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From: amigo2@ihuxq.UUCP (John Hobson)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: How do you deal with Jewish Holidays and WORK?
Message-ID: <727@ihuxq.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 1-Mar-84 12:45:09 EST
Article-I.D.: ihuxq.727
Posted: Thu Mar  1 12:45:09 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 3-Mar-84 07:10:37 EST
References: <963@pegasus.UUCP> <202@masscomp.UUCP> <1016@pegasus.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
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Ephrayim J. Naiman asks:

>>	Someone once told me that Jesus was born on the first day of
>>	Chanukah, the 25th day of Kislev; and the Christians observe
>>	Christmas on the same day, twenty-five, of the approximately
>>	equivalent month in the solar calendar, December.
>>
>>	Anyone know if this is true?

Sorry, Ephrayim, but the reason that Christmas is celebrated on the
25th of December is that the Romans had a Winter Solistice feast
(the Saturnalia) on that date, and it was pre-empted by the
Christians because it was popular.

On a related subject, St. Valentine's Day on February 14 is the
"lovers festival" because February 15th was the Roman feast of the
Lupercalia, which was a fertility festival, and one chose a partner
for it on the previous day.

				John Hobson
				AT&T Bell Labs--Naperville, IL
				ihnp4!ihuxq!amigo2