Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below Longhorn85
New member
Consider this: When you say X-mas, you take the "Christ" out of Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
Christmas vs Xmas
- Thread starter Longhorn85
- Start date
Puddles
New member
X-mas does not take Christ out of Christmas...
Although I never use the term "X-mas" here's what it's about:
First of all, the word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 A.D where Christian leaders set the date to December 25 in an attempt to eclipse the popular pagan holiday “Saturnalia” that celebrates the winter solstice.
Next, we find that X actually means Christ. The X of Xhedos is the first letter in Greek for Christ, and was a common symbol used by the early Christian Church. As a matter of fact, it was frequently used as a holy symbol, sort of like the fish symbol that represents Christ today...which by the way, if you take a closer look, is itself an altered version of X. The rest of the word 'hedos' means 'sweetness' or 'joy'.
The substitution "X"mas for "Christ"mas has been in use throughout the world since the 1500's. The tradition of using Xmas instead of Christmas began in the early Christian church as they tied the symbol of Christ with the mass celebrating His birth. As a matter of fact, X-MAS actually means "celebration of Christ", and has no less meaning or translation when compared to the word Christmas. In Webster's Ninth Edition Collegiate Dictionary, Xmas is defined as: Xmas\'Kris-mes\ n [X (symbol for Christ, fr. The Greek letter chi (X), initial of Christos Christ) + -Mas (in Christmas)] (1551) : Christmas. Did you notice the pronunciation guide for Xmas? It is “Kris-mes,” and is pronounced Christmas, not ex-Mas. Also in the same dictionary we find: Xn is defined as Christian, and Xnty is defined as Christianity.
We should keep in mind the important thing; why we do celebrate Christmas or Xmas…I too believe we should keep Christ in Christmas, but I think of it more literally rather than literarily. It is not up to any secular society or government to decide what we believe in, and more importantly in whom we believe…these are our decisions, these are our personal ideals and faiths. Regardless of how a sale banner for a secular store spells Christmas, the meaning of this holiday will always be the same in my heart.
If you're seeking answers to an unknown factor in your life, use the basic mathematical equation. Hopefully, you will find the "unknown" for the following: X + you = eternal life. When you do, you will have not only found the reason for this season, but the full meaning of life.
http://mikecollinsemail.tripod.com/xmas.htm
Although I never use the term "X-mas" here's what it's about:
First of all, the word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 A.D where Christian leaders set the date to December 25 in an attempt to eclipse the popular pagan holiday “Saturnalia” that celebrates the winter solstice.
Next, we find that X actually means Christ. The X of Xhedos is the first letter in Greek for Christ, and was a common symbol used by the early Christian Church. As a matter of fact, it was frequently used as a holy symbol, sort of like the fish symbol that represents Christ today...which by the way, if you take a closer look, is itself an altered version of X. The rest of the word 'hedos' means 'sweetness' or 'joy'.
The substitution "X"mas for "Christ"mas has been in use throughout the world since the 1500's. The tradition of using Xmas instead of Christmas began in the early Christian church as they tied the symbol of Christ with the mass celebrating His birth. As a matter of fact, X-MAS actually means "celebration of Christ", and has no less meaning or translation when compared to the word Christmas. In Webster's Ninth Edition Collegiate Dictionary, Xmas is defined as: Xmas\'Kris-mes\ n [X (symbol for Christ, fr. The Greek letter chi (X), initial of Christos Christ) + -Mas (in Christmas)] (1551) : Christmas. Did you notice the pronunciation guide for Xmas? It is “Kris-mes,” and is pronounced Christmas, not ex-Mas. Also in the same dictionary we find: Xn is defined as Christian, and Xnty is defined as Christianity.
We should keep in mind the important thing; why we do celebrate Christmas or Xmas…I too believe we should keep Christ in Christmas, but I think of it more literally rather than literarily. It is not up to any secular society or government to decide what we believe in, and more importantly in whom we believe…these are our decisions, these are our personal ideals and faiths. Regardless of how a sale banner for a secular store spells Christmas, the meaning of this holiday will always be the same in my heart.
If you're seeking answers to an unknown factor in your life, use the basic mathematical equation. Hopefully, you will find the "unknown" for the following: X + you = eternal life. When you do, you will have not only found the reason for this season, but the full meaning of life.
http://mikecollinsemail.tripod.com/xmas.htm
Longhorn85
New member
Re: X-mas does not take Christ out of Christmas...
