Third Major Religious Holiday

Today marks the celebration around the United States of our third major religious holiday, See You at the Pole. It has really only been widely celebrated by most denominational Christians the past twenty years or so. But it is a rich holiday whose heritage and history date all the way back to the New Testament.

In the New Testament, it was a celebration along the lines of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of the Heifer. It's roots come from the Pool of Siloam. Apparently, crippled and lame and blind folks would gather at the Pool. They would pray for healing, for health. And then Jesus showed up one day and actually healed them. Of course, they would gather around the only one standing upright, so he was much, much taller than the rest of them (which would eventually lead into people gathering around a pole, sort of resembling how much taller Jesus would have been than the lame men and women at the Pool). From then on, every time someone standing upright would go to the Pool, people would gather around him, thinking he was Jesus. Sound ridiculous? Everyone looks about the same in a brown cloak from the waist down.

Well, people would get excited when they heard about upright people going to the Pool. So they started saying, "Seeist thou at the Pool." This later would become See You at the Pool. It was mainly celebrated in Jerusalem. In 268 AD a man named Horace would mistake a tweaked ankle for being lame. He would one day surprise himself at the Pool when a man simply helped him up, not knowing Horace thought himself lame. Horace swore to follow the man, assuming he was the second coming of Christ. He followed this Roman citizen back to Rome. Horace would continue to celebrate See you at the Pool with his family for years. His great grandson would migrate north into Germany. The holiday as we know it migrated this way from Germany. It is a very popular holiday over there. Surprisingly, it is not that big in Poland. Maybe not too politically correct. Eventually German immigrants would bring their celebration of praying around tall people at pools, touching them and singing praises to them to America. But with the thick Bavarian accent, "Pool" was misunderstood to be "Pole."

In the late 1800's children started praying around the flag poles in town squares, waiting for the Tall Man (otherwise known as St. Kareem) to bring them cheaply made merchandise and boring acoustical music. Eventually the shift was made from town squares to schools in the early 1920's. It was in the 20's that ambitious clothing vendors started selling white shirts with two color fronts and one color backs to silly children. We still celebrate this trend with our overpriced merchandise to this day. But St. Kareem has been replaced by Jesus himself. And tall people at the pool were combined simply into the flag pole.

But See You at the Pole has become a sacred and special holiday, marking the one time in the year when students actually pray for their schools. If they get around to it. In the late 1990's, the prayer was sort of replaced with music and donuts and some holier than thou senior student railing on and on about how bad the school is and how Jesus needs them to shine. And then, proving how obedient Christians set a great example, most of the students are late to their first periods.

We even sing many of the same carols the early German immigrants sing:
The Twelve Days of See You at the Pole - On the first day of See You at the Pole my Jesus gave to me, an alarm clock to wake me up at six - Fifth Day is five Krispy Kremes etc

Joy to the World, the merch is sold. We'll now receive our fee.

We Three Tees of overpriced stock, two colors in front and one on the back...

So, there is a brief history of our third major religious holiday. Hope you enjoy it. And a Merry See You at the Pole to all!




Don't forget to actually pray for the students and faculty you know in schools today. It really is a huge mission field. I may be cynical but I do understand the need. Pray.