it was easier to convert pagans if they were allowed to bring their own religious holidays into Christianity. However, there was nothing Christian about Saturnalia. In its earliest incantation, it was a holiday of Roman pagans. On Saturnalia the Roman courts were closed and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people. It was a day of wide spread intoxication, violence, and rape. I'm reminded of the movie "THE PURGE." Later, Emperor Domitian curbed Saturnalia's subversive tendencies. 

But does it really matter where any holiday comes from? The sentiment is what's important. Not the religion. I like to think of Christmas as a time of peace on earth and good will to man. 

Once this season is over, we'll go back to having sex with our neighbor's wife, cheating people, lying to our friends, and spreading violence across the globe. Hmm, sounds kind of like Saturnalia.

Too bad we can't celebrate the spirit of Christmas everyday.

Merry Xmas!

Images courtesy of "The Black Album"

COMING: more timeline from the movie, excerpts from the book, movie news, lost footage from the movie, and much more horror.

Sincerely,

Carlton Kenneth Holder