Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!! Merry CHRISTmas!
If you're like me, you've probably seen a variety of greetings appearing on cards in your mailbox throughout this festive season. Furthermore, you may have sent special cards of your own. For me, I've often questioned what type of greeting to put on my cards. If I put "Merry Christmas" or even the stronger "Merry CHRISTmas" it is possible that I will offend friends of mine who do not choose to celebrate Christmas; yet, if I put "Happy Holidays" other may be offended by my exclusion of mentioning Christ. Then the thought comes to mind - should I just put "Blessings" and leave it at that?
Funny this is - I don't get offended by any of it, and here's why:
Should we remember Christ's birth and celebrate the most magnificent display of love that has ever been given? ABSOLUTELY! In fact, I think we should constantly Christmas story and find our place in this 2000 year old story that saves us from eternal damnation!
** Check out another post: The Christmas Story: How do I fit into a story that's over 2000 years old?
So, hear me out when I say this: Is it wrong to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas? NOPE!
You see, Christmas is a day used to celebrate Jesus' birth as being December 25th. Furthermore, a study of the etymology of the word "Christmas" breaks down to "Christ"+"Mass" = "Christ sent." (Please do take into mind that the celebration of Christmas was not ordained in the Bible; rather, this Christmas celebration started as the pagan ritual of Saturnalia and was replaced with Christmas, providing a Christian twist to the traditional festival by the Roman Catholic Church).
However, the etymological meaning of Christmas is quite interesting in that the time-frame around Christmas could have very well been when Christ was sent, in terms of immaculate conception. A closer look at Scripture, and the best historical/educational information we have available, best estimates the birth of Christ around the end of September/early October time-frame.
** Don't believe me - check it out for yourself. For starters, grab your Bible and check out the information in this article: On What Day Was Jesus Born?
With a September-estimated date for the birth of Jesus, that could mean, then, that the immaculate conception took place in late December. Thus, validating why we now celebrate Christmas in late December as "Christ sent." If all of this best estimated time-table is correct, it is intriguing to note that Christ was sent (the spiritual light of the world) into the world during the pagan Saturnalia - the darkest time of the year when the physical light of the world, the sun, is the farthest from the Holy Land.
Yet, the word "Holiday" also derives from the religious "Holy+Day". If Christ was indeed conceived around late December then that would definitely be what I would consider a very religious holy day.
Derived from the Roman Catholic Church, "Christmas" also means a mass for Christ or a communion/Lord's supper. So, whether you remember Christ's birth, death, and resurrection at a weekly communion, quarterly communion, or celebrate it during Christmas -- just please make sure you remember. :)
Thus, MERRY CHRISTMAS or HAPPY HOLIDAYS...
Let us Remember the Reason for the Season!!
Until next time...
