Welcome all! No matter your religious preference, or not, or what you celebrate on this day; each & every one is welcome to join in.

This is a chat thread for December 25, 2020. As we all navigate the corona19 virus, I hope everyone is staying safe & keeping their family members safe and considering the health of others. So many will spend this day distanced from their families. Many will be using zoom or some such to get together with their families virtually but we know this is not a normal celebration for us this year.

I imagine many will find themselves with time on their hands that they don't normally have. You can come here & share.

It's very chilly for us here in FL this morning but the skies are crystal clear & it should be a gorgeous day even if a very cold one.

The other day I got to thinking & wondering why/where Xmas came into being instead of Christmas. Xmas is faster to type as it has 5 fewer letters but did it originate as an abbreviated form of Christmas? It seems odd that an X would be used as there is no X used in spelling Christmas. So how did it come about that Xmas became synonymous with Christmas? I vowed to research it when I got a chance.
It turns out that Xmas didn't become synonymous with Christmas exactly but rather that Christmas became synonymous with Xmas.
I find the history behind it fascinating. Read for yourself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Wishing peace for all of you no matter your beliefs. We need it!

flaflwrgrl said:.It turns out that Xmas didn't become synonymous with Christmas exactly but rather that Christmas became synonymous with Xmas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

How so when the first line of the article states " but Xmas, and variants such as Xtemass, originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation /ˈkrɪsməs/. " The use of Xmas was to make it faster when written, but when spoken it was Christmas. At least that's my interpretation. I do find the entemology of the word interesting. I shoots holes in the argument that it's a secular attempt at removing Christ from Christmas.

Best wishes to all. Stay well, be at peace.

Ann, interesting article. Thank you for finding it.

Birdbath thawing, blurred birdy attack on the suet brick

Horntoad said: How so when the first line of the article states " but Xmas, and variants such as Xtemass, originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation /ˈkrɪsməs/. " The use of Xmas was to make it faster when written, but when spoken it was Christmas. At least that's my interpretation. I do find the entemology of the word interesting. I shoots holes in the argument that it's a secular attempt at removing Christ from Christmas.

Because the 2nd line, is the explainer line:
The "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Christós (Greek: Χριστός), which became Christ in English.

BTW, @Horntoad, it's good to see you Jay. We haven't been around in the same forums lately.

Merry Christmas to all of you! It's just the 2 of us this year. I'm busy with cooking up a storm. We will zoom with our kids tonight. It's not the same, but much better than not seeing them at all.

Wishing all a Merry Christmas. I think I have the poor dog exhausted now from throwing his new toys. Now to make the family phone calls.

We're just up from our dinner, and then we zoomed with both sets of kids and grandkids.
It's been a good day, even though it's strange to have a Christmas like this one.

Glad everyone had a good day, was looking for chewy boxes under Anns tree. Got my husband a smoker in hopes of some good eats but with this weather didnt try it. Will cook the christmas prime rib in it for new years. I know its dec. 27th but Im always behind. O man, that made my stomach ball up....dentist dec 28th

@gardenglory Thanks Pam! No Chewy boxes yet. Working on it as hard as I can.

Oh the smoker sounds wonderful!!!!!!!!

Chin up girl, you'll be through with the dentist in no time & then won't have to worry about it for another year.