The Origin of "Xmas"

by river songs Sat Dec 25, 2010 5:17 am

Xmas Songs

The lyrics and some
interesting information regarding the most popular Xmas songs are
included on this website together with additional sections dedicated to
Xmas carols, Xmas music and traditional Xmas poems which include the
wonderful "Twas the night before Christmas"
by Clement Clarke Moore.

Xmas songs and their music have been
popularised and advertised in different elements of the media including
radio, television ,movies. The most famous of Xmas songs, White Christmas
and its unforgettable music was immortalised by the recording by Bing
Crosby and the movie of the same name is still enjoyed today.

The Origin of "Xmas" Background

The Origin of "Xmas"

The Origin of "Xmas"

Dennis Bratcher
Some people seem to get worked up easily about things that are either
largely irrelevant or incidental, or that they do not really understand.
This seems to be the case with some religious folk when the topic
is an aspect of Christianity that is personally important to them.
For
example, around Christmas each year there are always those who loudly
decry the use of the abbreviation "Xmas" as some kind of blasphemy
against Christ and Christianity. This concern has been elevated recently
with the public debates about manger scenes and the substitution of
"holiday" for Christmas in stores and government venues. Among religious folks, the objection
to Xmas is
usually along the line that people have taken Christ out of Christmas
and replaced him with an unknown (since the Greek letter chi,
]C,c] which looks
like the English letter x, is the symbol for an unknown quantity in
mathematics).
For example, on the "Voice of Prophecy" web site is an article
entitled "You Can’t "X" out Christ."
<blockquote>
You’ve heard the classic story about the little boy who noticed
the huge red-and-green sign spray-painted on a department story:
"Happy Xmas." And he wondered aloud about the X. Why was it X-mas?
And finally, in a forlorn voice, he asked his dad: "Did they cross
Christ out of Christmas, Daddy?" And the father had never thought of
it that way before, but finally nodded. "Yes, Son, I guess they
did." And it makes you think.
</blockquote>
Well it certainly does make one think. It makes one think how
uninformed or misinformed, and unnecessarily militant with that
misinformation, so many Christians are concerning their own Faith. The
story illustrates what could have been a marvelous opportunity to teach a child about some of
the important symbolism of the Christian Faith. But it was an
opportunity lost, in this story at least, because many Christians do not
understand their own iconography and symbolism. The results are often
battles waged against windmills while far more consequential issues for
the Faith are
neglected (a modern example of Matt. 23:23).
Now, in all honesty, the article on that web site focuses on the
secular commercialization of Christmas, something to which most
Christians I know would object or at least with which they are
uncomfortable (note similar comments by Ken Collins in

Christmas Facts [external link]). But 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 same perspective is obvious in this response to a BBC broadcast
on the meaning of Christmas:
<blockquote>
The time has come to separate the religious festival of Christmas
from the trading season of "xmas."
</blockquote>
It is as if the term "Xmas" used anywhere in public is part of some
diabolical grinchly plot to subvert Christmas. This is implied in other
places as well. A 2005 poll on the website bible.com, a popular
biblical resource site, has this question: "What concerns you the most
about how the world is attacking Christmas, a Christian holiday?" The
four choices given in order are:
<blockquote>
1) Using an "X" to replace Christ’s name in Christmas - i.e.
Xmas;
2) Banning manger scenes from public places;
3) Substituting "Happy Holidays" for "Merry Christmas";

4) Emphasizing Santa Claus over Baby Jesus.
</blockquote>
Certainly, the question does not imply what the web site itself
thinks of the answers. But the fact that this issue can still be
included with the other fears that people have about Christmas
illustrates a continuing and significant level of misinformation mixed
with people’s concerns. And the less than neutral language of the
question ("world," "attacking," "Christian") certainly leaves the
impression that using "Xmas" is part of some worldly plot to overthrow
Christendom.
This misunderstanding and fear mongering about the use of "Xmas" is
not a new phenomenon. I heard the same kinds of comments in sermons many
years ago. It was especially prevalent among those Christians and church
leaders who wanted or needed to see the world in negative and
threatening terms (see The Jonah Syndrome), or who tended to see
everything in society as part of some grand conspiracy of Satan or the
inexorable working out of God’s own predetermined plan, without really
knowing all the facts or complexities of the situation (see
Christians
and Urban Legends).
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
The Origin of "Xmas" Chirho

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.
Another example is the symbol of the fish, one of the earliest
symbols of Christians that has been found scratched on the walls of the
catacombs of Rome. It likely originated from using the first letter of
several titles of Jesus (Jesus Christ Son of God Savior). When combined
these initial letters together spelled the Greek word for fish (icquV,
ichthus).
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." Understanding this use of Christian symbolism might help us
modern day Xians focus on more important issues of the Faith during
Advent, and bring a little more Peace to the Xmas Season

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Christmas is coming
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Jingle Bells
Let it Snow
Little Drummer Boy
Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer
The Christmas Song
The Twelve Days of Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
White Christmas
Winter Wonderland
Auld Lang Syne

by discovery Sat Dec 25, 2010 8:10 pm

nice

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Christmas is coming
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Jingle Bells
Let it Snow
Little Drummer Boy
Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer
The Christmas Song
The Twelve Days of Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
White Christmas
Winter Wonderland
Auld Lang Syne

thanx

The Origin of "Xmas" 231370

by nokia Sat Dec 25, 2010 10:53 pm

cool ,, thanx The Origin of "Xmas" 90598

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