Why we CHRISTmas instead of Christmas...
I will make the first entry an explanation for why we spell CHRISTmas with CHRIST in caps. Years ago, we as a group, agreed with the pastor that CHRISTmas should not be xmas, happy holidays, seasons greetings or any other shortening of the term because that plays down the real reason for the season. We also agreed that you would not pronounce Christ as krist (with a short i) so why should CHRISTmas be pronounced this way? We then began saying Merry CHRISTmas (long I) whenever we would greet someone with seasonal salutations. After all, without CHRIST, there is no mas! We looked for a way to translate the written word into a way where the reader would "hear" our pronunciation of the word and thus CHRISTmas was born. We do not do this with intentions to offend or upset anyone. We just decided that this was one way we could stand and make the statement that we are celebrating because of the birth of our Lord and Savior and not because of some fat man in a red suit.Another note along that same line, we do not promote that jolly man in the red suit in our home. We do not judge or look down on anyone who chooses to include him in the festivities. After all, my own children once looked forward to that jolly dude every year. (I can remember when Alexis was just old enough to start figuring out who brought her gifts and I couldn't make up my mind how to go on to Santa or not to Santa. She woke CHRISTmas morning that year and announced that her bright red tricycle was from Santa. So, we stuck with it until both of the children were old enough to understand the true meaning of the season.) We just feel like it is not where we are anymore so no Santa or Reindeer decorations bought here. I think we still have a stash of old ones that we will find in the ornaments for the tree. We will see if they get hung or not, still not sure on that one.
Whether you Santa or not, Merry CHRISTmas!
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