|
Christmas
Facts
The 12 Days of Christmas
What's the X in XMas
anyway?
Years ago, Christians were
dissapointed that people had lost sight of "Christ" in Christmas. Indeed, it
wasn't even pronounced "Christ-mas" (hard I in Christ) it was pronounced
"Crist- mas" (soft i in Cris) like we do today. Some of them decided that,
since the Greek word for Christ is Xristos (using Roman letters to spell it)
and since the first letter of Xristos is "Chi" which looks like our X, they
would spell Christmas "XMas" to emphasise that it is Xristos', that is,
Christ's birth.
Now, I will admit, that most
people who use XMas today do it to Remove (to X out) Christ or they use XMas
to avoid offending people who don't want Christ in Christmas, or simply
because XMas fits better in their advertising material (It is
shorter.)
But, though they didn't mean it,
now that you know the truth, every time you see XMas. remember that the X is
there to emphasise the fact that it is Xristos' birthday we are celebrating.
Use XMas as your personal reminder that this isn't just a quaint holiday. It
is celebration of Jesus Christ's who came to earth to die and give us the
ability to be saved from our sins.
Oh, and one more thought... I'll
bet you can tell why I sometimes spell the holiday "CHRISTmas"
The Candy Cane
A candy maker in the States
(Indiana I believe the most reliable sources say) wanted to make a candy that
would remind people at Christmas time of Jesus. Like those Christians who put
the X in XMas to emphasise Christ, this candy maker wanted to do something to
put Christ back in Christmas. He thought:
The promises of God are
firm.
Jesus died for us.
Jesus suffered for
us.
When you accept Jesus'
salavation, you are made white as snow, just as he is pure
white.
With these thought he created
the Candy Cane:
A firm, primarily white candy
with one large red stripe and 3 thin red strips, done in the shape of a
J.
-
hard candy: promises
firm
-
white candy: white as
snow.
-
large red stripe: Jesus died
for us
-
3 thin red stripes
Crown of
Thorns (caused him to bleed)
He was beaten with a whip, cutting his back
into shreds
He was peired with a sword while he hung on the
cross
-
Shape of a J: Jesus. Also shape
of a cane - Jesus is the "good shepard"
If you have other "facts" you
think I should be including, please let me know, and provide me with a
verifiable source that I can check out to verify they are facts and not just a
myth or cute idea. Of course, I could include cute ideas here as well, I just
want to make sure I differentiate between fact and fiction.
|