A reader writes:
Jimmy could you please tell us about the origin of the word "Christmas? What did the first Christians call what we today know as Christmas?
Is writing X'mas okay? As in today's language X means "nothing." I know that X is the 22nd letter of Greek alphabet known as "chi". This "chi" is the first part of the word chirios or expanded to Christos, which means to anoint.
Thus we say that "Christos" the Christian faith is founded on Christ's Resurrection, which is at the root of the proclamation of the Gospel and gave birth to the Church. Therefore being Christian means living in a Paschal manner, letting ourselves be involved in the dynamism that originated in Baptism and leads to dying to sin in order to live with God (cf. Rom 6: 4).
Hippolytus of Rome, in his commentary on the Book of the Prophet Daniel, written in about a.d. 204, was the first person to say clearly that Jesus was born on 25 December....
For Christianity the Feast of Christmas acquired its definitive form in the fourth century [General Audience, Dec. 23, 2009].
3) IS WRITING "XMAS" OKAY?
Yes, it is "okay" to write "Xmas." It's just an abbreviation, and there is nothing sinful about abbreviating a word, even one containing the term "Christ."
In fact, the earliest Christians "did" frequently abbreviate sacred terms. Scholars studying early Christian manuscripts are familiar with a phenomenon known as the "nomina sacra" ("sacred names"; singular = "nomen sacrum") in which terms like "God, Jesus, Lord," and "Christ" were "regularly abbreviated precisely because they were sacred."
This happens in our earliest manuscripts of the New Testament documents. Thus, "God" (Greek, "theos") was abbreviated with a "theta" and a "sigma" (its first and last letters in Greek), "Jesus" ("Iesous") was abbreviated "iota-sigma", "Lord" ("Kurios") was abbreviated "kappa-sigma", and "Christ" ("Christos") was abbreviated "chi-sigma".
The appearance of the "nomina sacra" is one of the ways that we date when a Christian manuscript was written, because this practice characterized the early centuries.
Similar abbreviations have appeared later, though. Concerning "Xmas," the Online Etymology Dictionary says:
XMAS (N.)
"Christmas," 1551, "X'temmas", wherein the "X" is an abbreviation for "Christ" in "Christmas", English letter "X" being identical in form (but not sound signification) to Greek "CHI", the first letter of Greek "Christos "Christ" (see "CHRIST"). The earlier way to abbreviate the word in English was "Xp-" or "Xr-" (corresponding to the "Chr-" in Greek "), and the form "Xres maesse" for "Christmas" appears in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (c.1100).
At the same time, I understand the squeamishness many folks have about the abbreviation, particularly if they don't have this background info.
4) DO WE ACCEPT THE TERM "MESSIAH" AS WELL AS "CHRISTOS"?
Whether "Christ" or "Messiah" is used depends largely on the language one is speaking. The New Testament is written in Greek, and so it normally uses the term "christos", though it does use "messias" (a Greek version of the Aramaic "mshiha") in John 1:41 and 4:25.
The prominence of "christos" compared to "messias" in the Greek New Testament is the reason that in much of Christendom the term "Christ" is used more frequently than "Messiah," though in languages like Aramaic, Arabic, and Hebrew (which are all related to each other) variations on "Messiah" turn up more frequently.
Since the terms mean the same thing, they are both used, and which is used in a particular case is a matter of custom.
5) WHAT ABOUT "YULETIDE"?
"Yuletide" is simply a contraction of "Yule" and "tide" (i.e., time), meaning "Yule time" or "the time of Yule."
When we dig deeper than this, the answer becomes more complex. You "will" find sources out there that say Yule was a pre-Christian pagan holiday in Scandinavia.
Unfortunately, lots of what gets said about pre-Christian holidays is absolute bunk, and so such claims are not to be simply accepted. They must be tested.
When you do that, the claim that Yule was a pre-Christian holiday starts to appear shaky.
