Smoothy Slim
Smoothy Slim
Photo: Javon Swaby
December 25 Although most Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ, few in the first two Christian centuries claimed any knowledge of the exact day or year in which he was born.
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This effective juice jolts the metabolism, boosts energy and burns fat all day.
Learn More »Although most Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ, few in the first two Christian centuries claimed any knowledge of the exact day or year in which he was born. The oldest existing record of a Christmas celebration is found in a Roman almanac that tells of a Christ’s Nativity festival led by the church of Rome in 336 A.D. The precise reason why Christmas came to be celebrated on December 25 remains obscure, but most researchers believe that Christmas originated as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. To early Christians (and to many Christians today), the most important holiday on the Christian calendar was Easter, which commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, as Christianity began to take hold in the Roman world, in the early fourth century, church leaders had to contend with a popular Roman pagan holiday commemorating the “birthday of the unconquered sun” (natalis solis invicti)–the Roman name for the winter solstice. Every winter, Romans honored the pagan god Saturn, the god of agriculture, with Saturnalia, a festival that began on December 17 and usually ended on or around December 25 with a winter-solstice celebration in honor of the beginning of the new solar cycle. This festival was a time of merrymaking, and families and friends would exchange gifts. At the same time, Mithraism—worship of the ancient Persian god of light—was popular in the Roman army, and the cult held some of its most important rituals on the winter solstice. After the Roman Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity in 312 and sanctioned Christianity, church leaders made efforts to appropriate the winter-solstice holidays and thereby achieve a more seamless conversion to Christianity for the emperor’s subjects. In rationalizing the celebration of Jesus’ birthday in late December, church leaders may have argued that since the world was allegedly created on the spring equinox (late March), so too would Jesus have been conceived by God on that date. The Virgin Mary, pregnant with the son of God, would hence have given birth to Jesus nine months later on the winter solstice. From Rome, the Christ’s Nativity celebration spread to other Christian churches to the west and east, and soon most Christians were celebrating Christ’s birth on December 25. To the Roman celebration was later added other winter-solstice rituals observed by various pagan groups, such as the lighting of the Yule log and decorations with evergreens by Germanic tribes. The word Christmas entered the English language originally as Christes maesse, meaning “Christ’s mass” or “festival of Christ” in Old English. A popular medieval feast was that of St. Nicholas of Myra, a saint said to visit children with gifts and admonitions just before Christmas. This story evolved into the modern practice of leaving gifts for children said to be brought by “Santa Claus,” a derivative of the Dutch name for St. Nicholas—Sinterklaas.
Water is not the only beverage you can have during the fast, and you can also enjoy healthy sparkling drinks, tea, and lemon water. You can also...
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The foods and drinks that contain primarily empty calories are: Soft drinks, sports drinks, sweet tea, lemonade and energy drinks. Alcohol. Junk...
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A scrumptious morning smoothy based on the diets of among the healthiest, longest-living hamlet in the world.
Learn More »The Japanese persimmon, or kaki: scientific name, Diospyros kaki. Diospyros is often translated as “fruit of the Gods”; this may come as a surprise to most Japanese people as the humble kaki is a common fruit tree that has been planted in household gardens from long ago.
“For thousands of years, kaki were all of the astringent variety. It was in Japan during the Kamakura Period (1185–1333) that the first non-astringent kaki that sweetened on the tree, called the Zenjimaru, emerged. It is thought that they spread to other parts of Japan after the Muromachi Period (1392–1573) and with this, the appearance of kaki in various folktales, such as the well-known The Crab and the Monkey.” It was the Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg who, during his visit to Japan in 1775-76, gave the kaki its botanical name, Diospyros kaki, the ‘fruit of the Gods’ — so named after Thunberg noticed the kaki often growing in the grounds of temples or shrines. Since the 1800s, the fruit has made its way to Europe and South America where it has retained its Japanese name.
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A potent powdered supplement, based on the diets of among the healthiest, longest-living hamlet in the world.
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It also contains 30 percent of your daily value of vitamin A and 120 percent of your vitamin C fix. "The only carbs are from the vegetables and...
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This effective juice jolts the metabolism, boosts energy and burns fat all day.
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Which foods to avoid when trying to lose weight Sugary drinks. Baked foods. French fries. Hamburgers. Crackers and chips. White pasta and bread....
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