You’ll not find it written anywhere in the Bible that, “every tongue should confess that Jesus X is Lord.”
So why should Christians tolerate X-Mas? It’s not a harmless abbreviation of the word. It’s a symbolic removal of the thing that’s supposed to set the day apart. It becomes a way of saying “Insert your ideal here” while still pretending to celebrate Christmas.
To understand the significance, let’s forget the celebration, the parties and all the presents for a moment and consider the actual terms involved. “Christmas” is a combination of two words: “Christ’s Mass.”
This isn’t a celebration of X’s Mass. This isn’t Joe Blow’s Mass. This isn’t Jane Doe’s Mass. “Christ” comes from the Greek word “christos,” which means “anointed one.” It’s a title used in the New Testament of the Bible, often in conjunction with the name “Jesus.”
Don’t make the mistake of thinking “Christ” was Jesus’ surname or something to flippantly be tossed around — or into the trash — this holiday season. It’s a distinction of the man named Jesus, as also being the anointed savior of God’s people.
Christmas, therefore, is a holiday — or holy day — originally celebrated by followers of Christ to observe his birth. The holiday gradually blended with secular traditions and sometimes pagan winter festivals to bring us today’s colorful and highly materialistic celebration.
Plastic yard displays and visits to Santa in the mall replaced family gatherings around the Advent wreath. Now, Dec. 25 resembles little more than a marketing scheme, an encore of Thanksgiving turkey and dressing, and a day when small children everywhere can demand presents on someone else’s birthday. Let’s not forget amid all the extra business that Christmas traditionally commemorated the day of Jesus’ birth.
The added frivolity and feasting distracts from the true meaning of Christmas—which is not that cheesy, after-school-special mantra of love and giving—but rather a day when we can remember the miracle of our savior’s birth. You don’t have to celebrate a Christian Christmas.
You don’t have to adhere to the spiritual significance of the day. It’s fine if you only want the tree, the twinkling lights, the musical claymation shorts and the family meal. But if you oppose celebrating the miracle of Christ, don’t stoop so low as to maim the Christian’s holiday and insert an interpretive “X” where the savior should be. Either leave Christ in Christmas where he belongs, or call it the thing you actually celebrate by removing him: Me Day.
-Diana Golobay is a journalism junior and a columnist for The Shorthorn.
-You can find the article here.
