Christianity was like a giant vacuum cleaner in some sense
It certainly
Integrated itself with and layered itself on top of
Existing
Pagan
Ceremonies
Like the tree itself
The tree is a very interesting symbol
Because the tree is, is the tree in the garden of eden
That, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
And the Tree of Life
The tree for Christmas is mostly the Tree of Life
And the tree is also the structurе that unites Heaven with Earth
And thе lights on the tree
Symbolize
Or represent even
Illumination and the reemerge of, of light in the darkness

[Chorus]
Light in the darkness
(Way to go, go, go, baby)
Light in the darkness
(Way to go, go, go, baby)

A lot of that was
Was extracted, in some sense, from the pagan symbolism
That existed there prior to Christianity
Mean, the tree idea, for example
The idea that there's a tree that unites Heaven and hell
Which is sort of something akin to Jacob's ladder
Is a central tenant of shamanism
And there are all sorts of strange shamanic
Echoes that permeate Christianity
And the Christmas story
Like, Santa Claus is a good example there's
Very interesting documentation about the relationship between
The red and white of Santa Claus, for example
And the use of Amanita Muscaria mushrooms among the shamanic
In the shamanic tradition
So yeah, It's a very, very
Deep
And strange mixture of
Desert and
And frigid cold and, and, and celebration and
I guess that's also partly
What's given it such longevity as a, as a celebration
Even though we also seem to be doing everything we can
To undermine that as fast as possible
[Chorus]
(Way to go, go, go, baby)
Light in the darkness
(Way to go, go, go, baby)
Light in the darkness