True Meaning Behind Xmas

So we all know that Christmas is just around the corner.  Almost everyone is familiar with why Christmas is called what it is because we are acknowledging and remembering the birth of Christ.  But what about the term Xmas? Why is it the common abbreviation for such a momentous time of year? Is it taking out the "Christ" part of our holiday giving it a more secular-friendly name or is there more behind the "X?"

What I have learned through my time in college, particularly an art history course and from some online research, is that taking the Christ and any religious affiliation out of the word Christmas in the form of Xmas is actually a common misconception.  Believe it or not the "X" actually represents Christ's name in the Greek language with X being the letter "Chi." Christ in Greek is spelled: Χριστός (Khristós) which means "the anointed one".  Notice how His name begins with an "X."  You can also see "X's" used to represent Christ in other forms such as the Chi Rho, which are the first two letters of Christ in the Greek language.

I just wanted to share this little education with you in case you were ever wondering or thought that Xmas was more meaningless or offensive than informative or useful.  I personally like to call "Christmas" as is because I speak English and that is what is most meaningful to me, knowing that the full name of Christ be remembered on this upcoming special day of celebration and rememberance.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Joy

All I want to say today is "Praise Jesus & Thank You".  I praise Him for His love, His provisions, and most importantly His birth, because without Jesus I would not have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. I also want to thank the Lord Jesus for all of the blessings He has granted in my life especially my husband, son, and father. Truly the three most important people in my life.

As for Christmas Day, I could not have possibly been blessed with more.  I received my  fair share of gifts, but what really mattered to me was my little bunny, Judah, who received some of the most amazing and heartfelt gifts imaginable, including a card from my Dad that instantly made my eyes well and then overflow with tears of gratitude and love.  Judah was so funny and precious Christmas Day when opening his gifts, surprisingly acting as though he knew exactly what was going on: unwrapping presents like it was a baby reflex or innate instinct.  I suppose he may have had some practice when I let him play with the tissue paper when I was making Christmas preparations.  Either way he made me smile and melted my heart as well as all of those around him.

I would like to share some of the wonderful moments we had making memories this beautiful Christmas 2010.

What's a Partridge? What's a Pear Tree?

I suppose from the title of this blog you expected somewhat of a Christmas theme and you're right! I have been enjoying greatly the Relient K Christmas Album Let It Snow Baby...Let it Reindeer. Clever title huh?
I love those guys. I highly recommend listening to it this Christmas season if you want to get away from listening to the same stuff on the radio and listen to all your favorite classics with a Relient K twist.
I personally enjoy listening to their version of the 12 Days of Christmas, it makes me laugh every time. My little boy Judah and I have been listening to that CD all week and he absolutely loves it when I sing it to him. He's the best!

As for Relient K, their Christmas album is not the only good stuff they have out there; they are a great Christian pop punk band and I highly recommend them. Relient K is definitely my favorite band.


Since this is a Christmas themed blog post I might mention that Judah and I got to give Judah's buddy, Josiah, a new toy this week in the spirit of giving. Now Josiah has been Judah's buddy since before they were born since their mommies are buddies too. They were born only four days apart; I guess they wanted to hang out really bad or something. Anyway, it seemed that Josiah really liked his new toy since he was bouncing in it like crazy. The cutest part of it all was that Judah was in his jumperoo right next to Josiah and as one of them would jump the other would seem to respond by jumping back; their first form of communication with one another.

Now this is our first Christmas with Judah out of the womb and it has been a very fun time picking out presents for the little guy. Its also exciting to wait in anticipation to see all the wonderful gifts he will get to lovingly receive. One item we got for Judah was a set of blocks from a very cool company called Melissa & Doug Educational Toys for Children. If you have little ones I recommend shopping this site if you wish to get away from main stream toys and want to get back to the classics that actually do good for your children's brains rather than just entertain them with flashing lights and sounds.

It really is amazing the things that kids and babies are interested in that are not actual toys, for example, Judah is now mesmerized by anything that twists or spins including a particular bumbershoot (umbrella) ornament on our Christmas tree. Whenever I spin the ornament between my fingers he stops everything and just stares with his mouth open. Another toy he likes to watch spin is his butterfly that hangs from his exersaucer, it is a great distraction to keep him occupied when I eat my lunch while sitting on the little kitchen stool next to him. Anyway, Christmas is nearly just a week away and I still haven't gotten everything together yet and am still waiting for stuff to arrive in the mail so hopefully it comes soon. From the Freitas Family to everyone we know, we would like to wish everyone a safe and very Merry Christmas!