For me, the Christmas season doesn't start until December 1st or at least until the day after Thanksgiving. Now I enjoy Christmas...the decorations, the music, etc. but personally, I just can't sustain the "Christmas spirit" (or any holiday anticipation/excitement for that matter) for more than a month. For the same reason, I don't start celebrating Halloween in August or Independence Day in June. This is why it's so disappointing for me when stores begin removing Halloween decorations in early October in place of Christmas trees. I like to enjoy holidays one at a time and when I've been hearing "Jingle Bells" for two months straight, it is difficult not to be covering my ears by the time December 25th actually rolls around.

I definitely think the push to begin celebrating Christmas as early as possible is mostly driven by companies looking to capitalize on consumer spend, which is obviously highest during this time of year. However, for those who legitimately feel "Christmassy" during early Fall, more power to you, celebrate away. That being said, I simply can’t help but roll my eyes at the ornaments and candy canes being hauled out while kids are still trick-or-treating. Call me a Grinch.

The Greek letter 'X' is the first letter (chi) for the greek word for Christ, Xristos ( Χριστός). Xmas therefore means "Christ's Mass." The letter chi is written the same as the Roman letter X. So, as a form of shorthand, some people replace "Christ" with the first letter of his Greek name, X.

The term Xmas, while sometimes controversial among Christians, has become a common short English abbreviation for Christmas.

Santa Claus is thought to have originated from the real St. Nicholas, with the "flying Santa" having it's origins in a mix of Norse mythology and the Christmas story. What is known for sure is that the modern, red-suited Santa Claus developed out of a 1931 advertising campaign put on by the Coca Cola company, in which the jolly old gentleman was dressed in red and white, the colors of Coca Cola. This image has continued to the present day.

Saint Nicholas The story of Santa Claus is believed to have originated from the real St Nicholas, who was born in Lycia, Greece (now part of southern Turkey) during the third century.

St Nicholas/Nicolas was brought up in a devout Christian family. His parents taught him to be generous and to serve others. He had a reputation for secretly giving to the poor, and he was also known for his love for children, and his concern for sailors who often worked under some difficult conditions.

Nicholas was persecuted for his faith under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and died on 6 December 343. After his death, a legend began which said that manna, the nutritious substance God miraculously provided to keep the Israelites alive during their 40 years in the desert, formed on his grave. It was said that this manna could heal ailments and illness.

During the years that followed, many people followed the teachings of St Nicholas, and stories of his incredible generosity and love for children gradually developed into the Santa Claus legend of today. 6 December is celebrated as the festival of St Nicholas.

The name Santa Claus is derived from the Dutch form of "Saint Nicholas". The Dutch in particular are credited with reviving St. Nicholas as the 'gift bringer'. The Dutch form of St Nicholas is Sinterklaas. When the Dutch settled New York, the tradition came with them. By 1773, the name had appeared in the American newspapers as "St A. Claus". Once the New York Historical Society was founded in 1804 with Nicholas as its patron saint, the legend was embellished with additions such as flying reindeer and a sleigh laden with gifts.

Later, more details were added, particularly with the work of illustrator Thomas Nast whose work on the Christmas editions of Harper's Magazine, between the 1860s and 1880s, really help developed the current image of Santa Claus. Drawn by Nast as round and jolly, Santa Claus was also depicted in his workshop at the North Pole, with a list of all the good and bad children. At this stage, Santa was dressed in a dark green coat.

Norse Mythology and Santa in a Flying Sleigh

The 'Father Christmas' figure in a flying sleigh is the result of a mixture of Norse mythology and the Christmas story. However, Santa Claus, as any child knows, really exists - or at least existed a long time ago and his spirit still lives on. 'Santa' actually means 'Saint' (where we get 'sanctify and Santa Maria from) and Claus (pronounced Klowss) is the shortened form of the name Nicholas. So Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was born in Turkey, was a devout Christian and became Bishop of Myra (hence his red robes as 'Father Christmas'). He inherited a large fortune from his parents which he gave, in secret, to the poor. Legend has it that he once left three bags of gold in secret for a father who had three daughters but who would be forced to sell them into slavery as he was too poor to marry them off. He did this by dropping the bags down the chimney where they ended up in the fireplace in shoes (or socks?) drying there. This is where we get our custom of 'hanging up the stockings' from on Christmas Eve. As a result of his good life Nicholas was made a saint and became the patron saint of poor people and of pawnbrokers - hence the pawnbroker sign of three golden balls (representing the three bags of gold). Many miracles were attributed to Nicholas including stilling a storm at sea, and bringing back to life three boys murdered by a cruel innkeeper. As a result Nicholas was made patron saint of sailors and children. So at Christmas, when we give and receive presents as a reminder of the gifts given to the Christ Child by the Wise Men, let's not forget that St Nicholas's spirit of freely giving - in secret - lives on in the traditional Santa Claus.
The story behind Santa Claus is to do with St. Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. He was had a Christian upbringing and had wealthy parents. His mother and father died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering.