Wonderful. How many non-Christians or even Christians do you suppose are aware of this? I will stick to my statement above.
MrsPuddlesFL said:
Wonderful. How many non-Christians or even Christians do you suppose are aware of this? I will stick to my statement above.
Longhorn85
New member
XBiker said:It's always X-MAS at my house.
Naturally.
Re: Re: X-mas does not take Christ out of Christmas...
Christ has definetely been taken out of the Christmas experience. I bet if you ask random people on the street how Christmas originated or what its intended meaning was they wouldnt be able to give a correct answer. If people cant find Iraq and Afghanistan on a map Im sure they wouldnt know the real meaning of Christmas.
ttlpkg said:
Christ has definetely been taken out of the Christmas experience. I bet if you ask random people on the street how Christmas originated or what its intended meaning was they wouldnt be able to give a correct answer. If people cant find Iraq and Afghanistan on a map Im sure they wouldnt know the real meaning of Christmas.
Longhorn85
New member
danielson said:santa wears shades?
The sun is bright deep in the Heart O' Texas.
VooDoo Lady
New member
ttlpkg said:Consider this: When you say X-mas, you take the "Christ" out of Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
Amen brother - Merry Christmas to you too
M
madbomber31
Guest
actually, i think the "x" comes DIRECTLY from the greek word for christ, not just it's first letter... but ya, it has meaning... sorry to rain on the parade.
M
madbomber31
Guest
Greek word for Christ which is Xkristos.
Puddles
New member
danielson said:santa wears shades?
He does in Florida!
I know how people feel about using Xmas. I never use it myself. I was just stating the origin.
Merry Christmas folks!
I'm taking a little break...finished putting up lights outside at exactly midnight, which is also when I electrofied myself slightly and the lights all went out. LOL Found the surge protector and got them back on by 12:05.
Bigsatan13
New member
I use the word Xmas because I eliminate "christ " from the name of the holiday. I celebrate the holiday by spending time with my blood-family, my chosen family and a select group of friends I am close with. I could give 2 shits about any religion and think folks who live their lives according to a 2000 year old book, which by the way stems from the same part of the world that the 9-11 bombers do, should re-evaluate themselves.
BTW, Satan Clause delivers cooler gifts then Santa!
Bigsatan13 said:
I use the word Xmas because I eliminate "christ " from the name of the holiday. I celebrate the holiday by spending time with my blood-family, my chosen family and a select group of friends I am close with. I could give 2 shits about any religion and think folks who live their lives according to a 2000 year old book, which by the way stems from the same part of the world that the 9-11 bombers do, should re-evaluate themselves.
BTW, Satan Clause delivers cooler gifts then Santa!
I dont think it would kill you for just one day out of the year to not slam Christianity. I dont even practice religion in any way but at least I can respect the religion during Christmas.
marky
New member
Did You Know...
* Jingle bells, sleigh bells, silver bells...there's certainly no end
to the merry ringing of bells during the holiday season. At one point, the
wild ringing of bells was believed by some to drive out evil spirits. Later,
the traditional caroling of church bells was a sign of welcoming the spirit
of Christmas with joyful noise.
* Santa's reindeer? You know them as Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen,
Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blixen. However, in the original 'A Visit from
Saint Nicholas' printed in 1823, Donner and Blixen are listed as Dunder and
Blixem, which is Dutch for thunder and lightning. In his 1837 rework of the
original poem, Charles Hoffman changed Blixem to Blixen to rhyme with Vixen.
In 1844, Clement Moore made further changes to the name, this time changing
Blixen to Blitzen, the German word for lightning. Finally, in the popular
Johnny Marks song, 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,' the name Dunder was
changed to Donner, the German word for thunder.
* Rudolph, the ugly duckling of Santa's reindeer herd, was actually an
advertising gimmick created by the Montgomery Ward Co. for its annual
holiday children's coloring books. One of the company's copywriters, a
gentleman named Robert May, developed the story about the red-nosed reindeer
to cheer his four-year-old daughter Barbara, whose mother was dying of
cancer. May originally tried the names Rollo and Reginald before settling on
Rudolph. One of art department's illustrators, a name named Denver Gillen,
created the first illustrations for the story, and Montgomery Ward's
distributed 2.4 million copies of the booklet in its first publication, back
in 1939.
* In 1882, Thomas Nast drew a cartoon showing Santa sitting on top of
a box that was addressed 'Christmas Box, 1882 St. Nicholas, North Pole.'
