These days many people understand that "Christmas" represents the continuation and remake of the very ancient observation of the winter solstice, the time of year when the sun "dies" and is "reborn" or "resurrected," as the daylight hours decrease to their shortest point and then begin to increase again.
This important solstice time has been observed most notably on December 21st or 22nd in the northern hemisphere.
However, as we can see from the image below, over the past several thousand years in many cultures globally the winter solstice has been celebrated at various times, from the middle or end of November to the middle of January.
The symbolism in many of these instances is clear:
Mourning the decrease and celebrating the increase of the sun's life-giving light and heat.
As can also be seen, this solstice transition was incorporated into mythology in numerous parts of the world, as the sun god or goddess has been represented frequently as emerging from a "cave," symbolizing the "underworld" or the place where the sun appears to go at night and during the winter months.
While it is clear that winter-solstice festivals of light have extended throughout the month of December, the winter celebration most people are familiar with is "Christmas," which occurs on December 25th, the transition from "Christmas Eve" on the 24th.
This date is not a mistake or calendrical misalignment; indeed, it represents the end of a three-day period or triduum observed by the ancients as the sun's "death" and entrance into the underworld, after which "he" is resurrected or reborn into the world.
The ancients noticed that, for three days during this period, the sun's shadow on the sundial remained in the same place (at noon); hence, it was believed that "he" had "died."
Thus, according to this ancient perception the solstice period - "solstice" meaning "sun stands still" - begins at midnight on December 21st and ends at midnight on December 24th.
While hundreds of millions worldwide continue to be taught otherwise, it is well known these days in certain quarters, including among many Christian fundamentalists, that "Christmas" does not truly represent the birth of a historical JesusChrist as the "real reason for the season."
It is understood that this "Christian" celebration in actuality constitutes a remake of the birth of the sun instead, and it is contended that this "Pagan" winter-solstice festival was adopted into Christianity only in the third to fourth centuries after Christ's alleged advent.
However, there are indications that this solar "birthday" of Jesus was already in the minds of the creators of Christianity long before that time, including comments by Church fathers, the biblical and traditional depiction of Christ as the "sun of righteousness" and an enigmatic verse in the Gospel according to John (3:30), put into the mouth of John the Baptist:
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
The original Greek of this scripture is: ἐκεῖνον δεῖ αὐξάνειν ἐμὲ δὲ ἐλαττοῦσθαι.
"That one it is necessary to cause to grow," while the second clause reads, "Me moreover it is decreasing."
Thus, John 3:30 reads literally:
That one it is necessary to grow; me moreover it is decreasing. Young's Literal Translation renders this verse thus: Him it behoveth to increase, and me to become less...
This passage has been interpreted to mean that John the Baptist as a preacher must become less popular and lose his following, while Christ must increase in popularity, inheriting John's following.
Such a contention would remain odd, however, in that the speaker is clearly discussing not followers but a single person or object, with the "me" without a doubt referring to an individual, not a group or collective.
The intent is clear that one must increase while the other must decrease, but,
How could this strange idea apply to a person?
Was John the Baptist very fat, while Jesus was too thin?
The solstice periods
Rather than representing the literal remark from a real person, this enigmatic verse is worded in such a way as to take on the appearance of mysteries - or, at least, mysterious - language or allegory.
In consideration of the patent solar imagery sprinkled throughout the New Testament, along with the numerous characteristics Christ shares with solar heroes, such as the virgin birth, winter-solstice birthday, miracles of walking on water and turning water into wine, along with the transfiguration on the mount, resurrection and ascension into heaven, it is reasonable to suggest that this line represents the changing of the guard from the summer-to-winter sun (John) to the winter-to-summer sun (Jesus).
This indication of Christ and the Baptist representing personifications of the winter and summer solstices is validated by their respective birth or feast days on December 25th and June 24th.
The concept of the six months from summer to winter and from winter to summer representing important times can be found in Indian religion/mythology, in the doctrines and stories involving the uttarayana and dakshināyana, the six-month winter-summer and summer-winter periods beginning on the solstices.
