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Since Hallmark doesn't make a card
This poem will have to do
So let me say Merry Christmas
From an Atheist
To you.
This poem will have to do
So let me say Merry Christmas
From an Atheist
To you.
cute.... thanks..... 
Really beautiful, HOD.
Merry Christmas!
To our secular friends,
Happy Winter Solstice or Festivus!
Merry Christmas!
To our secular friends,
Happy Winter Solstice or Festivus!
HoD, Merry, Merry Christmas to you as well!
Hod,
Merry Xmas!
What ya gonna get me?
nsns
Merry Xmas!
What ya gonna get me?
nsns
quote:Originally posted by Not Shallow Not Slim:
Hod, Merry Xmas! What ya gonna get me?
Hi Deep,
Well, with the fact that your purposely attempt to denigrate our faith, I have a few suggestions. One does not have to believe in God to show respect for your fellow Forum members who do believe.
So, the only reason you could have for purposely writing Christmas the way you do is (1) a feeble attempt to be humorous, or (2) you believe you find strength in mocking the beliefs of others, or (3) in spite of the fact that people on the Forum has attributed decency to you -- you are a very hateful, nasty person.
I do not believe it to be number 3 -- but, I could be wrong.
It is not a matter of debating the existence of God. You do not believe; but we do. Therefore, it is not a debate. So, why do it?
Since we know it takes no more effort or strength to type Christmas, and we do know that you do have at least the intelligence to type Christmas -- what is your reason for not doing it? Please tell us if it is 1, 2, or 3 above.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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Christmas and XmasThe greek letter Chi ('x') is the first letter for the greek word for Christ, Xristos. Xmas therefore means "Christ's Mass" The abbreviation has been around since the 16th century.
Christmas to Xmas X\was first used by Europeans in the 16th century as an abbreviated form of Christmas. They got the X from the Greek word for Christ, which is Xristos.
Additional Input
•The XMAS was a result of persecutions of Christians in early in 2nd and 3rd century AD when it was illegal to worship or to even write the word Christ.
•The word Xmas is a commonly used abbreviation for Christmas. The "X" in Xmas comes from the word "Χριστός," which means "Christ" in Greek. Xmas is a combination of the "X" from "Χριστός" and the "mas" ending of Christmas, which means mass.
•Xmas is an easier term for Christmas, we use it because it is easier to spell and say. Because it is Christian shorthand for Christmas, the X standing for Christ.
•Way back when, Greek was the language of Christianity. The New Testament was written in Greek. Greek was and is written using the Greek alphabet, not the alphabet we use. You can still see traces of it in old symbols and phrases still used, like calling God 'the alpha and the omega' meaning 'the beginning and the end' because alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and omega is the last. It's like calling him the A to Z.
•Another place you might still find Greek in use in modern western Christianity is the Ichthys or fish symbol. You'll have seen it somewhere, it's the classic fish shape that people sometimes use to show they're Christian. You can look up its history somewhere else, but it's called an Ichthys because that is Greek for fish. Why a fish as a symbol of Christianity? Because 'Ichthys' stands for Iēsous Khristos Theou Huios, Sōtēr = Jesus Christ God's Son, Saviour. The 'ch' in Ichthys stands for Christ, and the Greek letter used to mean 'ch' looks a lot like an X.
•Similarly, the 'Chi-Rho' symbol that looks like an 'X' superimposed over a 'P' is actually the Greek letters Chi (X) and Rho (P) which are the first letters in Christ's name. This symbol, like the fish, is almost as old as the Cross symbol got Christianity and can be found eveb in the early Chritian Church catacombs in Rome, scratched on the walls. The co-incidence that the 'X' Chi letter also looks like a cross helped it being adopted to replace 'Christ'.
•So, from ancient times Christians have used the Greek letter that looks like an X as an abbreviation of 'Christ'. For the last few centuries, people have used an actual X instead, particularly if they don't know Greek. So, 'Christians' is abbreviated to 'Xians', 'Christ' is abbreviated to 'X' and 'Christmas' is abbreviated to 'Xmas'. This is useful when people want a shorter way of writing something, and is a reminder of Christianity's roots.
