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Someone in my office trudged out the whole "it's not Xmas, it's Christmas!" debate to a fellow co-worker.  Being a Doubting Catholic, I had to trot out something I'd put together in my youth (after convulsing and shuddering in incredulity).  For your perusal and feedback.  This is mostly meant to shed light and opinion on only one or two aspects of the holiday.  It is NOT, repeated NOT, meant to point fingers, claim superiority for one religion or set of beliefs or another - hence the 'Christmas puddin' and not 'Holidays puddin' ".  Enjoy!


The next time someone (yourself, others, whomever) mentions the whole “Xmas versus Christmas,” controversy, here’s a little tidbit I dug up recently and not so recently.  It also relates to a mini term paper I wrote in college on the subject.  In case you might not have known, I was a History major; this sort of stuff is right up my alley.

Respectfully submitted:

“Europeans in the 16th century started using “X” in place of Christ’s name as shorthand for writing out the word “Christ.”  The Christian monks and scholars were knowledgeable of the Greek letter X â€" Chi (pronounced ‘Kie,’ like ‘pie’) â€" which is the first letter in the Greek word ‘Christos’ (also ‘Kristos’) for the Anglecanized ‘Christ’.”

“The Greek and Hebrew word ‘Christos’ comes out ‘Messiah’ depending on the translation, and means the same thing:  â€˜the anointed One.’  For many years the X was understood by Christian clergy but as time passed many Christians, educated as well as not, became unaware of the meaning of the Chi ‘X’.  Over time, the meaning has become lost or refuted to the point of the ‘X’ in ‘Xmas’ being perceived by many Christians as a sign of disrespect.”

Nothing in fact could be further from the truth.  It can indeed be argued that people of this opinion are the ones showing disrespect.  Not to a religion or belief, but to the very historicity of the term.  From Wikipedia and assorted cited sources:

The December 1957 News and Views published by the Church League of America, an organization co-founded in 1937 by George Washington Robnett[64] attacked the use of Xmas in an article titled "X=The Unknown Quantity." The claims were picked up later by Gerald L. K. Smith who in December 1966 claimed that Xmas was a "blasphemous omission of the name of Christ" and that "'X' is referred to as being symbolical of the unknown quantity…"

“…Such claims are made in the face of documented centuries-long history of use of Χ (actually a chi) as an abbreviation for "Christ" (Χριστός) and possibly also a symbol of the Cross.[66]”

Further, the ‘controversy’ over Christmas is nothing new to Western civilization.  I get slightly off my own topic and digress:

“Puritan era
The first documented Christmas controversy was Christian-led, and began during the English Interregnum, when England was ruled by a Puritan Parliament.[56] Puritans (including those who fled to America) sought to remove the remaining Pagan elements of Christmas (see Christmas#Pre-Christian origins). During this period, the English Parliament banned the celebration of Christmas entirely, considering it a Pope-ish festival with no biblical justification, and a time of wasteful and immoral behavior. The Cromwell Association notes that this ban was not directed at Christianity, but on the Pagan traditions that came to be associated with Christianity through the creation of the Christmas holiday. These ancient traditions have no true relation to Christianity, but they were so established in the cultures of northern Europe that they were not abandoned after the introduction of Christianity. Many early Christian leaders were faced with congregations of Christians who were still celebrating these Pagan traditions. It would not have been possible to ban such celebrations due to their popularity, so early church leaders established this time of year to celebrate the birth of Christ. This marked the true beginning of the conflict over the Christmas holiday.[57]”

Further:

"Protestantism
Prior to the Victorian era, Christmas in the United States was primarily a religious holiday observed by Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, and Lutherans. Its importance was often considered secondary to Epiphany and Easter.
As was the case with other Christian holidays, Christmas borrowed elements from Pagan peoples, including Yule logs, decorations such as candles, holly, and mistletoe. Christmas trees were sometimes seen as Pagan in origin. Cited as proof is Jeremiah, 10:3-4, which states, "For the customs of the peoples are false: a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan. People deck it with silver and gold they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move." The Advent period (originally a fasting period meant to point to the Second Coming of Christ), and gift giving (invented by Martin Luther to counter St. Nicholas Day, 6th of December) were also often seen as Pagan in origin.
During the various Protestant reformations, these (real or supposed) paganizing elements were a source of controversy. Some sects, such as the Puritans, rejected Christmas as an entirely Pagan holiday. Others rejected certain aspects of Christmas as paganizing, but wanted to retain the "essence" of the holiday as a celebration of the Christ's birth. This tension put in motion an ongoing debate about the proper observance of Christmas.[58]"

I include a hyperlink (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Pre-Christian_origins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Pre-Christian_origins))  to the Christmas origins page to point out the following:

Modern Christmas customs include gift-giving and merrymaking (from Roman Saturnalia), greenery, lights, and charity (from the Roman New Year), and Yule Logs and various foods (from Germanic pagan feasts).  Pagan Scandinavia also celebrated a winter festival called ‘Yule,’ held in late December into early January.  As Northern Europe was the last part of the continent to Christianize, its pagan traditions had a major influence on Christmas.

And finally, my favorite, Sol Invictus:

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means "the birthday of the unconquered Sun." The use of the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god of Emperor Aurelian; and Mithras, a soldiers' god of Persian origin.[15] Emperor Elagabalus (218â€"222) introduced the festival, and it reached the height of its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday.[16] This day had held no significance in the Roman festive calendar until it was introduced in the third century.[17]

The festival was placed on the date of the solstice because this was on this day that the Sun reversed its southward retreat and proved itself to be "unconquered." Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus.[3] "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born...Christ should be born", Cyprian wrote.[3] John Chrysostom also commented on the connection: "They call it the 'Birthday of the Unconquered'. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord . . .?"[3]

So, the next time you launch into the familiar debate, regardless of your stance, opinions, beliefs, or feelings, take the time to read the above and then make your decision.  

‘Xmas’ is perfectly acceptable and historical.  It is not an insult or conspiracy to remove Christ from Christmas.

Christmas/Xmas is indeed a Christian feast in origin.  But it has assimilated so many other cultures' trappings and symbols that they've all become inextricably entwined with one another.  To argue for one aspect and deny another is academic suicide.

Nor is this meant to point fingers or enforce a ‘right’ over a ‘wrong’ or one opinion over another; merely it is to offer another view on the subject that will undoubtedly be different than your own.

Enjoy your Christian holiday, celebrate it with its incorporated pagan symbols, and thank whatever God you believe in that we all live in a place where a) something as big as this can still hopefully inspire thoughtful discourse, while b) we all are able to celebrate the season in the manner of our own choosing.


PS â€" you’ll note I did not include Ramadan or Hanukkah.  I do not know enough about those religions to attempt a comparison or breakdown.  I also did not include anything about Kwanzaa, as it is a more recently-created holiday meant to cater to a specific culture rather than a specific religion.

Like I said... Merry Xmas... :D

Thanks for the history lesson Doc.

I realized I'd left it incomplete.  I abhor sentence fragments.  I fixed it!

And merry Xmas to you!