The uttarayana represents the "day of the gods," while dakshināyana symbolizes the "night of the gods."
The uttaryana is said to be the period when the "gates to heaven" are open, and it is considered auspicious to die during this time, while the dakshināyana is the time when the heavenly gates are closed, and it is deemed unlucky to pass at this time.
The enigmatic verse at John 3:30 about Christ needing to increase while John must decrease fits nicely with this Indian notion of the gates to heaven being open during this auspicious period and the gates closed during the unlucky time, especially since it is contended that Christ is the way to heaven. (E.g., John 14:6)
This notion of personified solstices or distinct solstitial periods also has precedence in other mythologies, such as the Egyptian, in which the gods Anubis and Osiris are said to be the personifications of the summer and winter solstices, respectively.
Among other similarities, both Anubis and John are depicted as headless and as purifying or baptizing the god or godman who saves the worshipper from death and promises eternal life, leaving us to wonder whether or not John the Baptist is an Egyptian myth.
John and Jesus as remakes of Anubis and Osiris
In the case of Anubis and Osiris, the strange line,
"He must increase, while I must decrease" would be appropriate, in consideration of their role as personifications of the summer and winter sun and solstices.
In this regard and for many other reasons, the gospel of John, in which this verse may be found (3:30), is obviously geared toward an Egyptian audience, having also its apparent provenance in Egypt, where the earliest fragments of the book were discovered.
Hence, the connection between this biblical verse and the winter-summer transition becomes even more logical to assume.
It would therefore seem that the writer(s) of John's gospel - which does not appear in the literary record until the end of the second century - were aware already at this time of the identification of Jesus Christ with and as the sun (above video), as they should be, since the coming messiah is specifically called "Sun of Righteousness" in the Old Testament book just before the Gospel of Matthew, Malachi (4:2).
Rather than representing the birthday of a human savior of a particular ethnicity and creed, this time of the year constitutes the "birth,""rebirth" or "resurrection" of Sol Invictus, the "Unconquered Sun," whose annual journey across our sky can be celebrated worldwide as a truly unifying expression of our global family.
Christ's Nativity; Bernardo Dadi, c. 1325-1350 National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
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By Acharya aka D. M. Murdock in 2011
For the past nearly 1,700 years, a significant portion of the Western world has celebrated the day of December 25th as the birth of the divine Son of God and Savior JesusChrist.
Thousands of images have been created, as well as songs, poems and other artistic endeavors, depicting the baby Jesus lying in a manger surrounded by ox and lamb, with the:
Virgin Mary
Joseph
angels
and three Wise Men looking on in wonder at the luminous infant.
This imagery, we are told, represents the very first Christmas, when the Lord of the Universe was born on this earth, on the 25th day of December in the year 1 AD/CE.
But is this story true?
"O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born...Christ should be born."
The tradition of "Christmas" or December 25th as the birth of JesusChrist, the main figure of the New Testament who is believed by nearly two billion Christians worldwide to have been God in the flesh come to save mankind from its sins, is traceable to the late second to third century AD/CE.
December 25th as Christ's birthday makes its way into a "calendar" or chronology created in 354 AD/CE called the Calendar of Filocalus or Philocalian Calendar.
In addition to listing the 25th of December as the Natalis Invicti, which means "Birth of the Unconquered (Sun)," the Calendar also names the day as that of natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae: "Birth of Christ in Bethlehem Judea."
Hence, we can see that people of the fourth century were clearly aware of the association, if not identification, of Christ with the sun, as they had been in Cyprian's time and earlier, since Jesus is claimed to be the "Sun of Righteousness" in the Old Testament book of Malachi (4:2).
"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings."
Over the past few decades, many people have come to understand that "December 25th" represents not the birthday of a "historical" savior named JesusChrist but the time of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, when the day begins to become longer than the night, and the sun is said to be "born again,""renewed" or "resurrected."
