X-mas and "X-ing Christ out"

[StarrieEyedKat]

I mentioned in another thread that I've been noticing many more people on Facebook writing Christmas as "CHRISTmas" in the course of conversations. It's like they are shouting.

I've noticed they're doing this with more than just CHRISTmas, but pretty much every other word when they're into their God-lecture mode. "CHRIST is the REASON for the season!!! GOD is our SAVIOR and his LOVE will not be denied!!!! GOD knows your HEART and he LOVES you!!!!" and on and on and on.

[Linnea]

[Annette]

I keep meaning to put up a shouty ChristMAS Facebook status, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. You know, keeping the MASS in ChristMAS and all that. Or Xmas, to keep the chi in Christmas.

[bbfreethinker]

I was going to post that, but you beat me to it.

[DistantStar]

This is odd coming from a rather deeply skeptical sorta-Christian who absolutely adores her Episcopal church choir (and who has a complicated relationship with several religions!) -- but while I am totally not offended by Xmas, I also don't like how it looks, so I don't use it. Xmas just doesn't appeal to me aesthetically. I also want to whack the CHRISTmas people over the head, that just looks stupid!

Axial tilt...excellent. Love it!

[ilovetchotchkes]

[ladypuglover]

My youngest just spent 5 minutes laughing his little boy butt off... then comes up for air and says he doesn't get it. :?

I got it and wish I had the guts to post it on FB.

[ilovetchotchkes]

My youngest just spent 5 minutes laughing his little boy butt off... then comes up for air and says he doesn't get it. :?

I got it and wish I had the guts to post it on FB.

Do it!!!

I posted it earlier this week and everyone thought it was hilarious. Even my Christian friends had a good laugh too.

[ladypuglover]

Do it!!!

I posted it earlier this week and everyone thought it was hilarious. Even my Christian friends had a good laugh too.

Done :lol:

[galaxygirl]

I totally admit to using Xmas because I know it annoys a lot of people I am friends with

Same here. The whole 'putting the Christ in Christmas' thing and the war on Christmas is all annoying the hell out of me and it's all over my facebook wall. I think I'm going to wish everyone on my wall Happy Isaac Newton Day on the 25th.

[WanderingStar]

I've noticed they're doing this with more than just CHRISTmas, but pretty much every other word when they're into their God-lecture mode. "CHRIST is the REASON for the season!!! GOD is our SAVIOR and his LOVE will not be denied!!!! GOD knows your HEART and he LOVES you!!!!" and on and on and on.

They also LOVE to abuse PUNCTUATION MARKS!!!!!! Tone it DOWN, GOD IS NOT DEAF!!!!!!!! Or maybe He IS and that's why His VOICE is like THUNDER!!!!!!!!! Did you repost that STATUS saying that you're a PROUD CHRISTIAN yet????? Because you know God TOTALLY CARES about your FACEBOOK STATUSES as much as STARVING CHILDREN IN UGANDA!!!!!!!

Ugh. Something tells me with all the annoying "Repost this if you" statuses available, God is probably happy I'm not bugging my friends by flooding their Facebook feeds with them.

I'll admit, I was once one of the ones bothered by X-mas, but that was before I learned the history of it. I still only use it when space is limited on something (like a gift tag) but it's only because I'm just not much of a fan of abbreviations, not because it offends me. In fact, in informal online conversation I still usually use only the most basic abbreviations (LOL, BTW, OMG, BRB, and so on). Old grammar Nazi habits die hard.

[JesusFightClub]

Completely OT but I once got a round robin email from someone who capitalised the word BABY. All the rest of the spelling and grammar was normal, but sentences looked like this "I and [girlfriend] will be looking for a bigger flat to bring up our new BABY in. We're so excited and can't wait to meet BABY for the first time! Wonder what BABY's personality will be like, she'd better support Celtic, lol..."

The general effect was that this guy was having a normal conversation except he randomly screamed "BABY!!!!!!!" at me every so often. Somewhat disconcerting.

Sorry for digression...

[IReallyAmHopewell]

How about this? The traditional Russian Easter prayer is (I'm VERY BADLY transliterating!) Christos Voschris...which is usually abbreviated XB for the Cyrillic letters, so X + CHrist! Ha!

[Kitty]

Calling it Xmas is basically calling it C-mas (or, more accurately, Ch-mas).

I don't think most Christians would care about using "cmas" in a text message.

[Almost Quiverfull]

I got into this last year with countless people. This year it's all about Jesus's birthday. Ugh, I wish the people I knew had higher IQ's. Jesus wasn't born on Dec. 25th, but my SiL seriously bake a cake and write Happy Birthday Jesus on it. With candles. I was so tempted to be a bitch last year and ask why there weren't over 2k candles on it. Jesus doesn't approve of shorting him his candles.

The Xian school my kids used to go to always had a birthday party for Jesus for their Xmas party. OMG how I hated that. I'm a Christian, but I do not freak out over the use of Xmas. Many years ago I heard a very level headed preacher say that it was stupid to get irritated over the use of Xmas and he explained how the X stands for Christ. That was like 30 years ago and so I for all these years I've cringed inwardly when I see or hear someone complaining about Xing Jesus out of Christmas.

I always explained to my kids that Jesus was not born on Dec 25. It is not even really a bonafide Christian holiday. We, do, however celebrate his birth and have lots of fun at Christmas time doing so.

[Witsec1]

The FB friend gets bonus negative points from me for the gratuitous English-only xenophobia, "I''ll keep it in English". I wonder if you asked her point blank in which languages the Bible was originally written, she wouldn't be able to name one. Don't even try to introduce the fact that "Yule" from the Old Norse is a perfectly good English word, and commonly used on greeting cards, etc from Victorian times to the present.

[Kitty]

They also LOVE to abuse PUNCTUATION MARKS!!!!!! Tone it DOWN, GOD IS NOT DEAF!!!!!!!! Or maybe He IS and that's why His VOICE is like THUNDER!!!!!!!!! Did you repost that STATUS saying that you're a PROUD CHRISTIAN yet????? Because you know God TOTALLY CARES about your FACEBOOK STATUSES as much as STARVING CHILDREN IN UGANDA!!!!!!!

Ugh. Something tells me with all the annoying "Repost this if you" statuses available, God is probably happy I'm not bugging my friends by flooding their Facebook feeds with them.

I'll admit, I was once one of the ones bothered by X-mas, but that was before I learned the history of it. I still only use it when space is limited on something (like a gift tag) but it's only because I'm just not much of a fan of abbreviations, not because it offends me. In fact, in informal online conversation I still usually use only the most basic abbreviations (LOL, BTW, OMG, BRB, and so on). Old grammar Nazi habits die hard.

Don't forget those who will randomly caps-lock GOD and the LORD. GOD is not deaf! The LORD just speaks with a LOUD FREAKING VOICE like THUNDERRRRRRRR!!!11!!!

[starfish]

I love the response "That's just the way I was raised" (paraphrasing here).

It's one of those generic defenses that means nothing except small-mindedness.

[jenny_islander]

I have heard that the Dec. 25 holy day is based at least partly on a piece of ecclesiastical math: If Jesus is (metaphorically) the Lamb of the Passover, then let's work out the date of Passover N years ago (which was probably three years off, and they may or may not have been aware of the leap year problem, but never mind) and add nine months. Nine months after Jesus became manifest in the flesh (Mary's flesh) should be Jesus' birthday.