Christmas or X-Mas?

What do you notice about the word "Christmas?" Well, what significantly stands out to me, is the word "Christ." Why does the word Christ stand out though? Why is it even in the word Christmas? I'm not going to tell you the whole story of how Jesus was born in a manger, but I will tell you that the true meaning of Christmas , is to celebrate his birth. If you're Christian, then you should already know the story; but that's besides the point. This Christian holiday has been changing. Changing in a way where its name is being altered to "X-Mas," and "The Holidays." I know for sure that I don't tolerate these changes, and I'm sure that others like me don't really appreciate it either.

First, lets talk about the replacement name, "X-Mas." Just looking at it, I see the letter "x," and the word mas. This doesn't even seem to make any real sense. I don't see a meaning behind it, that's for sure. If you really think about it, what does the letter "x," usually stand for anyway? To me it doesn't seem to represent anything of a positive nature. This is because most of the time, it's used in a negative type of theme. You use it "x" out bad or unneeded things. It just doesn't come off as a positive letter if you know what I mean. So why would we call such a jolly, upbeat holiday, "X-Mas." It's called Christmas, and that's how it should stay.

I hear people say all the time, "Happy Holidays!" For some reason, this just doesn't sound correct. It doesn't seem to live up to what Christmas actually is, which is much greater than any ordinary holiday. It's a day of giving and honoring Jesus, but that's not how people celebrate Christmas these days. It's all about parties, presents, and the belief in Santa Claus. Changing the name to, "The Holidays," is just further more, adding to this growing problem. It is too general of a name to call Jesus' birthday anyway. And I don't see Hanukkah's name being changed or altered. Why don't we just call it what it is, Christmas. Whether it's Hanukkah or Christmas, you should call the holiday by its real name.

Another thing to add to these changes, is the way people give and get presents. As Christians, we sometimes get a little too caught up in the giving and getting, and it takes our minds away from the real reason for the day. I'm not saying we should totally leave behind the presents, but we just need to take it easy some time. For those of you who are real present junkies, try giving more than you get. It makes me feel great inside when that someone opens the gift I got them. There's nothing like it.

From all of this, we should take away two things; call Christmas what it is, and focus on the true meaning or Christmas. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas for its true meaning, just call it Christmas; why change a good thing?