There was one story

that tell of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value (money etc.) The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

Hope that helps... we had an assembly on it yesterday at school. I'm sure if you Google story behind Santa you will find out more :) x

The moment on the Grinchs' clock that indicates it's time to steal Christmas, and time to get mean.

The answer above is almost certainly the right one, but it is just possible that the questioner was asking about Greenwich mean time.

Many who don't speak the Queen's English believe that Greenwich is pronounced "green witch." Almost all Brits say it 'grennitch', but a few (including Her Majesty), opt for "grinnitch." New Zealanders, who long ago abandoned "maj-speak", go for 'grinnertch'. The 'er' in this is a very short schwa, and the result sounds amazingly like Grinch.

Words from many contributors that can be made from the letters in Merry Christmas:

1. a
2. ace, aces
3. ache, aches
4. acid, acids
5. acme, acmes
6. acre, acres
7. act, acts
8. actress
9. aim, aims
10. air, airs, airy
11. am
12. arc, arcs
13. arch, arches
14. archer, archers
15. are
16. ares
17. arm, arms
18. arm, arms
19. armrest, armrests
20. army, armies
21. arrest, arrests
22. art, arts
23. artery
24. as
25. ash, ashes
26. ass
27. asset
28. asymmetric
29. asymmetry
30. at
31. ate
32. aye
33. cam, cams
34. came
35. car, cars
36. care, cares
37. carer, carers
38. caret, carets
39. carrier, carriers
40. carry, carries
41. cart, carts
42. case, cases
43. cash
44. cashier
45. cast, casts
46. caste, castes
47. caster, casters
48. cat, cats
49. catch, catches
50. cater, caters
51. ceramist, ceramists
52. chair, chairs
53. chamise
54. chammy
55. char, chars, chariest
56. charm, charms
57. charmer, charmers
58. chart, charts
59. charter, charters
60. chary
61. chasm, chasms
62. chat, chats
63. cheat, cheats
64. cherry
65. chert, cherts
66. chess
67. chest, chests
68. chi
69. chime, chimes
70. chimer, chimers
71. chit, chits
72. chrism
73. Christ
74. cite, cites
75. cram, crams
76. crash, crashes
77. crass, crasser
78. crate, crates
79. crater, craters
80. cream, creams
81. cress
82. crest, crests
83. crier, criers
84. crime, crimes
85. crises
86. cry, cries
87. cyst
88. each
89. ear, ears
90. east
91. easy
92. eat, eats
93. em, ems
94. emir, emirs
95. emit, emits
96. era, eras
97. err, errs
98. erratic
99. erst
100. erythrism
101. eta, etas
102. hair, hairy
103. ham, hams
104. hammer, hammers
105. hamster, hamsters
106. hare
107. harem, harems
108. harm, harms
109. Harry
110. has
111. hast
112. haste, hastes
113. hat, hats
114. hatch, hatches
115. hate, hates
116. hay
117. he
118. hear, hears
119. heart, hearts
120. heat, heats
121. heir, heirs
122. heist
123. hem, hems
124. her, hers
125. hermits
126. hey
127. him
128. hire
129. his
130. hiss
131. hit, hits
132. hmm
133. hysteria
134. I
135. ice, ices
136. is
137. it, its
138. itch, itchy, itches
139. item, items
140. ma
141. mace, maces
142. mach
143. maim, maims
144. mar, mars
145. march, marches
146. marcher, marchers
147. mare, mares
148. marmite
149. marry, marries
150. Mars
151. marsh, marshes, marshy
152. mart, marts,
153. martyr, martyrs
154. maser, masers
155. mash
156. masher, mashers
157. mass
158. mast, masts
159. master, masters
160. mastery
161. mastic
162. mat, mats
163. match, matches
164. mate, mates
165. math
166. matrices
167. may, mayst
168. me
169. meant
170. meat, meats
171. mercy
172. merit, merits
173. merry
174. mesh
175. mess
176. met
177. meter or metre
178. mica
179. micra
180. mire, mires
181. mirth
182. miry
183. miscarry
184. miscast
185. miser, misers
186. misery
187. mismatches
188. miss, misses
189. mist, mists, misty
190. mister, misters
191. mite, mites
192. miter, miters, mitre
193. my
194. myrrh
195. mystic, mystics
196. myth, myths, mythic
197. race, races
198. racer, racers
199. racism, racist
200. racy
201. raise
202. ram, rams
203. rare, rarer, rarest
204. rash
205. rat, rats
206. rate, rates
207. rater, raters
208. rather
209. ray, rays
210. reach
211. react, reacts
212. ream, reams
213. rear, rears
214. rearm, rearms
215. recast, recasts
216. remiss
217. remit, remits
218. resist
219. rest, rests
220. retch
221. retry
222. rhyme, rhymes
223. rhyme, rhymes
224. rhymer, rhymers
225. rice, rices
226. ricer, ricers
227. rich, riches, richer
228. rim, rims
229. rime, rimes
230. rise, rises
231. rise, rises
232. riser, risers
233. rite, rites
234. rye
235. sac, sacs
236. same
237. samite
238. sash
239. sat
240. sate
241. satire
242. satyric
243. say, says
244. scam, scams
245. scar, scars
246. scare, scares
247. scare, scares
248. scary
249. scary, scarier
250. scat, scats
251. schematism
252. schism
253. schist
254. scram
255. scream, screams
256. scrim, scrims
257. sea, seas
258. seam, seams
259. search
260. seat, seats
261. sec, secs
262. sect, sects
263. semi, semis
264. set, sets
265. sham, shams
266. share
267. she
268. sherry
269. shim, shims
270. shimmer, shimmers
271. shimmy
272. shirr, shirrs
273. shirt, shirts
274. shy, shyer
275. shyster
276. sic
277. simmer, simmers
278. sir, sirs
279. sire
280. sister
281. sit, sits
282. site, sites
283. smarmy
284. smart, smarter
285. smarts
286. smarty
287. smash, smasher
288. smear, smears
289. smirch, smirches
290. smite, smites
291. smith, smithy, smiths
292. stammer
293. star, stars
294. starry
295. starch, starchy
296. stare, stares, starer
297. stay, stays
298. steam, steamy
299. stem, stems
300. stir, stirs
301. stirrer, stirrers
302. stray
303. stream
304. sty, sties
305. symmetric
306. tam, tams
307. tame, tames
308. tamer, tamers
309. tar, tars,
310. tare, tares
311. tarry
312. taste
313. tea, teas
314. teach
315. team, teams,
316. tear, tears
317. techs
318. term, terms
319. terry
320. test, tests
321. the
322. their
323. them
324. there
325. therm, therms
326. they
327. this
328. thy
329. thyme
330. tic, tics
331. tie, ties
332. tier, tiers
333. time, times
334. timer, timers
335. tire, tires
336. trace, traces
337. tracer, tracery
338. tram, trams
339. trash, trashes
340. trashy
341. tray, trays,
342. tress
343. trey, treys
344. trice
345. trim, trims
346. trimmer, trimmers
347. try, tries, triers
348. tryst
349. tyre, tyres
350. yacht
351. yam, yams
352. yea
353. year, years
354. yeast
355. yes
356. yet

