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In modern times, Christmas has become the biggest midwinter festival of the northern hemisphere by far. But midwinter has always been a time for celebration. For many centuries, well before the Christian era, the time around the winter solstice was marked by feasting, often for a number of days. It is believed that this was to mark the lengthening of the days and the return of the sun, vitally important for communities which were tied to the rhythms of the earth and dependent on the land. This was also the one time of the year when there was less to do in agricultural terms and so more time to celebrate.

The traditions of modern Christmas celebrations largely developed out of the pre-existing pagan practices. Ancient traditions were adopted and adapted by Christian missionaries, who believed that this would help the pagan peoples they were preaching to accept the new religion more easily through familiarity. This included the way that people decorated their homes.

Colosseum - The best known symbol of Rome, the Colosseum is usually associated with gladiatorial contests, fights with wild animals and other similar events. You must remember, though, that many Christians were put to death in its arena during extremely cruel spectacles. In memory of its martyrs, Christianity, particularly since the 17th century, has come to regard the Colosseum as sacred ground and has raised its crosses in various places inside this structure. To stress the importance attributed to this site, every Good Friday the Pope leads a Way of the Cross procession in the Colosseum.

When I was within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church, we were encouraged to pray and attend Mass. In New Age spirituality the emphasis is on meditation, going within oneself to touch with divine within. The Christian traditions teach that God is outside of you and that you need to have someone, a priest or minister, bring you to God.

I find it ironic that I spend more time in prayer and meditation now than I did when I was in a religious community. While in the convent I knew I needed to set aside time to for prayer and I did. I also participated in communal prayer through the Mass and through a set of prayers known as Office. I grew and thrived during this time.

When I began learning about energy healing I discovered a spirituality that was much deeper than the Christian tradition. First there was not the emphasis on having someone else, as in a priest, be the mediator between myself and God. I learned about God being within me and how to tap into the energy and love of the divine through meditation. When I changed my perception from God being outside of myself to God being within me, my relationship with the Divine began to expand  christian mysticism churches.

Human beings yearn for happiness. In past centuries, this objective was assured, at least to Western people, by joining a Christian church. After two thousand years dominating the Western minds, the Christian myth is losing its radiance. This should concern us, since every civilization needs a sustaining myth to support it. Edward Edinger, a well-known writer and Jungian analyst, opens his book, The Creation of Consciousness, saying: "History and anthropology teach us that human society cannot long survive unless its members are psychologically contained in a central living myth, Such myth provides the individual with a reason for being."

Jung was very worried with this wearing of the Christian myth and tried to approach the Catholic Church to offering some suggestions to revert this trend. He had several conversations with Father White, his friend, but his efforts failedProclus, the great systematizer of Neoplatonism in the fifth century C.E.; and through him much of it goes back to Plotinus, and ultimately even to Plato himself. Although both Plotinus and Proclus were critics of Christianity, they also owed much to it; {Which might have to do with Christianity having borrowed much from the school of thought they were part of.} and, in turn, their Christian opponents shared much of their Neoplatonism with them, especially these very elements of the mystical vision.