X-Mas!

[Nightingale 0]

I was trying to figure out why so many Christians freak out when you write "Merry X-mas" and I came across this and thought it was interesting. It appears that "there is no grand scheme to dilute Christianity by promoting the use of Xmas instead of Christmas. It is not a modern invention to try to convert Christmas into a secular day, nor is it a device to promote the commercialism of the holiday season. Its origin is thoroughly rooted in the heritage of the Church."
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http://www.cresourcei.org/symbols/xmasorigin.html

...The fact that the use of "Xmas" can be associated so easily with crass commercialization rather than locating it within the Christian tradition itself reveals a lack of understanding of heritage and history.

The word Christmas originated as a contraction of "Christ's mass". It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038, compounded from Old English derivatives of the Greek christos and the Latin missa. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ. Since the mid-16th century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ. Hence, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.

I have no doubt that some people write "Xmas" because they are too busy or too lazy to write out the whole word. And no doubt some secular people, who are just as uninformed as Christians, see "Xmas" as a way to avoid writing "Christ." And certainly there are secular and commercial motives in the fact that "XMAS" appears in ads and signs because it can be larger and more attention getting in the same amount of space (more bang for the buck). But those factors do not take away the thoroughly Christian origin of the word "Xmas." In this instance, all of the hype and hysteria over supposedly taking Christ out of Christmas by writing "Xmas" instead of spelling out "Christmas" is both uninformed and misdirected.

Abbreviations used as Christian symbols have a long history in the church. The letters of the word "Christ" in Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written, or various titles for Jesus early became symbols of Christ and Christianity. For example, the first two letters of the word Christ (cristoV, or as it would be written in older manuscripts, CRISTOS) are the Greek letters chi (c or C) and rho (r or R). These letters were used in the early church to create the chi-rho monogram (see Chrismons), a symbol that by the fourth century became part of the official battle standard of the emperor Constantine...


The exact origin of the single letter X for Christ cannot be pinpointed with certainty. Some claim that it began in the first century AD along with the other symbols, but evidence is lacking. Others think that it came into widespread use by the thirteenth century along with many other abbreviations and symbols for Christianity and various Christian ideas that were popular in the Middle Ages. However, again, the evidence is sparse.

In any case, by the fifteenth century Xmas emerged as a widely used symbol for Christmas. In 1436 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with moveable type. In the early days of printing typesetting was done by hand and was very tedious and expensive. As a result, abbreviations were common. In religious publications, the church began to use the abbreviation C for the word "Christ" to cut down on the cost of the books and pamphlets. From there, the abbreviation moved into general use in newspapers and other publications, and "Xmas" became an accepted way of printing "Christmas" (along with the abbreviations Xian and Xianity). Even Webster’s dictionary acknowledges that the abbreviation Xmas was in common use by the middle of the sixteenth century.

So there is no grand scheme to dilute Christianity by promoting the use of Xmas instead of Christmas. It is not a modern invention to try to convert Christmas into a secular day, nor is it a device to promote the commercialism of the holiday season. Its origin is thoroughly rooted in the heritage of the Church. It is simply another way to say Christmas, drawing on a long history of symbolic abbreviations used in the church. In fact, as with other abbreviations used in common speech or writing (such as Mr. or etc.), the abbreviation "Xmas" should be pronounced "Christmas" just as if the word were written out in full, rather than saying "exmas."

[Lindsey 0]

Heck, even those of us who aren't so dogmatic can believe that JC was the shit. Heck yeah! X-mas is just fine, whether it's rooted in Christianity or not. The Big JC deserves a RIPPIN' birthday party...every year from now until eternity. AMEN!

Peace~
linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[Misternatural 0]

I prefer to celebrate something I call Kwanzicafest- its a mixture of Hanukkah Kwanzaa and Festivus

it lasts 5 days, you regift everything you got last year, and instead of caroling I just shout obscenities out the window.
Serenity Now!

Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires.
D S #3.1415

[Misternatural 0]

Ok, so I marginalized the holidays, I am an agnostic and we feel a little besieged this time of the year with all the hullaballou. My point is people should celebrate whatever they want, however they want, and spell or misspell whatever they want, and make fun of whatever they want- as long as nobody gets injured- thats democracy.
I still get to shout obscenities out the window if that makes me happy.

Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires.
D S #3.1415

[micro 0]

sheeit, it's never bothered me in the least... of course, even though I'm a Catholic, I'm also a lazy bastard and writing X-mas gets me out of writing the whole loooong word Christmas.

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

[masterrig 1]

Quote

Ok, so I marginalized the holidays, I am an agnostic and we feel a little besieged this time of the year with all the hullaballou. My point is people should celebrate whatever they want, however they want, and spell or misspell whatever they want, and make fun of whatever they want- as long as nobody gets injured- thats democracy.
I still get to shout obscenities out the window if that makes me happy.

You've got a great attidude about it all! I was raised a 'minnow muncher' and never cared to see 'X-mas. It just struck/strikes me as dis-respectful and lazy. Is it really that much effort to say or write the word... CHRISYMAS? I think it probably started with some merchant somewhere with limited window space. I think too, this is just an excellent time to stop the 'political correctness' and just say; 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' to everyone!


Chuck

[Amazon 7]

I still think the pagans had more fun this time of year around Winter Solstice
It is what it is... a rebirth of longer days in the northern world where most people lived at the time not the true birthday of Jesus the Christ.

Most "christians" are completely ignorant of the REST of the worlds people and how and why they celebrate the winter solstice....festival of light...christmas....and on and on.

[masterrig 1]

Christmas just seems more 'market-able'! It's really amazing how celebrations have been changed with time... and those pagans... what wascals!


Chuck

[billvon 3,116]

>Is it really that much effort to say or write the word... CHRISYMAS?

Well, it's not what I'm used to, but I guess I could get used to saying Merry Chrisymas.

(I figured that was just a typo but it struck me as funny!)

[masterrig 1]

Quote

>Is it really that much effort to say or write the word... CHRISYMAS?

Well, it's not what I'm used to, but I guess I could get used to saying Merry Chrisymas.

(I figured that was just a typo but it struck me as funny!)

You guessed it! A big fat typo!


Chuck

[Royd 0]

Quote

I still think the pagans had more fun this time of year around Winter Solstice....Chistmas is simply the early churches way of co-opting far more ancient celebrations... thousands of years more ancient..

It is what it is... a rebirth of longer days in the northern world where most people lived at the time not the true birthday of Jesus the Christ.

How come all of the northern tribes get all of the credit for the winter solctice? Doesn't the Southern Hemisphere also have a winter solctice on June 22nd?

[billvon 3,116]

>How come all of the northern tribes get all of the credit for the winter solctice?

Because at the time it was made into a festival, all the major civilizations in the world WERE in the Northern hemisphere!

[Amazon 7]

Bingo..

[Muenkel 0]

Well, we're no longer in the 15th century, in the days of printing typesetting by hand, nor is Greek our native tongue here in the Western Hemisphere. Now we have quick typing computers.

But whatever floats your boat. If you wish, you may refer to me as Xopher.

_________________________________________
Chris

[freethefly 6]

Quote

I prefer to celebrate something I call Kwanzicafest- its a mixture of Hanukkah Kwanzaa and Festivus

it lasts 5 days, you regift everything you got last year, and instead of caroling I just shout obscenities out the window.
Serenity Now!

FESTIVUS! FOR THE REST OF US!

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[billvon 3,116]

>Well, we're no longer in the 15th century, in the days of printing
>typesetting by hand, nor is Greek our native tongue here in the Western
>Hemisphere.

I'll have to let the priests in our parish know that! They insist on wearing that symbol on their vestments during mass. We should get those guys into the 21st century.