Nast just assumed that the North Pole was a good place for Santa
<http://members.truepath.com/ChristmasTrivia/triviar.html> to live and, ever
since, Santa's home has been known to children throughout the world as the
North Pole.
* The Christmas tree industry is huge! Christmas trees are grown in
every state, including Alaska and Hawaii, employing nearly 100,000 people.
It typically takes six to eight years for each individual Christmas tree to
mature.
* Jingle bells, sleigh bells, silver bells...there's certainly no end
to the merry ringing of bells during the holiday season. At one point, the
wild ringing of bells was believed by some to drive out evil spirits. Later,
the traditional caroling of church bells was a sign of welcoming the spirit
of Christmas with joyful noise.
* Santa's reindeer? You know them as Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen,
Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blixen. However, in the original 'A Visit from
Saint Nicholas' printed in 1823, Donner and Blixen are listed as Dunder and
Blixem, which is Dutch for thunder and lightning. In his 1837 rework of the
original poem, Charles Hoffman changed Blixem to Blixen to rhyme with Vixen.
In 1844, Clement Moore made further changes to the name, this time changing
Blixen to Blitzen, the German word for lightning. Finally, in the popular
Johnny Marks song, 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,' the name Dunder was
changed to Donner, the German word for thunder.
* Rudolph, the ugly duckling of Santa's reindeer herd, was actually an
advertising gimmick created by the Montgomery Ward Co. for its annual
holiday children's coloring books. One of the company's copywriters, a
gentleman named Robert May, developed the story about the red-nosed reindeer
to cheer his four-year-old daughter Barbara, whose mother was dying of
cancer. May originally tried the names Rollo and Reginald before settling on
Rudolph. One of art department's illustrators, a name named Denver Gillen,
created the first illustrations for the story, and Montgomery Ward's
distributed 2.4 million copies of the booklet in its first publication, back
in 1939.
* In 1882, Thomas Nast drew a cartoon showing Santa sitting on top of
a box that was addressed 'Christmas Box, 1882 St. Nicholas, North Pole.'
Nast just assumed that the North Pole was a good place for Santa
<http://members.truepath.com/ChristmasTrivia/triviar.html> to live and, ever
since, Santa's home has been known to children throughout the world as the
North Pole.
* The Christmas tree industry is huge! Christmas trees are grown in
every state, including Alaska and Hawaii, employing nearly 100,000 people.
It typically takes six to eight years for each individual Christmas tree to
mature.
marky
New member
Did You Know...
* The first state to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday was
Alabama, in 1836. Our southern neighbors in Oklahoma were the last in the
United States to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday, in 1907.
* Holiday greeting cards actually came into existence as a result of
the development of a better postal system. Before 1843, people could extend
holiday greetings to their neighbors, but greetings to far away relatives
and friends necessitated a great deal of letter writing. But that year
(1843), a well-to-do Englishman named Sir Henry Cole realized he wouldn't
have time to write all of his usual Christmas letters to distant friends and
relatives. So, he asked an artist, John Calcott Horsley, to design a card
for him that would carry his holiday greetings. That very first Christmas
card was a three-paneled type: in the center, a group raised their glasses
and below them a banner proclaimed, 'A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
to You.' The two side panels showed scenes of people feeding the hungry and
clothing the poor.
* In 1643, the British Parliament abolished the celebration of
Christmas; later, between 1649 and 1660, Oliver Cromwell banned the singing
of carols, thinking that the Christmas holiday should be observed in very
solemn fashion with only a sermon and simple prayer service. Of course,
you'll remember that Cromwell's corpse was dug up, hanged in the public
square and later beheaded by angry mobs. I'm not absolutely certain, but I'm
betting that Cromwell's after-death mutilation might serve as enough of a
reminder for future British leaders that joyful celebrations are preferred
by the masses.
* People living in the Canadian prairies, the Christmas season
typically begins with a shipment of Japanese oranges. Don't ask me what
that's about!
* Jolly ole St. Nicholas, the 'big guy' himself, is actually the
patron saint of merchants and sailors. He's also the patron saint of women
without dowries, scholars, and--of course--children. He's one busy saint!
* The first state to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday was
Alabama, in 1836. Our southern neighbors in Oklahoma were the last in the
United States to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday, in 1907.