•The word 'Xmas' should never be pronounced 'Ex-mass' as the 'X' in it is not the letter 'X' in our alphabet. The letter is actually the Greek letter Chi "χ" (which looks like an 'X' ) which is the first letter of the Greek word 'Christos' meaning 'Christ'." Therefore 'X-mas' should be pronounced simply 'Christmas' because that is exactly what it is.
•Well...long ago a man and his friends despised Christ and was against him. When Christmas came along, they had the idea. Christmas has "Christ" begining the word. The friends were so mad they went around saying "x"-mas. Which is to cross out Christ in "Christ"mas.
•The greek letter 'x' is the first letter for the greek word for Christ, Xristos. Xmas therefore means "Christ's Mass" The "X" in "Xmas" is meant to block out "Christ" as in "Christmas." Among many religious communities the use of this word is looked upon with disdain and completely warps the point of Christmas (the celebration of Christ's birthday). The "X" in "Xmas" represents the Greek letter chi, which is the initial letter of Christos - the Greek for Christ. Christians came to use X as a symbol, and it crept into the English language as a shorthand. From there it became more generally used.
•Xian for Christian and Xmas for Christmas are customary shorthand when religious writers are writing articles and books, and it gets "corrected" by the typesetters. Xmas, or in some cases X-mas, is an easier way to write Christmas. So in many ways, the X in Xmas stands for Christ. Christmas is sometimes called xmas because Χ, or Chi, is the first letter of the Greek spelling of Christ: Χριστός
•The Greek word for Christ begins with the letter Chi, which is written identical to the roman letter X. So, as a form of shorthand, some people replace "Christ" with the first letter of his Greek name, X. Note that this abbrevation for Christmas came about long before cell-phone text messaging, though the latter has greatly increased the usage of the former.
•The most common explanation is that X or Xt is a symbol, or shorthand, for Christ (compare the abbreviation Xian or Xtian for Christian). This use presumably arose because of the crucifixion (?) Some Christians object to it because they interpret it as 'crossing Christ out'. X is the Greek letter for Chi which for centuries was the accepted abbreviation for Christmas and for Christians.
•"The shorthand version of Jesus Christ in Christianity, as in X-mas etc. Written oaths and other contracts were once made valid by writing on them an Χ for Christ and then kissing it, so the letter chi (and Roman ex) came to stand for both a kiss and a signature."
•Simply because its shorter and easier to fit on cards.Sort of: it's the first letter in Χριστός, the Greek spelling of Christ. Nothing. They are the same holiday. It is simply an attempt to remove Christ from Christmas. It is a Holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ so removing Christ makes some people think this will remove the religious aspect of the holiday.
•X is the English representation of the Greek letter Chi, which is used in Greek to represent Christos, or Christ. Xmas therefore literally translates to Christ-mas.
•Xmas (or X-mas ) is an abbreviation for Christmas . It is derived from the word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, transliterated as Christos , which is Greek for Christ . Greek is the language in which the whole New Testament was written. Originally, in "Xmas", X represented the Greek letter χ (see chi ). It was pronounced with an aspirated [khi], which is the first letter of Christ's name in Greek. An upper-case χ has the same shape as a Latin alphabet letter X, hence the abbreviation "Xmas".
•X was used as a short hand symbol as Christ was crucified on the cross. It was actually religious clerics that started the practice in the middle ages and it in no way is a slur on Jesus, Christ, Lord and any other variation. The X in Xmas is actually the greek letter Chi, which was a common abbreviation of Kristos, Christ's name.
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_...s_Xmas#ixzz18IFZsYYV
Christmas to Xmas X\was first used by Europeans in the 16th century as an abbreviated form of Christmas. They got the X from the Greek word for Christ, which is Xristos.
Additional Input
•The XMAS was a result of persecutions of Christians in early in 2nd and 3rd century AD when it was illegal to worship or to even write the word Christ.