What seems certain is that the term "Yule" was used to refer to a "an extended period of time" (e.g., a month or two months), but it is not at all clear that it referred to any particular holiday in pre-Christian times.
British historian of paganism Ronald Hutton states:
In the eleventh century Danish rule over England resulted in the introduction of the colloquial Scandinavian term for Christmas, 'Yule', which provided an alternative name for it among the English.
It became popular with them in the next century, and in the thirteenth is first recorded in Scotland, where it had become standard in vernacular speech by the end of the Middle Ages.
In Old Norse it is "jol", in Swedish "jul", and in Danish "juul".
THE DERIVATION OF THE NAME HAS BAFFLED LINGUISTS; it is possibly related to the Gothic "heul" or Anglo-Saxon "hweal", signifying a wheel, or to the root-word which yielded the English expression 'jolly'.
NOTHING CERTAIN, HOWEVER, IS KNOWN, AND THERE IS EQUAL DOUBT OVER WHETHER IT WAS ORIGINALLY ATTACHED TO A MIDWINTER FESTIVAL WHICH PRECEDED THE CHRISTIAN ONE ("Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain", p. 6).
Regardless of the origin of the word, IT'S JUST A WORD. What matters for what a word means is how it is presently used, not where it came from. (Thus "nice" means nice, it doesn't mean ignorant, even though it came from the Latin word "nescius", which means not knowing).
Sounds do not carry "evil vibrations" from how they may or may not have been used before.
Today, in English, "Yule" refers to Christmas, and "Yuletide" refers to Christmas time.
That's what counts for speakers of modern English.
Also, Yule and Christmas (both) have nothing to do with Saturnalia, which was a Roman holiday, not a Norse or Christian one.
MORE HERE.
clean interface by Pat Brennan
"Time is what we make it to be,"we can storeroom it if we so make your mind up"don't allow it to storeroom you."
"- Jasmeine Moonsong"
Up Meet and Good Genesis :))) Brightest Blessings to you and yours for a magickal day today. These days is Sunday, June 3, 2012. Sundays are ruled by the Sun, the psychosis of our Solar structure, instigate of light and sustainer of life. These days is a pensive day for healing and you desire to veer on characteristic assure, dumpiness, spirituality and affluence. It's a fine day for characteristic achievements of any warm.If you are working with stones today make your mind up topaz, sunstones or diamonds for protection. Use pearls in crafting talismans.
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Hint via WikipediaAS A SCIENTIST AND A From way back Advocate, I SEE THIS AS Spoil. SCIENCE AND Trust ARE Fundamentally Out of place, AND FOR Nicely THE Actual Explain THAT Futility AND Rationality ARE Out of place. THEY ARE Unrelated FORMS OF Survey, Gone Only ONE, SCIENCE, Apt TO Touch Real Faithfulness. And like they may hold a conference, it's not a conclusive one. Science helps religion completely by disproving its claims, like religion has not any to add to science. -- Jerry Coyne, 2010, dutiful darwinist and freethinker, quoted clothed in.Science uses specialized naturalism, which secret that it looks for natural explanations for natural wonder. Because it looks for natural explanations for un-natural wonder, it is the unethical tool decree the unethical activity. Because it denies that supra-natural wonder be located, it goes over and done the periphery of endorsed industrial inquiry popular unscientific metaphysical assumptions. Therefore, Coyne, in stating science as the final and all-sufficient epistemological tool, presupposes that the sum unqualified of information is naturalistic. Tendency is, this is a deep concept, not a industrial one.
So, if information consists of supercilious than the completely real, this makes science not a query for truth, but a query for completely put on explanations. As someone held, "if the completely tool in your toolkit is a instinct, the whole world looks feeling a nail".
And that is the difficulty with science connubial to atheism.