* Holiday greeting cards actually came into existence as a result of
the development of a better postal system. Before 1843, people could extend
holiday greetings to their neighbors, but greetings to far away relatives
and friends necessitated a great deal of letter writing. But that year
(1843), a well-to-do Englishman named Sir Henry Cole realized he wouldn't
have time to write all of his usual Christmas letters to distant friends and
relatives. So, he asked an artist, John Calcott Horsley, to design a card
for him that would carry his holiday greetings. That very first Christmas
card was a three-paneled type: in the center, a group raised their glasses
and below them a banner proclaimed, 'A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
to You.' The two side panels showed scenes of people feeding the hungry and
clothing the poor.
* In 1643, the British Parliament abolished the celebration of
Christmas; later, between 1649 and 1660, Oliver Cromwell banned the singing
of carols, thinking that the Christmas holiday should be observed in very
solemn fashion with only a sermon and simple prayer service. Of course,
you'll remember that Cromwell's corpse was dug up, hanged in the public
square and later beheaded by angry mobs. I'm not absolutely certain, but I'm
betting that Cromwell's after-death mutilation might serve as enough of a
reminder for future British leaders that joyful celebrations are preferred
by the masses.
* People living in the Canadian prairies, the Christmas season
typically begins with a shipment of Japanese oranges. Don't ask me what
that's about!
* Jolly ole St. Nicholas, the 'big guy' himself, is actually the
patron saint of merchants and sailors. He's also the patron saint of women
without dowries, scholars, and--of course--children. He's one busy saint!
marky
New member
Did You Know...
* Epiphany, Jan. 6, is the traditional end of the Christmas holiday
season, and it is the date on which the seasonal decorations and the holiday
tree are supposed to be taken down. According to one source, to do so
earlier will bring bad luck for the rest of the year. Shoot, I'm keeping my
tree up all year then!
* From the middle ages until the mid-nineteenth century, Twelfth Night
was more popular than even Christmas day. Even today, some countries
celebrate Epiphany as the most important day of the Christmas season.
* In 1822, the postmaster of Washington, DC, complained that he had to
add sixteen workers during the Christmas season to deal with holiday
greeting cards alone. He wanted the number of cards a person could send
limited by law. He's quoted as having said, 'I don't know what we'll do if
this keeps on.' Apparently he found a way...um, maybe his replacement did?
No word on the resolution. Regardless, the holiday season brings a huge
increase in postage every year that must be collected, sorted, stamped,
processed, carried, and delivered. Even Santa considers this a miracle!
* In earlier centuries, words of religious significance were
differentiated from common words by abbreviations or symbols. Thus, the
Greek word 'Xpictoc' (for Christ) was changed to a symbol because it was
felt to be too holy for mere man-made words. Therefore, the X in 'Xmas' is
really the Greek letter chi, representing Christ. The -'mas' portion is a
derivative of the Latin word missa, meaning a religious celebration.
1
* Epiphany, Jan. 6, is the traditional end of the Christmas holiday
season, and it is the date on which the seasonal decorations and the holiday
tree are supposed to be taken down. According to one source, to do so
earlier will bring bad luck for the rest of the year. Shoot, I'm keeping my
tree up all year then!
* From the middle ages until the mid-nineteenth century, Twelfth Night
was more popular than even Christmas day. Even today, some countries
celebrate Epiphany as the most important day of the Christmas season.
* In 1822, the postmaster of Washington, DC, complained that he had to
add sixteen workers during the Christmas season to deal with holiday
greeting cards alone. He wanted the number of cards a person could send
limited by law. He's quoted as having said, 'I don't know what we'll do if
this keeps on.' Apparently he found a way...um, maybe his replacement did?
No word on the resolution. Regardless, the holiday season brings a huge
increase in postage every year that must be collected, sorted, stamped,
processed, carried, and delivered. Even Santa considers this a miracle!
* In earlier centuries, words of religious significance were
differentiated from common words by abbreviations or symbols. Thus, the
Greek word 'Xpictoc' (for Christ) was changed to a symbol because it was
felt to be too holy for mere man-made words. Therefore, the X in 'Xmas' is
really the Greek letter chi, representing Christ. The -'mas' portion is a
derivative of the Latin word missa, meaning a religious celebration.
1
Longhorn85
New member
MrsPuddlesFL said:
Thanks for the info, it is definitely thought-provoking. Brains and Beauty...what a package for your hubby to unwrap.
Longhorn85
New member
Bigsatan13 said:
Christmas remains a Christian holiday regardless of how you decide to spell it. What I don't understand is why you choose to celebrate it at all. If you are truly anti-Christian, today should just be Wednesday.
Longhorn85
New member
grlpwrd said:You're a cool looking Santa.
Thanks, and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
