I still have not found the “spirit” of this holiday as of yet, but the controversy over it makes my blood boil. So I have taken up the fight in my own way… by giving you the meaning behind the word “Christmas”. To me and many others it will always be a time of family, gift giving and time for prayers. A time to reflect and a time to celebrate. He was born to die for our sins (of which I have had many), but this is a time and celebration that the politically correct need to leave alone. Let it stand as it is and have a Merry Christmas!
According to Wikipedia:
Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. According to the Christian gospels, Jesus was born to Mary in Bethlehem, where she and her husband Joseph had traveled to register in the Roman census. Christians believe that Jesus’s birth, or nativity, fulfills the prophecies of Judaism that a messiah would come, from the house of David, to redeem the world from sin and bridge the separation between God and mankind. The precise chronology of Jesus’ birth and death as well as the historicity of Jesus are still debated.
In many countries throughout the world Christmas is recognized as a national holiday. On June 26, 1870, the United States government declared Christmas a federal holiday.
In predominantly Christian countries, Christmas has become the most economically significant holiday of the year, and it is also celebrated as a secular holiday in many countries with small Christian populations. It is largely characterized by exchanging gifts within families, and by gifts brought by Father Christmas or Santa Claus, a big jolly man with a white beard, or other folk figures. Local and regional Christmas traditions are still rich and varied, despite the widespread influence of American and British Christmas motifs disseminated through literature, television and other media.
The word Christmas is a contraction of Christ’s Mass, derived from the Old English Cristes mæsse and refering to the religious ceremony of mass. It is often abbreviated Xmas, probably because X or Xt have often been used as a contraction for Christ. The English letter X resembles the Greek letter Χ (chi), the first letter of Christ in Greek (ΧÏιστός transliterated as [Christos]). Crimbo is an informal synonym used in British English. Xmas is pronounced the same as Christmas, but most people just say X-Mas.
And this about the origins:
Historians are unsure exactly when Christians first began celebrating the Nativity of Christ. Some scholars maintain that December 25 was only adopted in the 4th century as a Christian holiday after Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity on his death bed, to encourage a common religious festival for both Christians and Pagans. Perusal of historical records indicates that the first mention of such a feast in Constantinople (Constantine’s own city, after all) was not until 379 AD, under Gregory Nazianzus. In Rome, it can only be confirmed as being mentioned in a document from approximately 350 AD, but without any mention of sanction by Emperor Constantine.
Early Christians chiefly celebrated the subsequent Epiphany, when the baby Jesus was visited by the Magi (and this is still a primary time for celebration in Spain). Efforts to assign a date for his birth, though better known from writings from some centuries later, would have been important to all Christians then, no less than now.
The Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture, each year beginning on December 17 in a festival called the Saturnalia, to glorify past days when the god Saturn ruled, according to the tradition. This festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice, which at that time, by the Julian calendar, fell on December 25 (today, following calendar reform, it falls on December 21). During Saturnalia the Romans feasted, postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts, and temporarily freed their slaves. With the lengthening of daylight, these and other winter festivities continued through January 1, the festival of Kalends, when Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month and religious year (the secular year began in March). A common practice among Roman citizens during Saturnalia was to select one of their slaves to be the master of the household, with the masters themselves acting as slaves.
By the 4th century another factor was also at work. During the reign of Emperor Aurelian, Sol Invictus became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 207 AD. Sol Invictus (the invincible sun) was based upon a celebration of the Persian sun god, Mithras. Romans celebrated the birth of the sun on the Winter Solstice which was December 25 by the Julian Calendar, with festivities in honor of the rebirth of Sol Invictus, the “Invincible Sun God”, or with rituals to glorify Mithra (see Mithraism). Sol Invictus was a religion to which both Constantine himself before his deathbed conversion to Christianity, and his predecessor Diocletian, who had rebuilt the Roman Empire, were especially devoted, and to whom the latter had attributed his military successes. Diocletian at one time had had Constantine living under his eye, against his will, separating him from his father. The Roman priesthood preserved the festival and many other traditions and beliefs in its transformation to Christianity and formation of the Catholic Church. All extant evidence indicates that Christianity was generally adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire decades after Constantine’s death in most parts of the Empire.
Christ·mas
( P ) Pronunciation Key (kr
s
m
s)
n.
- A Christian feast commemorating the birth of Jesus.
- December 25, the day on which this feast is celebrated.
- Christmastide.
Main Entry: Christ·mas
Pronunciation: 'kris-m&s
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English Christemasse, from Old English Cristes mæsse, literally, Christ’s mass
1 : a Christian feast on December 25 or among some Eastern Orthodox on January 7 that commemorates the birth of Christ and is usually observed as a legal holiday
