Embracing Xmas

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So it’s Xmas season again. I don’t know about you but I used to have a real bee in my bonnet about that “X”; pushing Christ out of Christmas etc. etc.

[lightbox link=”http://davidould.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/PostcardIBringYouAMerryXmas1910.jpg” thumb=”http://davidould.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/PostcardIBringYouAMerryXmas1910-252×400.jpg” width=”252″ align=”right” title=”image wikipedia” frame=”true” icon=”image” caption=”image wikipedia“]And here’s the thing – perhaps it is but it doesn’t have to. The better way is to subvert and reclaim what our culture pushes out, rather than either capitulate or come across as a wowser.

Of course, “Xmas” isn’t actually a problem for us, as the often-helpful wikipedia tells us

The “-mas” part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass,ย while the “X” comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word ฮงฯฮนฯƒฯ„ฯŒฯ‚ which comes into English as “Christ“.

There is a common misconception that the word Xmas stems from a secular attempt to remove the religious tradition from Christmasย by taking the “Christ” out of “Christmas”, but its use dates back to the 16th century.

Now I think I can work with that. Actually, more than “work” – we can really leverage this. How about we all go about writing “Xmas” but with a very deliberate and pronounced “Chi – ฯ‡“?

Don’t ignore it, don’t push it away; draw attention to it. Make your Chi really obvious (perhaps like I have above) so that it almost demands a response:

“What’s that?”

“Oh, I’ve written it properly. Did you know that “Xmas” is meant to be written with a greek Chi?”

and then explain why.

Simples. Right? Want to keep the Christ in Christmas? Well how about this year we keep the Chi in Xmas?

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This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. Peter

    Please say that ‘Simples’ was unintentional!

  2. Nigel Poore

    I don’t want to open up the way for hate mail but l have always wondered:
    1. Is the annual celebration of Christs birth actually scriptural?
    2. Is Christmas a traditional celebration by messianic Jews?

    1. David Ould

      hi Nigel.
      1.There’s no specific instruction, but nor is there for Resurrection morning! But these are things, surely, worth celebrating and thinking through a little more deeply.
      2. no idea!

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