Back from church. A week before Advent. Time to ditch the word "Christmas". It's become a mealy-mouthed euphemism. Here in Warsaw, so far, we are not yet assailed at every step by retailers trying to make fast-moving consumer goods move even faster. It will start, but in good time. (Last year, a certain Warsaw radio station played Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' 506 times. In November. No one kept count of how many times they played it in December. This year, no Polish broadcaster has repeated that mistake.)
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, I recommend the term "Christ's Mass". A return to the religious feast's original Christian meaning. The Mass celebrating the Birth of Christ - Christ's Mass*. Pronouncing it this way distances you from the cack and dross that has come to mean the run-up to December 25th.
If you are a materialist consumer bent on an orgy of retail-therapy and booze and television to relieve the Northern Hemisphere's darkest time of year, I suggest you make that preference known by referring to the season as "Xmas" (pron. Ecksmuss). Don't offend the sensibilities of those that believe in Christ-as-God by using His name as an excuse for a getting pissed.
If you are not of the opinion that the Hope and Purpose of the Universe is focused singularly upon the personage of Jesus Christ, yet you possess deeper spiritual feelings, "Yule" is as good a way as any to traditionally describe the time around the winter solstice. The sun's appearance in the sky gets shorter and shorter - and when it becomes clear that it will not continue to do so until it finally disappears - it is indeed time for rejoicing. Four days after the shortest day.
So take your pick - Christ's Mass, Xmas, Yule or just 25th December. But please, give the bland "Christmas" a break this year - and don't even think about wishing me a happy "Holiday Season"!
[*Nearest to the Polish - Święto Bożego Narodzenia - lit. the Holy Day of God's Birth - has the right degree of reverence and is in no danger of becoming devalued by komercja]
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3 comments:
Michael, we too have noticed that the commercialisation of the Christiam festival has put it's breaks on a bit this year which I can only hope becomes the norm. Your comments reminded me of letters sent recently to 'The Telegraph' on the subject you raise so I've copied them in below. Hope their original senders won't mind.
Xmas is not new, but an old Christian abbreviation
Sir - John Davison (Letters, November 22) is wrong about the recent origins of Xmas. This abbreviation of Christmas goes back many centuries.
The origin of the X in Xmas is from the initial letter of Christos (Greek for Christ). First-century Christians readily recognised X (the Greek letter chi) as standing for Christ, as it did in the acronym ichthus, which makes up the Greek word for fish. The fish was a secret sign that early Christians used covertly to identify themselves.
Xmas is no more disrespectful than a fish symbol on a Christian's car today, but perhaps just as irritating.
Geoff Hall, Worcester Park, Surrey
Sir - The 18th-century clergyman and diarist James Woodforde used it regularly in his diary, as in his entry for December 25, 1766: "I read Prayers & administered the H. Sacrament this morning at C. Cary Church - being Xmas Day." If only the celebration of Xmas were as simple now as it was then, when dressing the windows with holly on Xmas Eve, attending a simple church service the next day and handing out a few Xmas boxes to tradesmen was considered more than sufficient effort.
Carole Child, Rochester, Kent
Sir - Penelope Keith, in To the Manor Born, opened an invitation to "Xmas Day drinks at the manor" and uttered "Xmas - it makes it sound like a skin complaint".
Giles Morgan, London SW16
Sir - The pronunciation is never "eksmas" - it should always be said aloud as Christmas.
Chris Lucas, Dorking, Surrey
Alternatives to Christmas - November 24th letters
Sir - If John Davison (Letters, November 22) is appalled by the use of the word "Xmas", what does he make of the meaningless abomination "Crimbo"?
Pauline Skerritt, Saffron Walden, Essex
Sir - Surely the correct shorthand for Christmas should use the Christian cross, therefore pronounced not eksmas, but plusmas.
Richard Middlewood, Hatfield, Hertfordshire
According to OED, Xmas is nothing more than an abbreviation of Christmas, but they do have it going back to 1551:
1551 in E. Lodge Illustr. Brit. Hist. (1791) I. 145 From X'temmas next following. c1755 in B. Ward Hist. St. Edmund's Coll. (1893) 303 In ye Xmas and Whitsuntide Vacations. 1799 COLERIDGE Let. to Southey 24 Dec., My Xstmas Carol is a quaint performance. 1801 {emem} Let. to Southey 31 Dec., On Xmas Day I breakfasted with Davy. 1875 S. G. THOMAS in R. W. Burnie Mem. & Lett. (1891) 55 We are not going to have any Xmas festivities or visitors of any kind. 1884 Punch 6 Dec. 268/1 He's beginning Xmassing already.
Out of respect for your strongly held views I shall now edit my recent post about Christmas (commercial) to read "Xmas is coming". Can't do much about the verse, although that's a bout Christian charity anyway so it's okay!
For me "Xmas" is such American - an example of laziness, an attempt to shorten any experssion that may require EFFORT to pronounce correctly. And it immediately resembles all this retailer's hype on a glorious Day of Christ's Birth Feast.
I am surprised it's so old, althiugh in Polish an "X" in front of a surname meant "ksiądz" or "priest, clargyman" (X is for "ks" I guess here).
All the best,
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