The True Meaning of Christmas

In the mid-90s, i received an email from a mysterious character calling himself "Cosmic Jimmy". At first i thought it was a bit of spam, then when i started to read it, my jaw dropped in amazement.

For several years, i've been trying to research the origins of "christmas" - the real holiday, as it's been celebrated, not the christian holiday that attempts to co-opt the festivities.

Cosmic Jimmy's rant ties together a great deal of the actual facts and historical background, along with some well-supported speculation. I've attempted to add some commentary and analysis to separate the fact from the theory. In the meantime, read it, and have a very merry solstice.

Letter from Jimmy

Notes by Ben
From: Cosmic Jimmy <2sirius@sierratel.com>
Subject: Merry Christmas !!!

"The True meaning of Christmas"

What are the Origins of the Christmas Traditions?? Long lost into the Realm of simple Traditions are Very Amazing Truths that are long forgotten. This is My Christmas Present to you.... to know the Meanings behind the Traditions that as of yet have no Explanation.
Many books have been written about the Amanita Muscaria (Mushroom). This Mushroom is found Growing under Pine trees (Coniferous trees) All over the World. Particularly In Siberia Where Strangely enough Saint Nicholas Was From. This is a Large red and white mushroom Known to produce Religious visions. Some Synonymous names for this Mushroom through history are....

1. Soma (Hindu plant God)
2. Amrita (Buddhist Magical Sacrament)
3. Ambrosia (Greek Food of the Gods)
4. The Holy Grail (note the Grail like Shape, Vessel containing the blood of the God)
5. Fruit of the Tree of life (The main Body (mycelium) growing underground in a Symbiotic relationship with the pine tree)
6. The Golden Fleece (the magical Properties tell all)
7. The Fountain of Youth (I wonder how many Ponce De Leon Kicked over while searching)
8. Haoma (Islamic Sacrament.. Hmm Why all the Fighting?)
9. Manna (two kinds don't look in the Ark or You are dead)
10. Bread of Life (Yes its the Loaf of Bliss)
11. Fountain of living Waters (Its Alive and its 90% water :o))
12. Hidden Manna (hidden until you find it)
13. The Cosmic Egg (What are we really Mimicking at Easter?? The Mushroom hunt?? Of COURSE!!)
14. The Prima Materia (Get Clark Heinrichs Book "Strange Fruit" for this one, Fascinating!)
15. The Water of Life (Pressed Juices of Soma Ancient Stuff)
16. The Flesh of the God (Sure does Resemble Flesh)
17. The Fruit of Knowledge (open your eyes)
18. The Flesh of Jesus (Take And Eat.. Not My ARM Silly!!)

And that's just the Beginning!!! There's many more.

So Where does this Enter the Christmas Tradition?? Many Christian Beliefs were Borrowed (to be kind) From the more ancient Religions. The Virgin Birth, The Incarnation of God, The Sacrament, Etc.

It is Well documented By Fundamentalists That the Christmas Traditions are Pagan in Origin.. Which Simply means that they Were From the Traditions of the Country Folks (pagan).

The Siberian Shamans Used and Still do today (despite Governmental Oppression) The Amanita Muscaria As a Religious Sacrament. The Value Of the Inebriant Is Placed Highly among the Commodities of the Natives. Fetching Reindeer Pelts and Meats As payment. Interesting to Note That if You aren't Quick enough you will find only the mushroom stubs The Rest Greedily Gobbled up by the Hungry Reindeer!!! Hence Hmmm. Reindeer Flying??? Hmmm Reindeer that can fly that have a RED nose?? Well Due to the Reverence that these mushrooms Receive and the Ability that they possess to Spirit the Human off to Realms of the Angels, Gods, and Demons. Its no wonder that the Natives would Think that the Reindeer Also have Some type of a Similar Effect.

 Amanita muscaria does grow in a symbiotic relationship with certain trees (pine, spruce, birch).

Actually, "Saint" Nicholas was most likely a combination of two historical characters, one of which was from Asia Minor (Turkey). Recently, the Catholic Church announced that there was never any official "Saint Nicholas", attributing the character to pagan sources.

Thousands of years ago, Aryan conquerors swept across India, worshiped Soma, drinking it in religious ceremonies. Many hymns in the Indian Rig-Veda are devoted to soma and describe the mushroom and its effects. There is much debate as to whether Soma could have been Amanita. One problem is that the mushroom toxin, while widely varying in effect, is generally too poisonous for significant use. While there are other mushroom species that are fully entheogenic without the harmful toxins, the competing explanation for Soma (and Haoma) is Peganum harmala (wild rue).

Since Haoma is referred to by the Zoroastrians as a "green plant", it's unlikely they would accept the mushroom explanation for their scriptural sacrament.

Some informed people say "just because some modern people cannot seem to consistently feel the same effects from A. muscaria as is postulated the ancients did in no way should lessen the theory of A. muscaria being the divine Soma of the 4000 year old Rigveda and one of the world oldest religious tools."