By the time Jesus' birth was placed at the winter solstice there had been numerous solstitial celebrations of the coming "new sun" in a wide variety of places.
December is full of winter-solstice celebrations beginning in remotest antiquity.
For example, the date of December 21st as the festival of the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu represents her "coming out of the cave," a typical solar myth.
Likewise noteworthy is the festival of the Egyptian baby sun god Sokar occurring on 26 Khoiak (below image), as related in the Calendar of Hathor at Dendera, corresponding at the turn of the common era to December 22nd.
The longstanding ritual of Sokar being carried out of the temple on this day in an "ark" closely resembles the censored commentary by Church father Epiphanius (c. 310/320-403) concerning the Egyptians bringing forth the baby sun born of a virgin at the winter solstice.
Sokar the baby sun at the Winter Solstice approached by three dignitaries, Ptah-Osiris-Sokar
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The winter-solstice celebrations were so important that at times they exceeded the one or two days of the actual solstice in the Gregorian calendar, i.e., December 21st or 22nd.
Solstice celebrations therefore do not necessarily fall on the traditional time of the solstice but may occur up to several days before or after, such as is exemplified by the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, which began on December 17th and ended on the 23rd.
Hence, a "winter solstice" birth as asserted for a number of gods would not necessarily be celebrated on those exact days or even on the more commonly accepted date of December 25th, which signifies the end of a three-day period of the solstice - meaning "sun stands still" - as perceived in ancient times.
In this regard, the winter-solstice birthday of the Greek sun and wine god Dionysus was originally recognized in early January but was eventually placed on December 25th, as related by the ancient Latin writer Macrobius (4th cent. ad/ce).
Regardless, the effect is the same:
The winter sun god is born around this time, when the day begins to become longer than the night.
Nativity of Dionysus - Hermes presents the baby Dionysus to a goddess or mortal woman; two groups of three figures are in attendance on either side; bas relief from the Museum of Naples
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In 275 ad/ce, December 25th was formalized by Emperor Aurelian as the birthday of Sol Invictus, the Invincible Sun, and it is claimed that Aurelian likewise combined the Greek festival of the sun god Helios, called the Helia, with Saturnalia as well to establish this solstice celebration.
The highly important Mysteries of Osiris, which begin on the 14th of December and end with his resurrection on December 26th, follow a winter-solstice pattern similar to the Brumalia, Saturnalia and Christmas celebrations.
The facts that this period comprises several festivities having to do with the passion, death and resurrection or rebirth of this prominent Egyptian sun god, and that the dates for these mysteries happened to correspond to the winter solstice when the wandering Egyptian Calendar was finally fixed, are extraordinary.
How Far Back Do Winter-Solstice Celebrations Go?
In "2011 Astrotheology Calendar," the month of December is illustrated by the "passage tomb" at Newgrange, Ireland, which is oriented to the sunrise on the winter solstice or around December 21st in the Gregorian calendar.
This tomb - which has also been called a "temple" based on its evident importance - is guarded by a large boulder with spiral solar symbols and dates to around 3200 BCE.
The winter-solstice sunrise at Newgrange sends a shaft of light down the cruciform corridor and chamber.
This ceremony is believed to signify the "return to life" or resurrection from the death of winter.
In this sacred site is thus a 5,000-year-old "cross of light" representing the resurrection to life or rebirth on "December 25th."
"In the sacred site at Newgrange is a 5,000-year-old 'cross of light' representing the resurrection to life and rebirth on 'December 25th.'"
There are many other archaeological sites globally that are astronomically aligned, particularly to the winter solstice, some even older than Newgrange, such as the wooden circle or "henge" at Goseck, Germany, which may be 7,000 years old.
Goseck circle, Germany; yellow lines represent sunrise and sunset at the winter solstice c. 7,000 years ago
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The building of such astronomically aligned edifices, which are widely understood to be "temples" of a sort, indicates that the ancient astrotheological motif of the sun god's birth at the winter solstice is at least that old.
