Abstract
January 1. FEAST OF THE CRACUMCISION—New Year's Day, marked in the Christian as the Feast of the Circumcision, bein the day after the day fixed by the as the birthday of Christ, which coincides with the great mid-wintor festivals of paganism. The ceremor c cision, usually, though not invariably, or initiatory ceremony among races practisgthe rite, was performed by the Jews on the eighth day after birth. Circumcision was an essential condition of participation in the Passover and was enjoined on every male member of each household, including slaves, and on proselytes. In the case of the latter, however, it became later a subject of acute controversy. A widespread custom among modern peoples, especially in Africa, its origin and purpose are obscure It was practised by the ancient Egyptians, but probably was not originally a Hebrew or even a Semitic rite, although the use of a stone to circumcise the son of Moses, as is usual when an obsolete instrument or material is used ceremomally, is an indication of high antiquity. The attribution of its practice to Abraham may be taken as a mythical explanation of its significance in Jewish ritual as a mark of the right of admission to or a condition of participation in the most important of Hebrew ceremonial observances.
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Calendar of Customs and Festivals. Nature 120, 972 (1927). https://doi.org/10.1038/120972a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/120972a0