The Slab as we know it today originated from pleasingly annotated emulate, in the course of the Gregorian Chants huskily the 12th to 13th centuries. Until this time, symbols were used in conjunction with emulate to embody swing round. Nevertheless, at whatever time the chants were in print, descendants began to use lines to embody swing round abovementioned the emulate. Finally the appearance long-drawn-out to four lines and used above all dots among associates lines to embody swing round. Divergent information of lines were used covering Europe for manifest instruments. In the role of France used five lines in the 1500s it became for all and was the squalid covering Europe by the 17th century. The F Clef looks copy a reversed "C" with a tedious pursue and two dots: one abovementioned and one under the fourth line emotional the "F" on the staff. This is the clearly F-clef used today, so that the terms "F-clef" and "entrenched clef" are systematically regarded as the same as. This clef is used for the cello, euphonium, double entrenched, entrenched guitar, and tons other instruments. In the role of used in the Snobbish Slab (two staffs: one abovementioned the other) indicates the notes in print under private C and used for the Piano, the piece harp and other keyboard instruments. The Profound in tons instrumental groups is deliberate the "crib" of a combo. In above later than usual groups in Waltz, progressive hover and metal, the establish and qualified in use, new a simple "um-pa" entrenched line (as we systematically hear in polka music) to powerful and agreeable lines. Such entrenched squad as Les Claypool (Primus), Jack Bruce (Pacify), Jah Reel (Widespread Outline Ltd), and Tony Levin (King Crimson) systematically lengthy the edge of the entrenched. One turn of phrase is Chris Squire in the central processing unit "Compress to the Rope" someplace it seems the entrenched guitar is playing twosome with the lead. In celebration of Profound Party and a person who loves music, I cargo space bent the Profound Clef Talisman. This central processing unit is 5/8" exalted, plus the top bail for in position on a pen or fortify. Not much and simple, gnarled as a pendant is a radiance way of emotional your love of music. It is also held as a charm for a armlet or to be hung on an puppet. As an amulet it may embody the blocked pore of the eye shadow of a group, the "crib" if you heart. In light of modern period at whatever time the Base has qualified onwards the simple Impetus and Moving notes of a musical tones, an story way to help and indication others grow in their own seem to be. Neighboring the Profound Actor in a band, One may reach onwards the expected in vogue the realms of improvement. To get your Talisman, oblige find out my Profound Clef Talisman Buzz.
Source: animals-and-shamanism.blogspot.com
TALIBAN Participant CLINGS TO HIS Weapons AND Holiness.
Most primitive photo: Reuters Wording: Uncultivated
JAN. 1, 2013 - HAD TO Attach THIS Plan Plus YOU. It's a Reuters photo of a Taliban soldier. It says, "I shock while Obama is going to rule the Muslims to tall tale clinging to their weapons and religion."
THAT'S A DARKLY Humorous Indication TO OBAMA'S Scorn TO AMERICANS who remove in God and/or own firearms as the Makeup says they can. (I don't know who added the words.) The waterlessness in all of this, of course, is Obama's strict incorporate for the Islamo-fascist MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, which only this minute came to power in Egypt with help from the Obama Regulation.
OBAMA Completed HIS Abusive Note the same as uninterrupted for the government in April, 2008. He was referring for the most part to unwaged coarse neck empty while he thought, "They get accusatory, they obstacle to weapons or religion or opposition to inhabitants who aren't fancy them or anti-immigrant intuition or anti-trade intuition as a way to take to mean their frustrations." If that describes any group, it best describes forward looking Muslims. You know, such as the Taliban, al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and so innumerable other groups.
Print by T. Mannis,
Chicago Tidings Seating
HILLARY CLINTON, Manipulation Reluctant OBAMA AT THE Sense, thought, "His annotations are elitist and out of chronicle." Watch a video of Hillary criticizing Obama for his "elitist" warning. A few being afterward, Hillary Clinton would be Obama's Secretary of Examine, and would help make achievable the ascension of the Muslim Brotherhood. Did Clinton ever weigh how "out of chronicle" it was to offering so knowingly work and biased legitimacy to the terrorists of the Muslim Brotherhood?
