The value of Christmas, Easter

I disagree with the school of thought that says Christmas and Easter should not be celebrated. If notable preachers said so, it does not mean they are right. There might be concrete facts that initial Christmas and Easter practice was deeply rooted in paganism. But I have also read about the months and days of the week named after certain idols. Sunday, the day on which we go to church, was said to be a day dedicated to the Sun god. Yet, no pentecostal leader is raising an eyebrow on this. Doing so is almost impossible. It is a world order as far as the western world is concerned. For instance, Sunday is sun-day, meaning the day of the sun. There are many sun gods cross-culturally: the most famous perhaps are the three Egyptian sun gods: Horus who is the rising sun, Ra the noon sun and Osiris who represents the setting sun. The sun signifies creation, protection, power and good health.

Monday is moon-day, meaning the day of the moon. The moon is closely related to reflection as the moon’s light comes from the reflection of the sun. This is of course the polar opposite of what Mondays are used for in modern-day western culture, being that Mondays usually represent chaos and returning to work after the weekend. Tuesday is Tiws-Day. Tiw was a god of war, and was equivalent to the Roman mars. His main characteristics were that of honour, justice and courage. So Tiw represents Mars, meaning Tuesday is Mars day. Wednesday is Wodens-day, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of the Norse Odin or the Roman Mercury a sky god and the god of wisdom, poetry, commerce, travel, thievery, eloquence and science. He is also the messenger of the other gods. Woden represents Mercury, meaning that Wednesday is Mercury day.

Thursday is Thors-day, Thor being the Norse god of thunder. He is represented riding a chariot which is drawn by goats, while wielding a hammer. He is the defender of the Aesir (a tribe of gods), destined to kill and be killed by the Midgard Serpent. Thor has been popularised by modern-day Marvel comics, but is a real mythological character and while there are differences, Thor is similar to Zeus who is the Greek god of thunder.  He is the equivalent of the Roman Jupiter, meaning that Thursday is Jupiter day. Friday is Frigg-day. Frigg is the Norse god of love and fertility. In most sources, she is described as wife to Odin (who represents mercury). Sources also connect her with the goddess Fulla. She is the equivalent of the Roman venus, meaning that Friday is venus day.

Saturday is saturn-day, with saturn being the Roman god of agriculture, also known as Cronus, son of Uranus and Gaea. He led the Titans (his brothers and sisters) to revolt against their father to become king of the gods. Saturn is concerned with the sowing of seeds, so a day for manifestation. Saturn’s wife was Ops who was the goddess of plenty. So Saturday is Saturn day. And even months bear the names and signatures of pagan beliefs and practices. For instance, in relation to March, the ancient Romans insisted that all wars cease during the time of celebration between the old and new years. Since March was the first month of the new year in ancient Rome, some historians believe the Romans named March after Mars, the Roman god of war.

Three theories exist regarding the origin of April’s name. Some say April got its name from the Latin word meaning “second” since April was the second month on the ancient calendar. Others claim it comes from “aperire,” a Latin word meaning “to open,” because it represents the opening of buds and flowers in spring. Still others think April was named after the goddess Aphrodite. May was named after Maia, an earth goddess of growing plants. Apparently, June has always been a popular month for weddings! The Romans named June after Juno, the queen of the gods and patroness of marriage and weddings. Why don’t the pentecostal leaders go against those those days and months ?  Has using the names stopped Christ’s popularity, or made darkness to triumph over light? And if I may ask, how has the society in general evolved? Is it not building the new on the old? It is a good idea if the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ are used to replace pagan practices. It symbolises the power of light over darkness.

Christmas and Easter, which were initially practised as pagan festivals, were made for certain people, not across the world. But today, the birth and resurrection are celebrated across the world. So, which is superior?  Inasmuch as we do not go into churches to call on the name of those idols, things are in order. What those pentecostal leaders should ask themselves is that if Christmas and Easter are not practised today, what would have become of Christianity? Many of those pentecostal leaders would have iconised themselves as Jesus Christ. Since one is already talking from a flyer to release a member in captive, he is just an inch closer to be declared a saviour. Jesus Christ should be celebrated at these chosen periods. This will help to dismantle any human trying to claim the glory of Christ himself. This is noting but a rebellious attitude trying to play down the celebration of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ’s birth and resurrection should be celebrated to the fullest. When he finally comes to reign, it shall be round the clock celebration and those churches will cease to be. They shall become irrelevant.

• Folaranmi lives in Ilorin, Kwara State.