[masterrig 1]

Quote

Quote

I prefer to celebrate something I call Kwanzicafest- its a mixture of Hanukkah Kwanzaa and Festivus

it lasts 5 days, you regift everything you got last year, and instead of caroling I just shout obscenities out the window.
Serenity Now!

FESTIVUS! FOR THE REST OF US!

SERENITY NOW!!!

Whatever, any of you celebrate this time of year... I hope, it's the very best for you and yours!


Chuck

[Andy9o8 2]

Quote

>How come all of the northern tribes get all of the credit for the winter solctice?

Because at the time it was made into a festival, all the major civilizations in the world WERE in the Northern hemisphere!

That probably overly-discounts certain ancient civilizations in South America and Sub-Saharan Africa; for example, the Maya and Inca in S. America, and a number of progeny of the Bantu migrations in Africa. Most of the written history of the world in currency today, even that pertaining to the Southern Hemisphere, has a distinctly Northern Hemispheric perspective.

[Amazon 7]

Most of the civilizations who celebrate the Decemberr winter solstice are far away from the Tropic of Capricorn or Cancer at 23.5 degrees. Within that latitude the days change in length very very little.
The Maya of Central ameica are within that band as are the Inca south of the Equator. Even the peoples who speak Bantu are in regions astride the Equator in Africa.

When you get to Europe there were many civilizations that were affected by the long cold winter nights. Even the Holy Land is at about 31 degrees N Lat.

[Muenkel 0]

Quote

>Well, we're no longer in the 15th century, in the days of printing
>typesetting by hand, nor is Greek our native tongue here in the Western
>Hemisphere.

I'll have to let the priests in our parish know that! They insist on wearing that symbol on their vestments during mass. We should get those guys into the 21st century.

Are those Catholic priests? You attend mass? If it's a Catholic mass, please tell me you're not receiving communion.

_________________________________________
Chris

[freethefly 6]

Quote

Quote

Quote

I prefer to celebrate something I call Kwanzicafest- its a mixture of Hanukkah Kwanzaa and Festivus

it lasts 5 days, you regift everything you got last year, and instead of caroling I just shout obscenities out the window.
Serenity Now!

FESTIVUS! FOR THE REST OF US!

SERENITY NOW!!!

Whatever, any of you celebrate this time of year... I hope, it's the very best for you and yours!


Chuck

Happy Festivus!
http://www.zimbio.com/Festivus/articles/5/How+Celebrate+Festivus+Rest

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[Andy9o8 2]

I wasn't addressing which ancient Southern Hemisphere civilizations did or did not celebrate the winter solstice.

I was rebutting the statement that at that time in history, "all the major civilizations in the world WERE in the Northern hemisphere!".

In other words, today's "standard" definition - especially in societies located in (or heavily influenced by intense colonization from) the Northern Hemisphere - of what did or did not constitute "major civilizations" in ancient times, has a distinctly Northern Hemispheric bias.

[Amazon 7]

I was addressing the fact tha MANY of those solstice traditions have VERY ancient roots... many thousands of years before now.. All the ones you pointed out.. are very much new comers to the block.


I would be interested in any kind of Aboriginal or peoples of Papua New Guinea etc that migrated there 40,000 years plus ago.

[Muenkel 0]

Quote

>Well, we're no longer in the 15th century, in the days of printing
>typesetting by hand, nor is Greek our native tongue here in the Western
>Hemisphere.

I'll have to let the priests in our parish know that! They insist on wearing that symbol on their vestments during mass. We should get those guys into the 21st century.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Are those Catholic priests? You attend mass? If it's a Catholic mass, please tell me you're not receiving communion.

Thanks to a fellow poster, it was brought to my attention that my reply to Bill came across as arrogant and judgmental. I fully agree with that poster. What I wrote was not exactly what I meant. Unfortunately, it was too late to delete. I did send an apology via pm to Bill, however, since the post was made publicly, I feel the apology should be public also.

Sorry folks.

_________________________________________
Chris