Missing the point of Xmas

Actual text from a Christmas card I received today:

"Hey, did you know Jesus is the reason for the season! [sic] Merry Xmas"

Don't get me started.

Back before Thanksgiving, I expounded on the offense I took at people who use the phrase "Turkey Day". I hinted, in the comments, on how I wasn't looking forward to the next adulteration of holidays, which is what "Xmas" is.

Typing the word "Xmas" into Google will show you that it is used by many people in the exact same way they'd use the word Christmas. You can read Xmas jokes, get Xmas fonts for your computer (whatever those are supposed to look like...), and celebrate Xmas all year round.

Whence comes this word, Xmas? Well, in my revulsion I decided to confront the old standby, dictionary.com, to find out what Xmas means. Here's what they say:

Christmas.
[From X, the Greek letter chi, first letter of Greek Khrstos, Christ. See Christ.]
Usage Note: Xmas has been used for hundreds of years in religious writing, where the X represents a Greek chi, the first letter of [omitted Greek text], “Christ.” In this use it is parallel to other forms like Xtian, “Christian.” But people unaware of the Greek origin of this X often mistakenly interpret Xmas as an informal shortening pronounced ([ommitted Greek text]). Many therefore frown upon the term Xmas because it seems to them a commercial convenience that omits Christ from Christmas.

So, "Xmas," which is a world I have reviled for eons, is apparently a term that ought not offend, as theologians through the decades have already settled on it as a shorthand term for Christmas.

In the past, as people have said "Merry Xmas" or send cards containing the same, I've spent more time frustrated at their idiotic disregard for the use of proper English. I've sat back in my Christian up-brought, holier-than-thou way and felt offended. I've pitied people's inability to comprehend the meaning behind the season.

Have I been missing the point?

Maybe. I guess you could say the same is true when discussing my strong convictions on calling Thanksgiving by its name, as opposed to cheapening it by calling it Turkey Day. But, in the end, I think what matters is the thought behind what people say, more than the words they use to say it.

That isn't to say that I'm ever going to be too tolerant of a "Happy Turkey Day" thrown my way. "Turkey Day" doesn't have the imprimitur of authority that Xmas does, by virtue of hundreds of years of use as a shorthand term for a longer word.

As we quickly approach Christmas, though, I hope we don't miss the point of the holiday. I received an e-mail today from from a friend's husband, and it made me roll my eyes, perhaps because I was the choir being preached to. However, it laid out the importance of this holiday in a very clear way, and I've ended up being thankful for the reminder. I include it below for you to peruse and to regard how you see fit:

Hello Everybody!

Just thought I’d share a “seasonal” thought with everybody if you’d like to take a moment to read it…

Everything going on at this time of year is so crazy because it’s the holiday season. It’s sort of funny that it’s called a holiday, because for a lot of us this is the most slammed time of the year. Especially for Jeanine and me, we have a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter who’s really into Christmas now! But for me, I know I need to really think about why Christmas is something I should enjoy and even meditate on instead of just letting myself get “caught up” in it.

Fourteen years ago, I chose to give my life to Jesus. Since then, it’s been an exciting growing experience in Him as He’s journeyed with me through my life’s changes. These days, along with reading the story about how Christ was born, I’m thinking a lot about what that means to me as a God-follower.

There was something else that was born that night besides the baby Jesus, and that was hope. When the three wise men came to visit the baby Jesus, they were not just looking into the face of a newborn. They were looking into the face of God. Up until the moment Christ was born, God spoke through people he had chosen to take his words into certain corners of the world and showed himself through things like a cloud of fire when He was leading the Israelites out of Egypt. He also spoke to a certain number of people, but not to everyone. But one thing that was consistent was that no one had seen His face.

The same One of whom no one had seen His face showed us His heart’s desire to restore the relationship that had been broken through Adam and Eve’s fall into sin. He did this by leaving His rightful place to come to earth to be with us. He bridged the chasm that had separated us from Him for so long. This is the true Christmas story. He was born to be with us and born to die for our sins so that we could have an eternal and perfect relationship with Him.

The reason why I said that hope was born the night that Christ was born is because He is the hope; the perfect hope that fills all of our emptiness; and He’s the perfect love that conquers any depth of loneliness we could ever know. And we experience this by opening ourselves up to Him and giving our heart completely to Him.

That is what God is teaching me about Christmas. Christ was born as “Emmanuel”, which means “God with us”. He is not ever far away. He is right there with us and will never let us down. All we need to do is give ourselves to Him and trust Him with everything we are.

I hope you all have an awesome Christmas!!

Wes

I've been reading all of my usual blogs, including Rozanne's, Denise's, and Betsy's, and I've appreciated all of the different approaches that everyone has toward this season. Some people really get into it, some people low-key it, but all of them seem to appreciate that there is this time of year where we can all be with family and friends, spread cheer, and just be, in that enjoyable sense. I don't know how they, or many people, feel about the religious aspect of the holiday, and I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to tell them that they have to feel anything about it. Religion and faith, after all, are a matter of choice.

However you feel about this season, and whatever you believe about it, I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Xmas. In keeping with my beliefs, I will pray that you all have a safe and happy holiday.

Catch ya later.