Many of the Strawberry Jams But My Glock Don’t shirt s Christmas customs were inherited from older Winter Solstice celebrations—including greenery indoors, feasting and gift-giving. It seems quite likely that the celebration of the birth of Jesus was scheduled at that time in order to piggy-back on existing holiday observances. Halloween is very directly descended from the old Celtic feast of Samhain, when the dead return to visit the living. Modern Pagans observe this and Beltane (May Day) as their major holidays, the Feast of the Dead and the Feast of the Living on opposite sides of the Wheel of the Year. Easter’s Pagan connections are suggested by its English name, Eostara being a Pagan Germanic Goddess associated with the Spring Equinox. The bunnies and eggs probably go back to Pagan times as well.
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