Moreover, there is evidence that this solar observation is much older even than that.
The suggestion that the winter-solstice celebration by human beings in several parts of the world, particularly in the farther northern reaches of the northern hemisphere, dates back to Paleolithic times and was part of religious "mysteries" even then is indicated by a number of artifacts, including the painting known as "Sorcerer with the Antelope's Head" from Les Trois Freres caves in the French Pyrenees.
As I write in Suns of God, these caves were occupied during the Magdalenian period, 10,000-16,000 years ago, although mythologist Robert Graves dates the paintings therein to "at least 20,000 B.C."
In Prehistoric Lunar Astronomy, Indian scholar S.B. Roy theorizes that these paintings are representative of secret deposits relating to the mysteries, remarking that they would "necessarily be performed at a particular auspicious moment," upon which their potency would depend.
This auspicious moment would be dependent on the solar and lunar phases, as well as the seasons.
As I also relate in Suns of God, Roy further posits that the antelope-headed "sorcerer" was "a figure marking the onset of a season."
The reasons for this assertion include that the "remote traditions" in the Rig Veda and in Vedic astronomy relate that the Stag's head represents the star L-Orionis and the winter solstice at the new moon, as well as the summer solstice at the full moon.
Roy concludes that the sorcerer figure "marked the winter solstice," which was "a great day in the Ice Age of Europe."
Based on the astronomy, the figure dates to 10,600 BCE.
Discussing the European Magdalenian cave-dwellers of around 10,000 years ago, Roy also asserts:
In Northern Europe and Asia, in latitudes of 60º and higher, where Slavonic languages now prevail, the winter was then long and dark.
It was very cold.
Everyone looked to the day of the winter solstice when the sun would turn North.
The astronomers would know the date even though the sun itself was not visible.
This was the great day, for the spring would now come.
Thus, the winter solstice was an important factor in human culture, particularly that of the cold, northern latitudes, at least 12,000 years ago.
"'Christmas' is thus an extremely ancient celebration, predating the Christian era by many millennia."
The winter solstice celebration that developed throughout much of the inhabited world has been handed down as "Christmas," i.e., December 25th, the birthday of the "sun of God."
Egyptology Online Resources. aegyptologie.online-resourcen.de/Date_Converter_for_Ancient_Egypt/Roman-Emperors Halsberghe, Gaston H. The Cult of Sol Invictus. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1972. Herbermann, Charles G., et al., eds. "Christmas." The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 3. New York: The Catholic Encyclopedia Inc., 1913. Graves, Robert. The White Goddess. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1966. Mettinger, Tryggve N.D. The Riddle of Resurrection: "Dying and Rising Gods" in the Ancient Near East. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell Internat., 2001. Murdock, D.M. Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection. Seattle: Stellar House Publishing, 2009. Murdock, D.M., and N.W. Barker. The 2010 Astrotheology Calendar. Seattle: Stellar House Publishing, 2009. - The 2011 Astrotheology Calendar. Seattle: Stellar House Publishing, 2010. Roy, Shashanka Bhushan. Prehistory Lunar Astronomy. New Delhi: Institute of Chronology, 1976.
The Christmas Hoax - Jesus is NOT the "Reason for the Season"
By Acharya aka D. M. Murdock
What is The Real "Reason for The Season?"
The December 25th birthday of the sun god is a common motif globally, dating back at least 12,000 years as reflected in winter solstices artfully recorded in caves.
"Nearly all nations," says Doane, commemorated the birth of the god Sol to the "Queen of Heaven" and "Celestial Virgin."
The winter solstice was celebrated in countless places, including China and Persia, the latter regarding the solar Lord and Savior Mithra's birth.
In Rome, a great festival called "Saturnalia" was celebrated from December 1st to the 23rd. The winter solstice festival in Egypt included the babe in a manger brought out of the sanctuary.
