Aside from the Bible, we have only a few references to the birth of Jesus. The date of December 25th, the year of 1 AD, and location have all been debated. The issue starts with the tradition of the mid-winter pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice. Historians generally accept that Christian authorities adopted this holiday. It wasn’t officially adopted until the 4th Century.

The next problem is with a change in calendars. The Julian calendar was in use until the Gregorian Calendar was adopted in the 16th Century. With a few exceptions, it is used world-wide today. The different calendar and the death of Herod lead to the speculation that maybe the actual date was 4 BC. I won’t get into BCE and CE designations.

Judea was a remote spot in the Roman Empire, and Joseph and Mary weren’t even Roman citizens. Even after Jesus became an adult, he didn’t get much attention until his death.

Where is this place called home?

I was sick last Thanksgiving with Covid-19 that produced a cold that hung on for three months. My DC friend had to cancel his trip to Raleigh. This year, we met mid-way in Lexington, VA. Lexington is the home of Washington & Lee University and Virginia Military Academy.

I have known my friend for almost 30 years from when I lived in DC from 1993-1996. He and I and a couple of other friends established a Thanksgiving tradition when we traveled to Prague & Budapest in 2003. Since then, we visited Williamsburg, Richmond, and Norfolk. We also have exchanged trips to Raleigh and Washington. Unfortunately, two of those friends now are deceased. That’s what happens as you grow old (88).

When I left my parents’ home in Fort Worth and again when they moved to Fayetteville to be with my sister in 1970, I always made it “home” for Christmas but never Thanksgiving. I don’t have any relatives left, except for a couple of first cousins in Tennessee. My Meditation practice has wakened me to the need to be grateful every day. I am thankful for my Christian heritage and a happy family. I know so many people who were not that lucky.

A holiday meal

Seems like we go directly from Halloween to Christmas without even a skip for Thanksgiving. Is a holiday an occasion or just a day off work? What is the purpose of a holiday? National Holidays have evolved over time from their original purpose and usually come on Monday to allow for a 3-day weekend.

When I was a kid, Halloween was trick or treat. But that’s become too dangerous and has been abandoned. “Monster” or “Death” houses seemingly rise for the grave and can really be scary, not just a little bit. Some people decorate for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and more people (except in the South) don’t decorate at all. Lights, blow-up plastic figures on the lawn, pumpkins, hay, are more popular now also for Thanksgiving. New England has everything but the blow-up figures because the fall is a big tourist season. The fall “color” season is also a big tourist draw in the North Carolina mountains, but I’ve never been able to pick the “peak weekend.”