Day 9-Christmas Greetings
At our house, we are constantly talking about manners & how to respond when people speak to us. (I know Jax is 4 & John enjoys not speaking, so I'm easy to please! I'm pretty happy with a smile or any positive response. Most anything is better than ignoring or kicking! Oh yes, he has...)
Every Sunday we talk about showing people we like them & are happy to see them. We talk about telling them, "Hello," or "Good Morning!" So talking about Christmas greetings goes right along with out normal discussions.
Lisa Welchel (author of Truth in the Tinsel) talks about different Christmas greetings & their meaning:
-"Season's Greetings" basically means, "Hello, in the middle of Winter!" Haha! I always thought that was awkward to say...it's b/c it is!!
-"Happy Holidays" came from "Happy Holy Days" these holy days were specifically set aside for worshiping God. (See what I mean about not being able to take Christ out of Christmas?! I love it!) Later, the term changed to "holiday" & was used to mean a day off from work. Now, the phrase is interpreted, "Enjoy this time of year-whatever you're celebrating!"
-"Merry X-mas" is used to say Merry Christmas. While it makes some people mad-thinking others are trying to cross Christ out of Christmas, that's not what is happening at all. In Greek, X is the first letter -chi of the word Christos which means- Annointed One or Messiah. Again...you can't take Christ out of Christmas! :)
& of course:
-"Merry Christmas" "Merry "means: pleasant or joyful. I love how the author said, "It's a lot like the word happy, but merry has a twinkle in its eye."
"Christmas" comes from Old English meaning Christes Maesse, meaning the feast or mass of Christ. We would know this as mass or a worship service in which we have the Lord's Supper.
(Merry Christmas is my favorite thing to say-especially in these days. It speaks louder now than in years before as to where I stand & WHO I'm celebrating.)
So, basically we're saying, "Joyfully remember the crucifixion of Christ!" To some, that may sound crazy. Why would we celebrate the death of someone we call our Saviour?! But for those of us who do call Him Savior, we know that without the Cross, there would be no resurrection. And without the resurrection, there would be no hope, & nothing to celebrate. Ever.
MERRY CHRISTMAS y'all! I will shout it from the top of my lungs!!!
Let us say it often.
(Ooooweee y'all. I just had some church up in here on Cross Creek Dr.!!)
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