Regarding the date of the "Christmas Feast," the Catholic Encyclopedia ("Christmas") remarks:
The well-known solar feast... of Natalis Invicti, celebrated on 25 December, has a strong claim on the responsibility for our December date....
The earliest rapprochement of the births of Christ and the sun is in Cypr., "De pasch. Comp.", xix,
"...O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born... Christ should be born."
In the fourth century, Chrysostom, "del Solst. Et Æquin." (II, p. 118, ed. 1588), says:
"...But Our Lord, too, is born in the month of December... the eight before the calends of January [25 December]... But they call it the 'Birthday of the Unconquered'. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord...? Or, if they say that it is the birthday of the Sun, He is the Sun of Justice."
Already Tertullian (Apol., 16; cf. Ad. Nat., I, 13; Orig. c. Cels., VIII, 67, etc) had to assert that Sol was not the Christians' God; Augustine (Tract xxxiv, in Joan. In P. L., XXXV, 1652) denounces the heretical identification of Christ with Sol.
Pope Leo I (Serm. xxxvii in nat. dom., VII, 4; xxii, II, 6 in P. L., LIV, 218 and 198) bitterly reproves solar survivals - Christians, on the very doorstep of the Apostles' basilica, turn to adore the rising sun.
Ancient Greeks celebrated the birthday of Hercules and Dionysus on this date, as the ancient authority Macrobius (c. 400 AD/CE) maintained.
Even the Greek father god, Zeus, was supposedly born at the winter solstice.
The "Christmas" festival was celebrated at Athens and was called "the Lenaea," during which time, apparently,
"the death and rebirth of the harvest infant Dionysus were similarly dramatized."
This Lenaea festival("festival of the wild women" or menaeds) is depicted in an Aurignacian cave-painting in Spain, with a,
"Young Dionysus with huge genitals," standing naked in the middle of "nine dancing women."
The Aurignacian period extended from 34,000 to 23,000 years ago.
In The White Goddess, mythologist Robert Graves states:
The most ancient surviving record of European religious practices is an Aurignacian cave-painting at Cogul in North-Eastern Spain of the Old Stone Age Lenaea.
The White Goddess -- Robert Graves -- 2013 -- Farrar, Straus and Giroux -- 34b05dbb1c9d5fb2ad98c81726d2fa84 -- Anna’s Archive.pdf
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A young Dionysus with huge genitals stands un-armed, alone and exhausted in the middle of a crescent of nine dancing women, who face him.
He is naked, except for what appear to be a pair of close-fitting boots laced at the knee; they are fully clothed and wear small cone-shaped hats.
These wild women, differentiated by their figures and details of their dress, grow progressively older as one looks clockwise around the crescent...
By using the term "Dionysus," Graves is not stating that it was written on the walls of the cave.
He is using it to describe an archetype that is very ancient.
The Greco-Syrian sun god Adonis - the "Adonai" of the Bible - was also born on December 25th, a festival,
"spoken of by Tertullian, Jerome, and other Fathers of the Church, who inform us that the ceremonies took place in a cave, and that the cave in which they celebrated his mysteries in Bethlehem, was that in which Christ Jesus was born."
Nor is the winter solstice celebration a purely "Pagan" concept, as the Jews also observed it in reference to the birth of their god, Yahweh.
"Feast of Lights" or "feast of the Dedication," occurred in winter (John 10:22-23; Josephus's Antiquities XII, 7.7) ¹ and represented the "ancient Hebrew Winter Solstice Feast."
The reference in the gospel of John states:
"It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem; it was winter..."
(RSV)
The passage in Josephus's Antiquities (XII, 7.7) refers to the eight-day festival celebrated by the Jewish hero Judas Maccabeus (190 BCE-160 BCE), the "festival of the restoration off the sacrifices of the temple."
This 8-day festival is called by Josephus simply "Lights," as in the "festival of Lights."
Known as "Hannukah," this "feast of Lights" represents a "restoration" of the ancient temple sacrifices.