•The word Xmas is a commonly used abbreviation for Christmas. The "X" in Xmas comes from the word "Χριστός," which means "Christ" in Greek. Xmas is a combination of the "X" from "Χριστός" and the "mas" ending of Christmas, which means mass.
•Xmas is an easier term for Christmas, we use it because it is easier to spell and say. Because it is Christian shorthand for Christmas, the X standing for Christ.
•Way back when, Greek was the language of Christianity. The New Testament was written in Greek. Greek was and is written using the Greek alphabet, not the alphabet we use. You can still see traces of it in old symbols and phrases still used, like calling God 'the alpha and the omega' meaning 'the beginning and the end' because alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and omega is the last. It's like calling him the A to Z.
•Another place you might still find Greek in use in modern western Christianity is the Ichthys or fish symbol. You'll have seen it somewhere, it's the classic fish shape that people sometimes use to show they're Christian. You can look up its history somewhere else, but it's called an Ichthys because that is Greek for fish. Why a fish as a symbol of Christianity? Because 'Ichthys' stands for Iēsous Khristos Theou Huios, Sōtēr = Jesus Christ God's Son, Saviour. The 'ch' in Ichthys stands for Christ, and the Greek letter used to mean 'ch' looks a lot like an X.
•Similarly, the 'Chi-Rho' symbol that looks like an 'X' superimposed over a 'P' is actually the Greek letters Chi (X) and Rho (P) which are the first letters in Christ's name. This symbol, like the fish, is almost as old as the Cross symbol got Christianity and can be found eveb in the early Chritian Church catacombs in Rome, scratched on the walls. The co-incidence that the 'X' Chi letter also looks like a cross helped it being adopted to replace 'Christ'.
•So, from ancient times Christians have used the Greek letter that looks like an X as an abbreviation of 'Christ'. For the last few centuries, people have used an actual X instead, particularly if they don't know Greek. So, 'Christians' is abbreviated to 'Xians', 'Christ' is abbreviated to 'X' and 'Christmas' is abbreviated to 'Xmas'. This is useful when people want a shorter way of writing something, and is a reminder of Christianity's roots.
•The word 'Xmas' should never be pronounced 'Ex-mass' as the 'X' in it is not the letter 'X' in our alphabet. The letter is actually the Greek letter Chi "χ" (which looks like an 'X' ) which is the first letter of the Greek word 'Christos' meaning 'Christ'." Therefore 'X-mas' should be pronounced simply 'Christmas' because that is exactly what it is.
•Well...long ago a man and his friends despised Christ and was against him. When Christmas came along, they had the idea. Christmas has "Christ" begining the word. The friends were so mad they went around saying "x"-mas. Which is to cross out Christ in "Christ"mas.
•The greek letter 'x' is the first letter for the greek word for Christ, Xristos. Xmas therefore means "Christ's Mass" The "X" in "Xmas" is meant to block out "Christ" as in "Christmas." Among many religious communities the use of this word is looked upon with disdain and completely warps the point of Christmas (the celebration of Christ's birthday). The "X" in "Xmas" represents the Greek letter chi, which is the initial letter of Christos - the Greek for Christ. Christians came to use X as a symbol, and it crept into the English language as a shorthand. From there it became more generally used.
•Xian for Christian and Xmas for Christmas are customary shorthand when religious writers are writing articles and books, and it gets "corrected" by the typesetters. Xmas, or in some cases X-mas, is an easier way to write Christmas. So in many ways, the X in Xmas stands for Christ. Christmas is sometimes called xmas because Χ, or Chi, is the first letter of the Greek spelling of Christ: Χριστός
•The Greek word for Christ begins with the letter Chi, which is written identical to the roman letter X. So, as a form of shorthand, some people replace "Christ" with the first letter of his Greek name, X. Note that this abbrevation for Christmas came about long before cell-phone text messaging, though the latter has greatly increased the usage of the former.
