Would I have chosen anything else? Not a chance.
Because after all...
"In the Greek alphabet, X is the symbol for the letter ‘chi.’ Chi (or X) is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ. In the early days of the Christian church, Christians used the letter X as a secret symbol to indicate their membership in the church to others. If you know the Greek meaning of X, Xmas and Christmas essentially mean the same thing: Christ + mas = Christmas." Or X + mas.
And now you know.
I laughed so hard a couple of years ago when right-wing Christians in the States got all up in arms about the abbreviations Xmas, saying it was another disrespectful way to "take Christ out of Christmas." D'oh!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Debra. Sometimes it's best to research first before you get hot under the collar. I speak Greek, so it was never a question for me.
DeleteI heard of that one quite a few years ago. I know some very religious Christians who still get mad about it even though it's more religious than other parts of the holiday. Christmas is really just a spin on the Winter Festival of olden Europe. Easter is the spring version, which is named after a Germanic goddess even though it's suppose to be "about Jesus"
ReplyDeleteThat is some really cool info there, Adam. I always enjoy interesting things you share. I'm a descendant of Greeks, so I already knew about the 'X'. It is an important symbol in our culture.
DeleteChristians took over a lot of Pagan/other religion holidays as they spread around the world. I'm pretty sure the "Christmas" tree is a Pagan symbol. Wasn't there even a Simpsons episode about that?
DeleteThere are many fascinating explanations of the Christmas tree. Each one is interesting in its own way.
DeleteXMas is a wonderful time of the year indeed :)
ReplyDeletebetty
The absolute best!
DeleteVery interesting, I write Xmas all the time and had no idea why!
ReplyDeleteAnd now you know, Christine!
DeleteAnd here I thought we were all just being too lazy to write out the whole word!!
ReplyDeleteNot at all, Jim. It's perfectly legit.
DeleteThat is fascinating, I always thought it was an anti-religious way of saying Christmas! Good to know. I love learning new things.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's fun to learn new things.
DeleteI did not know that. Thanks for the lesson.
ReplyDeleteJust something to add to the 'trivia' part of your brain! :)
DeleteAnd now I know! I had no clue, thank you.
ReplyDeleteWho knows, maybe somebody you'll get to use this knowledge.
DeleteInteresting that there are a variety of interpretations on the x and some of them aren't very positive. I like your description which is based on language.
ReplyDeleteI don't think many people know about the X in Xmas. But with information readily available over the internet now, it's easy to learn. And it's fun to learn new things, too.
DeleteYou made my day!
DeleteI did know that but have no idea where or when I learned it.
ReplyDeleteJust one of those things that you learn along the way and forget about.
DeleteI love this month too. And also, you post more which is is super duper fun.
ReplyDeleteEvery December is the best for me. I love the holiday season and love to share fun and inspiring stuff throughout.
DeleteWhen I had to go off the grid last week, I missed the fun holiday Xmas stuff and now, I can draw cartoons with Santa hats again. Life is good.
DeleteIt is! And I'm so glad you're back in blogging land. More fun with you in it :)
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