What I love about the Areavoices Community is the opportunity it gives for everyone to weigh in.
That’s what I like most about one of our newest blogs, “Traditions of the Season”
We’re asking everyone who reads it to weigh in and share your favorite holiday memories and traditions, share your pictures as well. I want it to feel like we’re sitting around the Christmas table with coffee (or egg nog) talking about what makes the holidays so special for us.
I love hearing what others do to make Christmas “the most wonderful time of the year!”
Please share your stories and pictures by emailing them to me at tracy.briggs@forumcomm.com. I’ll look them over and get them published on the Traditions of the Seasons blog.
Many of today’s Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ Child was born. The Twelve Days of Christmas, blazing fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals or parades complete with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, holiday feasts and church processions are all rooted in the customs observed by early Mesopotamians.
Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian celebration of the New Year. The Mesopotamians worshipped many gods, the chief of whom was Marduk. Each year as winter arrived, it was believed that Marduk would battle the Monsters of Chaos. In order to assist Marduk during his struggle, the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. They called this celebration Zagmuk and the festivities lasted for twelve days.