Category Archives: Holidays

The Mythology of Wine VI: Celebrating St. Tryphon on February 14

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Arthur George

Most of us celebrate February 14 as Valentine’s Day, named after a saint who had little to do with romance. But another saint’s day also falls on February 14, that of St. Tryphon. He has a lot to do with … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Holidays, Mythology, Wine Mythology | Tagged Bacchus, Decius, Dionysus, February 14, Gprdoamis III, patrons of wine, St. Tryphon, St. Tryphon's Day, Szbazius, Valentine's Day | 1 Comment

May Day Myth and Ritual: The Virgin Mary as the May Queen

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Arthur George

Since May 1 lies about halfway between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice, our ancestors considered it a good time to mark the transition into summer. Indeed, in most of medieval northern Europe, which observed the Celtic calendar, May … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Goddess, Holidays, Mythology | Tagged Attis, Beltane, Chloris, Christ, Crowning of Mary, Cybele, Easter, Flora, great Mother, Green Man, Hilaria, May Day, May King, May Queen, Maying, Maypole, mother archetype, Pentecost, Philip Neri, Qeenship of Mary, Queen of Heaven, Rhea, St. Walpurga, Virgin Mary, Walpurgis Night, woman of the sun | 5 Comments

Christmas Mythology V: Luke’s Christmas Story

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Arthur George

Yesterday’s post covered the mythological elements of the Christmas story unique to Matthew, so today I’m doing the same for Luke. The Story of the Shepherds and Jesus in the Manger In Luke’s story the adoration scene features shepherds rather … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Holidays, Mythology, Mythology of the Eden Story | Tagged Anna, Apollonius of Tyana, Augustus Caesar, Bart Ehrman, Christ, Christ myth, Christmas, Christology, Elkanah, Hannah, Jan Joest, Jesus, Joseph Campbell, Luke, Magnificat, Matthew, Messiah, Nativity, nazarite, Protoevangelicum of James, Samuel, shepherds, Simeon | 2 Comments

Christmas Mythology IV: Matthew’s Christmas Story

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Arthur George

Matthew 2’s Christmas story, no part of which is found elsewhere in the New Testament, contains some of our most dramatic and enduring Christmas images: the magi following a moving star to visit and venerate the young child and future king … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Holidays, Mythology | Tagged Balaam, birth of the hero, Christ, Christmas, flight to Egypt, Ignatius of Antioch, Jesus, Magi, massacre of the innocents, Matthew, star of the east, Tiridates | 1 Comment

Christmas Mythology III: Jesus and the “Birth of the Hero” Mythological Motif

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Arthur George

Myths and legends feature countless hero figures, and even real history features many people whose lives have been mythologized, being elevated into larger-than-life figures. Scholars have long recognized that Jesus as portrayed in the New Testament and its apocrypha is … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Holidays, Mythology | Tagged apocalypticism, birth of the hero, Christ, hero cycle, Jesus, Joseph Campbell, Lord Raglan, Otto Rank | 4 Comments

Christmas Mythology II: What is History and What is Myth in the Nativity Stories?

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Arthur George

This post is the first of several leading up to this Christmas dealing with the mythology lurking behind our Christmas stories, rituals, and holiday celebrations, starting with the stories of Jesus’s birth and leading up to our modern day. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Holidays, Mythology | Tagged Bethlehem, Christ, Christmas, flight to Egypt, Herod, infancy narrative, Jesus, Joseph, Luke, Mary, massacre of the innocents, Matthew, Messiah, Nativity, Nazareth | 5 Comments

Living the Mythological Character of the Olympics

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Arthur George

In ancient Greece the Olympics held at Olympia were not simply a set of athletic contests, but more fundamentally and broadly were a religious holiday festival observed in a sacred religious sanctuary (likewise the games at Delphi and elsewhere). They … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Mythology | Tagged ancient Olympics, Apollo, Heracles, Hermes, holidays, Integral spirituality, mindfulness, mythology, Olympia, Olympic ideal, Olympic motto, olympics, Pausanias, Pierre de Coubertin, Plato, Zeus | 2 Comments

May Day, Beltane, Easter, and their Fires

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Arthur George

This year in Russia and other Orthodox Christian countries, both Easter and May Day fall on this Sunday, May 1st. This coincidence calls us to consider the similarities in mythological, religious, and psychological meanings behind these spring seasonal holidays. Easter … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Holidays, Mythology | Tagged Beltane, bonfires, Christ, Easter, fire, holidays, James Frazer, May Day, mythology | 2 Comments

The Mythology of Easter III: The Mythical Meaning of the Resurrection

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Arthur George

In yesterday’s post I first concluded that the story of Christ’s resurrection would not have originated by transferring the earlier motif of dying and rising gods to form the epilogue to Christ’s death, but in the end concluded that they, … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Holidays, Mythology | Tagged Carl Jung, Christ, Dioscuri, Dundes, Easter, Edinger, Emperor's cult, Gospel of Peter, higher self, holidays, introversion, Jesus, Joseph Campbell, meditation, Mithras, mysteries, mythology, Osiris, Parzival, psychic energy, Resurrection, Resurrection of Christ, self, St. Paul, wasteland, Wolfram | 5 Comments

The Mythology of Easter II: Was Christ a “Dying and Rising God”?

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Arthur George

In yesterday’s post I discussed what part of the Easter Resurrection story is history and what part is myth. Insofar as the Resurrection story is myth, it becomes important to distinguish which aspects of the myth partake of motifs common … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Holidays, Mythology | Tagged Adonis, apocalypticism, Attis, Carl Jung, Christ, Christ myth, Cybele, dying and rising gods, Easter, Ezekiel, holidays, Inanna, Isis, Jesus, Judaism, kingdom of god, Magna Mater, Messiah, mythology, Osiris, Resurrection, Tammuz | 3 Comments

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Category Archives: Holidays

The Mythology of Wine VI: Celebrating St. Tryphon on February 14

May Day Myth and Ritual: The Virgin Mary as the May Queen

Christmas Mythology V: Luke’s Christmas Story

Christmas Mythology IV: Matthew’s Christmas Story

Christmas Mythology III: Jesus and the “Birth of the Hero” Mythological Motif

Christmas Mythology II: What is History and What is Myth in the Nativity Stories?

Living the Mythological Character of the Olympics

May Day, Beltane, Easter, and their Fires

The Mythology of Easter III: The Mythical Meaning of the Resurrection

The Mythology of Easter II: Was Christ a “Dying and Rising God”?

Arthur George

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