Saturday, December 22, 2012

America celebrates the Mysteries

In ancient times America's goddess Demeter was venerated in the fall by a festival known as the Eleusinian Mysteries over a period which in our calendar is September 14-September 23. Here are some of the events in America's civil religion which took place during that period:

September 14
1814    Francis Scott Key wrote our national anthem
1879    Abortion advocate Margaret Sanger was born
1901    William B. McKinley died
1940    Selective Service Act was passed by Congress
1948    Ground was broken for the UN Headquarters building
1959    Russian spacecraft Luna 2 landed on the moon

September 15
1857    William Howard Taft was born

September 16
1940    Selective Training and Service Act was signed into law

September 17
1787    US Constitution signed

September 18
1793    George Washington laid cornerstone for US Capitol building
1947    National Security Act took effect

September 19
1881    James A. Garfield died

September 20
2001    George W. Bush addressed a joint session of Congress (during the national period of mourning for 9/11, which lasted from 9/14-9/23)

September 21
1996    The board of Virginia Military Institute voted to admit women

September 22
1776    Nathan Hale was hanged
1862    Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln
1949    USSR exploded its first atomic bomb
1975    Gerald R. Ford second assassination attempt

September 23
1779    John Paul Jones won famous naval victory
1780    Benedict Arnold’s treachery was discovered
1952    Richard M. Nixon gave his “Checkers” speech

Once again, the timing of these events could all be just a coincidence. However, it is remarkable that what otherwise would have been obscure events (Key's poem, Hale's hanging, Arnold's treachery) have been elevated to mythic status. Was it because they occurred during the Mysteries?

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