•The most common explanation is that X or Xt is a symbol, or shorthand, for Christ (compare the abbreviation Xian or Xtian for Christian). This use presumably arose because of the crucifixion (?) Some Christians object to it because they interpret it as 'crossing Christ out'. X is the Greek letter for Chi which for centuries was the accepted abbreviation for Christmas and for Christians.
•"The shorthand version of Jesus Christ in Christianity, as in X-mas etc. Written oaths and other contracts were once made valid by writing on them an Χ for Christ and then kissing it, so the letter chi (and Roman ex) came to stand for both a kiss and a signature."
•Simply because its shorter and easier to fit on cards.Sort of: it's the first letter in Χριστός, the Greek spelling of Christ. Nothing. They are the same holiday. It is simply an attempt to remove Christ from Christmas. It is a Holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ so removing Christ makes some people think this will remove the religious aspect of the holiday.
•X is the English representation of the Greek letter Chi, which is used in Greek to represent Christos, or Christ. Xmas therefore literally translates to Christ-mas.
•Xmas (or X-mas ) is an abbreviation for Christmas . It is derived from the word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, transliterated as Christos , which is Greek for Christ . Greek is the language in which the whole New Testament was written. Originally, in "Xmas", X represented the Greek letter χ (see chi ). It was pronounced with an aspirated [khi], which is the first letter of Christ's name in Greek. An upper-case χ has the same shape as a Latin alphabet letter X, hence the abbreviation "Xmas".
•X was used as a short hand symbol as Christ was crucified on the cross. It was actually religious clerics that started the practice in the middle ages and it in no way is a slur on Jesus, Christ, Lord and any other variation. The X in Xmas is actually the greek letter Chi, which was a common abbreviation of Kristos, Christ's name.
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_...s_Xmas#ixzz18IFZsYYV
Merry the beginning of the life of the sun to all of you.
That was beautiful, House of David. Thank you.
I hope we all have a very merry Christmas.
I hope and pray nobody is alone this Christmas, that someone opens their home to them.
I hope and pray all those that have a hard time during the holidays due to circumstances or loss are wrapped in perfect peace.
Merry Christmas!
I hope we all have a very merry Christmas.
I hope and pray nobody is alone this Christmas, that someone opens their home to them.
I hope and pray all those that have a hard time during the holidays due to circumstances or loss are wrapped in perfect peace.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Joy! Be sure to come around here more often next year, we need you.
nsns
nsns
Thanks, nsns. (((hug)))
Hugs back!
nsns
Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all. It seems kind of disingenuous for some to say it when you see actions in the parking lots of shopping centers by some folks but never the less, if it takes a holiday for folks to be in a giving and caring mood toward others then I'll accept that. As a Christian though I have mixed emotions regarding the holiday knowing and understanding it's history but I also have come to look at it like i do Sunday or Saturday worship.
Unless you are a Jew and obligated to worship on the Sabbath, it doesn't really matter what day you care to worship on and likewise it doesn't matter if someone religious cares to celebrate Christ birth on a day that obviously is no where close to the actual birth day. Some say the actual birth of Christ was more around September and others feel it's actually more around April. Truth is no one knows for sure due to the fact that it wasn't the custom to keep those kind of records or give special regard to birth dates.
I'm glad that people still can come together with a festive mood and center around family and caring about their fellow man/woman and besides it's also exciting to see the excitement and expectations in the eyes of the little ones (Children & Grandchildren).
Unless you are a Jew and obligated to worship on the Sabbath, it doesn't really matter what day you care to worship on and likewise it doesn't matter if someone religious cares to celebrate Christ birth on a day that obviously is no where close to the actual birth day. Some say the actual birth of Christ was more around September and others feel it's actually more around April. Truth is no one knows for sure due to the fact that it wasn't the custom to keep those kind of records or give special regard to birth dates.
I'm glad that people still can come together with a festive mood and center around family and caring about their fellow man/woman and besides it's also exciting to see the excitement and expectations in the eyes of the little ones (Children & Grandchildren).
Merry Christmas, gb!
nsns
nsns