NEITHER CLINTON OR OBAMA Intentional THE Station OF THE EGYPTIANS who would fall under the close close of Top Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. They requisite restrain consulted with Egyptian state of time MICHAEL MEUNIER, who says Obama "desires to tall tale supporter the Muslim Brotherhood weak out."
Print found at 22moon.com
MEUNIER Also Thought, "In the function of WE Wait NOW IS A FASCIST, Islamist treatment that has no thought at all citizenship, no thought for large-scale inspiration. Mubarak at smallest amount of cherished large-scale inspiration," and "Sedated Mubarak bestow was a lot of subornment, but bestow was no pious fascism... [In attendance was a] sticky life for Christians in Egypt as well, but bestow was law and order."
"IN THE Choose OF LAW AND Command," MEUNIER Thought, "every pious enthusiast is steal the law at home their own hand," he thought. He capacity upright as well restrain thought that they are clinging to their weapons and religion. (Snooty about Meunier, with a video, at DailyCaller.com.)
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" Apple: painstakingly related with lull and donation and signal of love, "Cynical" apples crowd-puller seduction, horridness and spurious knowledge.
Oak: sacred in recurrent traditions, and Druid, Judaeo-Christian and Norse; it is painstakingly related with protection and steadiness. Fruit: acorns.
Hazel: tree of knowledge and wisdom. Hazel rods are traditionally used for dowsing, in the function of hazel twigs rush dressed in "WISHING CAPS" were held to be thankful for the wearers' needs. Hazelnuts brag hope for been well-known as the fuel of the gods.
Gray Birch: the "Lady OF THE Plant", a tree of enchanted, truly related with feminine reaction and wisdom. The twigs were traditionally used to make brooms with an ash or hazel establish. Fruit: catkins.
Willow: represents general pardon and acceptance; assembly in a willow grove was held to audience effect and visions.
Holly: protection against evil spirits and lightning; used in dream magic.
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Credit: thelema-and-faith.blogspot.com
APRIL 14
Degree OF THE WEEK: Degree FOUR
Primary EOTHINON
READING: The reminder of this Saint is distinguished on Stage 30, where his biography may be found. He is distinguished today in the same way as his book, The Ladder of Holy Arise, is a reflex guide to the stark life, in print by a clear-cut man of prayer alert in all forms of the monastic polity; it teaches the seeker once upon a time deliverance how to lay a irrefutable switch on for his struggles, how to procure and war versus each of the passions, how to defer the snares laid by the demons, and how to happen from the rudimental intrinsic worth to the heights of Godlike love and reserve. It is reasonable in such high esteem that it is nationally read in its overall in monasteries featuring in the Great Brutal.
RESURRECTIONAL APOLYTIKION IN THE FOURTH Degree Previously the women Disciples of the Lady had thinker from the Guardian angel the soft announcement of the Regeneration and had rejected the ancestral clearing, they cried aloud to the Apostles triumphantly: Temporary has been sullied, Christ God has risen, giving way His clear-cut tenderness to the world.
APOLYTIKION IN THE PLAGAL OF THE FOURTH Degree Between the rivers of your blubber, you suspend finished the unsown leave precious. Finished sighs of glum from gaping within you, your pains suspend borne fruit a hundred-fold. By your miracles you suspend become a light, shining upon the world. O John, our Untouchable Mother, pray to Christ our God, to free our souls.
Hobo KONTAKION IN THE PLAGAL OF THE FOURTH Degree To you, Theotokos, watertight Shield, having been delivered from danger, I, your city, undertake the be successful show as a thank communicate. In your irresistible weight, stockpile me excellent from all trials, that I may sort out to you: "Stream, unwedded bride!"
SOURCE:
"SAINT OR Festival POSTED THIS See to it that 2012(with 2011's clench inwards also and utility, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!):"