Regarding this Hannukah feast, in The White Goddess (469), Graves further says:
The rabbinical account is that this eight-day festival which begins on the twenty-fifth day of the month Kislev, was instituted by Judas Maccabeus and that it celebrates a miracle: at the Maccabean consecration of the Temple a small cruse of sacred oil was found, hidden by a former High Priest, which lasted for eight days.
By this legend the authors of the Talmud hoped to conceal the antiquity of the feast, which was originally Jehovah's birthday as the Sun-god and had been celebrated at least as early as the time of Nehemiah.
(Maccabees, I, 18)
The citation in Graves concerning the antiquity of this feast should be 2 Maccabees 1:18, which states:
Since on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev we shall celebrate the purification of the temple, we thought it necessary to notify you, in order that you also may celebrate the feast of booths and the feast of the fire given when Nehemiah, who built the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices.
The biblical figure Nehemiah is reputed to have lived during the fifth century (fl. 430 BCE), and 25th of the month of Kislev (November/December) is indeed the time of the celebration called Hannukah/Chanukah.
As 2 Maccabees recounts, during this earlier sacrifice by Nehemiah, the Persians to whom he had sent for the sacred fire had only given him a "thick liquid" (oil?).
After the liquid was sprinkled on the wood, the sun - previously hidden by clouds - beamed brightly, causing a great fire to blaze up, "so that all marveled."
At this point, the priests offered fervent prayers to the Lord God.
From the account in the biblical book of Ezekiel concerning the Temple priests holding secret rites - sacrilegious in Ezekiel's opinion - we know that there is an esoteric tradition within Judaism that is not made known to the masses.
Graves is apparently suggesting that this esoteric tradition included the knowledge of Jehovah/Yahweh as a sun god - as asserted and demonstrated by numerous authorities and researchers - and that, as a sun god, he too was typically considered as born on the winter solstice.
It would appear, therefore, that this "festival of Lights" and "feast of the dedication" was a winter-solstice celebration based on the solar aspect either of the old Israelite gods or Elohim, as they are repeatedly termed in the Old Testament, or of the Jewish tribal god Yahweh.
(These inferences make for further studies by interested parties. The solar attributes of the main Jewish god Yahweh are brought out in detail in The Christ ConspiracyandSuns of God.)
In addition, Indians for millennia have celebrated the winter solstice, as a cardinal point, the new year and, presumably, the birth of the sun god. In the Indian solstice celebration - a "great religious festival" - there is "rejoicing everywhere."
As in the West, the Indians,
"decorate their houses with garlands, and make presents to friends and relatives," a "custom of very great antiquity."
One way the Brahman priests of Orissa have celebrated the solstice is by carrying images of,
"The youthful Krishna to the houses of their disciples and their patrons, to whom they present some of the red powder and tar of roses and receive presents of money and cloth in return."
Thus, in India the winter solstice has been as much a major holiday as it was anywhere, which is to be expected in a land permeated with sun worship for millennia.
Regarding the Persian sun god Mithra and his sacrifice, in the 19th century respected Christian author Rev. J.P. Lundy remarked:
"For let it be borne in mind that it was precisely at the season of this sacrifice, near the beginning of the new year, that the birth of Mithra was celebrated over all Persia and the world, in temple-caves, on the night of the 24th of December, the night of light.
Even the British Druids celebrated it, and called the next day, the 25th of December, Nollagh or Noel, the day of regeneration, celebrating it with great fires on tops of their mountains.
In fact, all nations, as if by common consent, at the first moment after midnight of the 24th of December, celebrated the birth of the sun-god, type among the Gentiles of Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, as the Desire of all nations and the Savior of the world."
Lundy was thus well aware of the sun gods, whom he deemed "types of Christ," indicating Christ's solar nature as well.
Concerning the winter solstice festival in Ireland, the author of Christian Mythology Unveiled relates:
"The Baal-fire feast, or meeting, was a great festival in Ireland, on the 25th of December, and midsummer eve. Baal, or Bel, was a name of the sun all over the east."