In the new world, mushroom usage (not necessarily Amanita) is much better supported. For the Indians of Mexico, Central and South America, partaking of these mushrooms was a deeply religious experience, enabling them to communicate with their gods. Cortez reported a mushroom being eaten during the coronation of Montezuma, and in Guatemala stone carvings dating back to 1000 BC depict curious figures with umbrella-like tops resembling the caps and stalks of an Amanita mushroom. Mushrooms are also depicted in ancient Peruvian vessels and in Mexican Codices. One drawing shows an animal-like messenger from god offering the sacred mushroom to a ruler seated on a throne.  The Aztec word "Teonanactl" does literally translate as "Flesh of the God"

The Grail and Jesus comparisons seem to be unsupported - most evidence comes from John Allegro, whose book "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" comes across as rather broad speculation.

Amanita use by Siberian shamans is well documented. In fact, to deal with the toxicity, they would reportedly let the reindeer eat the mushrooms, then drink the reindeer urine. Since the active chemical passes through the body relatively unaltered, others would drink the urine from these men to alter their consciousness. This way a few mushrooms could inebriate many people relatively safely and efficiently!
So why Do People Bring Pine trees into their houses At the Winter Solstice? Placing Brightly Colored (Red and White) Packages Under the Boughs To give each other as a token of their love and As a representation of the Love of God and the gift of his Sons life??

This is Because in nature THAT is where you will find this "Most Sacred" Substance. Big Clue here!!! Winter Brings Rains... Rains Bring Mushrooms Go to the Mountains around Christmas time... Look under the Pine Trees :o) Because what you will find unlocks the Key Mysteries of the Universe. This Gnosis (joining together of your mind with the mind of the Universal Consciousness) is What All the Sages, Mystics, Teachers, Prophets Were talking about. That is IF they knew :o).

1. Saint Nicholas Was the Patron Saint of Children (From Siberia)
2. The Reindeer Eat The Mushrooms.. Hence the Flight.
3. The Mushrooms Grow under Pine Trees in nature (nearly Exclusively)
4. The Mushrooms are Red and White.
5. The Mushrooms Were Typically Dried by Hanging them on the Hearth of The Fireplaces on Strings. Stocking Stuffers anyone??
6. They are Gathered in Sacks.. Santa's Bag.
7. The Very Name Christmas.. Is A Holiday Composing of the Words
...Christ (meaning the Anointed with the Magical Substance)
...Mass (a Special Service of the Sacramental ingestion of the Eucharist) the Body of Christ. In the Catholic Tradition this Substance Has been replaced by the Doctrine of Trans-substantiation, Whereby (By magical Ceremony) The Priests Claim the Ability to Transform A Cracker into the Literal Body of Christ.. Placebo!!
This Is Not Crazy Speculation, this is not Tradition for Traditions sake. This is Documentable, Historical, Anthropologically Provable Evidence of Surprising and Staggering Implication. A religion that does not give you direct Access to the Divine, A Religion that Expects you to Be Subservient to Their Interpretations, is a Religion that Does NOT have your best interest at heart.. The Understanding of Our Place in the Universe, The Realization of Self, The Direct Communion with the Divine IS the Spiritual Inheritance that We as Humans Have RIGHT to !!!

Blessed are those that Love.. For they shall have Right to the Tree of life and Will enter through the Gates into the City.

Seek and You shall Find.. Knock and it will be opened to you,

You Have the Right to partake of the Waters of Life Freely.

I Will reveal to you the Hidden Manna.

You have the Right to the Fruit of the Tree of life.

Merry Christmas To All... I Hope all your Wishes Come true.. Jimmy

 

Christmas today is the best conglomeration of things that turn of the century New York retailers could put together, and its resemblance to anything before that time was purely for their convenience. For example, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was invented by a department store to boost sales. His red nose is unlikely to have any relationship to Amanita.

Tree worship has enormous and wide-ranging pagan background quite independent of mushroom proximity. One anthropologist proposed that our habit of decorating trees with lights (only recently indoors) can be traced all the way back to ceremonies originating with Man's learning to use fire.

The fact that Santa's suit is red and white actually has a startlingly modern origin: Coca-cola commissioned an advertisement, with Santa wearing their colors, in 1931 to try to boost their child market. (It was illegal for them to show children actually drinking Coke in advertisements, since Coca-cola originally contained coca, but that's another story) In the 19th century, "Father Christmas" was usually considered to wear greenish "forest" colors.  Red was increasingly a popular Santa color in the early 20th century, but red and white together was due to Coca-cola's advertisements.

"Saint" Nicholas was considered the "patron saint" of many things, including sailors, merchants, and children - but "he" wasn't from Siberia.

Claiming the Eucharist is built around mushrooms is without justification, thus breaking the word "Christmas" down for us is not too meaningful. However, many religious traditions do have origins clearly linked to entheogens, which did get replaced with a "symbolic" ceremonial placebo.

Fact: Entheogens do give you a direct connection to an experience which is widely considered to be indistinguishable from the religious experience, by those with knowledge of both fields.

However, if you are looking for "The Understanding of Our Place in the Universe", there are many safer entheogens than Amanita.

If you think Cosmic Jimmy's on to something, visit: