The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1909-12-25

tbs celebration of Christmas has risen
during the last two thousand years,
or since the establishment of what is
known as the Christian era. the Tes-
tlval, however is much more ancient
than that; so ancient, indeed, that
VIC find details of the celebration of
Christmas in ali historical records of
every nation, and always on Deem
Der 25th.
The earliest known religion was
that of worship of the Sun, or of
some Great Power of which the sun
was the material representation. The
sun was regarded as Creator, since
there could be no life without light
The ancients also gave it the name of
Saviour, because light drives away
darkness fertilizes the earth, and pre-
serves all living things. 1t was also
called Destroyer, because sometimes
the rays of the sun cause the destruc-
ton of vegetation and the drying up
OF rivers. This was the first known
Trinity, and eventually the sun came
to be regarded by ignorant people as
an Incorporation of three persons in
} one. December 25th was held to be
the suns birthday, because on that
, day it begins its apparent northward
journey; and the promised restoration
of light and the commencement of a
new era led to the day being kept
with great rejoicings and thanksgiv-
ings.
The religious beliefs of mankind
develope with the race and religion
tended to become material rather
than spiritual. The belief arose that
the sun in some mysterious manner
became incarnate in human form;
that all the power it possessed was
for a time centered in a member of
the human race, to whom was grant
ed the authority to bestow spiritual
blessings. The doctrine of the Trim
ity passed through a similar develop
ment and this incarnation came to be
held as that of the second person of
this trinity. Vishnu, who was the
second person in the Hindu Trinity,
is said to have appeared in human
form at Krishna. Extending back
for thousands of years, the worship
of Kirshna was practiced as late as
the time of Alexander the Great, in a
temple which still remains, that of
Mathura, on the Jumna River; and,
for many years before the birth of
Jesus, the story of Krishna was the
subject of dramatic representations.
In a book called Bhagavad Gita,
which is the Hindu "Song of the Most
High" Vishnu is represented as say
ing, every time that religion is in
danger and iniquity triumphs, is
sue forth the defence of the good and
the suppression of the wicked. l man.
ifest myself from age to age for the
establishment of justice" This, how
ever, is not the only divine incarnation
in the Hindu religion; there are TWEEN
ty-four in all.
AS in India, so it was in Persia.
The Persians called the sun by the
name of Mithras; but after many
years it came to be regarded as a di-
vine being who was incarnated, and
December 25th was held to be the
day on which the Goldman was born,
the anniversary being celebrated with
even more pomp and rejoicing than
we keep the modern festival. On that
day the magi, or wise men, assembled
a high mountain at early dawn, and
with their faces turned to the East,
awaited anxiously for the first rays
of the sun, which they greeted with
incense and prayer. These ancient
Persians believed that a divine incar-
nation was necessary by reason of the
fall of their first parents, through
which act all their progenitors had
become tainted with original sin.
When Abraham went down into
Egypt, he took with him the knowl-
edge of the true God, Yahveh; but
this spiritual knowledge soon became
tainted with mere undisciplined in
tellectuality. So, in turn, the child
rem Of Israel in their Egyptian so
journ became tainted with this cor
rupted form of worship. Many of
these sun myths existed among the
Egyptians. One of their names for
the sun was Osiris, who became inear-
nate and was born on December 25th.
He was the son of Sci and Meth,
who was knows as the Lady of the
Sycamore, and the image which rep
resented her bear a striking resem-
blanee to the more modern representa-
lions of the Madonna and the ancient |
Il