It is important to note that the "December 25th" birthdate only applies to the age and hemisphere in which the winter solstice falls on December 21-24. In other ages, the solstice month is different, changing with the precession of the equinoxes every 2150 years.
The December 25th birthdate is that of the sun, not a "real person," revealing its unoriginality within Christianity and the true nature of the Christian godman.
"Christmas" was not incorporated into Christianity until 354 AD/CE.
In reality, there is no evidence, no primary sources which show that "Jesus is the reason for the season."
Did you know that the rate of suicide is highest during this time of the year and that 45 percent of all Americans dread the Christmas season?
We are constantly being told that Christmas is the 'happiest' time of the year, but mental health professionals tell us that the exact opposite is true.
For large numbers of Americans, the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is filled with:
stress
anxiety
loneliness
and family squabbles.
And for most people, the reality of the holidays never even comes close to matching up with the glittering ideal portrayed in movies and on television.
As a result, depression tends to spike during the month of December.
And of course, Americans are quite depressed most of the time anyway.
In fact, one out of every ten Americans is on an antidepressant as you read this article.
No other nation in the world even approaches that level.
So right now, we are in the midst of the most depressing time of the year in the most depressed nation on the entire planet.
What is wrong with this picture?
A lot of people start to feel down this time of the year, and they don’t realize that there are millions of others that are going through the exact same thing.
The following excerpt from a Psychology Today article explains that this is something that happens every Christmas season…
We are told that Christmas, for Christians, should be the happiest time of year, an opportunity to be joyful and grateful with family, friends and colleagues.
Yet, according to the National Institute of Health, Christmas is the time of year that people experience the highest incidence of depression.
Hospitals and police forces report the highest incidences of suicide and attempted suicide.
Psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals report a significant increase in patients complaining about depression.
One North American survey reported that 45% of respondents dreaded the festive season.
The number of Americans that die by suicide is now greater than the number of Americans that die as a result of car accidents every year.
Sadly, most Americans have absolutely no idea that the latest scientific studies indicate that many of these drugs could actually be quite dangerous.
For example, one recent study found that children that take antidepressants are more likely to attempt suicide…
High doses of brain-altering chemicals marketed as "anti-depressants" increase the likelihood of self-harm, rather than decreasing the risk, say Harvard health scientists in a study that analyzed data on 162,625 people.
Drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) may raise the risk of suicidal behavior in children and young adults, according to the analysis.
SSRI’s are the chemical substances which make up the antidepressants Prozac and Zoloft.
"Our findings offer clinicians an additional incentive to avoid initiating pharmacotherapy at high-therapeutic doses," Harvard School of Public Health researchers said.
Another recent study found that pregnant mothers that take antidepressants are more likely to have babies with brain defects…
Almost one in five children born to mothers taking antidepressants during pregnancy have a brain defect - called a "Chiari type 1 malformation" - according to a groundbreaking study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The study, titled Rate of Chiari I Malformation in Children of Mothers with Depression with and without Prenatal SSRI Exposure, was published May 19 in the peer-reviewed journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
The researchers found that,
"Children of depressed mothers treated with a group of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy were more likely to develop Chiari type 1 malformations than were children of mothers with no history of depression," according to their press statement.
But more important than all of those things, is the fact that most Americans today simply do not have anything to live for.
These days, most people just seem to be living for themselves.
They chase one form of entertainment after another, hoping that something will eventually fill the gaping holes that are constantly aching inside their hearts.
Many go to their graves never finding the fulfillment that they were desperately searching for all of their lives.
You have got to have something to live for that really matters.
That is something that I have found, and it has made all the difference.
"Eyes blinded by the fog of things cannot see truth. Ears deafened by the din of things cannot hear truth. Brains bewildered by the whirl of things cannot think truth. Hearts deadened by the weight of things cannot feel truth. Throats choked by the dust of things cannot speak truth."
