Christianity has always had a policy of, once their kings had invaded a new area with an older belief system, to establish nifty new celebration events timed almost to the same day as the older system. When it comes to christmas it was 'somehow' placed at the same time where Scandinavians had celebrated the midwinter celebrations. And gee, mainly celebrated in the same way it had always been - by eating, drinking, meeting family, fornicating and exchanging gifts. Something to look forward to eery year when the cold was at its most biting and the sun at its briefest. We can trace this tradition back to at least 1000 BC. The only new stuff is that now we are dragging a big tree into the house so we can put lights on it, and of course there 's the christian Santa Claus who was originally a 'saintly giver of money gifts to unwed girls' and then further twisted by Coca Cola to look even freakier. But before those guys there was 'the little people in the forest' and some of us STILL put out a bit of porridge for them on the 24th December if we live near the forest. You will find no angels on my tree, nor any Special Lights Show outside my house. But the tree is always hewn in our family forest and when I say "God Jul" it actually means something.
Other than that, defined 'non sharp objects' as my throwing blade isn't that sharp.
Would you like me if I insisted on reading you Arthur Rimbaud poetry in bed?
