The Origins of Christmas—it started before the Christian era

Here in Maine it has been gray, rainy, generally overcast, but today it is sunny—cold but sunny. What a welcome change!

The days are short now—how can it be so dark at 4 PM!—but the reversal has begun. The darkness reminds us of the holidays we celebrate at this time of year. These holidays are inspired by the winter solstice which was just a few days ago. After the solstice (in Latin, sol = sun and stice= standing [still]), there is a turn in the sun’s migration, a stop in its descent in...