Here are words that you could use...

1. act, acts
2. ah
3. aim, aims
4. air, airs
5. am
6. arch, arches
7. arm, arms
8. art, arts
9. as
10. ash, ashes
11. at
12. cam, cams
13. car, cars
14. cart, carts
15. cash, cashes
16. cast, casts
17. cat, cats
18. chair, chairs
19. cha
20. charm, charms
21. chart, charts
22. chat, chats
23. cram, crams
24. crash, crashes
25. ha
26. hair, hairs
27. ham, hams
28. harm, harms
29. has
30. hat, hats
31. hi
32. him
33. his
34. hiss
35. hist
36. hit, hits
37. is
38. it
39. itch
40. its
41. ma
42. mar, mars
43. march, marches
44. Mars
45. marsh, marshes
46. mart, marts
47. mash, mashes
48. mass
49. mast, masts
50. mastic
51. mat, mats
52. match, matches
53. math
54. miscast
55. miss
56. mist, mists
57. ram, rams
58. rash, rashes
59. rat, rats
60. rich, riches
61. rim, rims
62. sac, sacs
63. saith
64. sari, saris
65. sash
66. sat
67. scam, scams
68. scar, scars
69. scat, scats
70. schism
71. schist
72. scram, scrams
73. scrim, scrims
74. sh
75. sham, shams
76. shat
77. shit
78. shim, shims
79. shirt, shirts
80. sic

:

Christmas comes from the words Christ and mass. "Christ" refers to Jesus Christ, the Christian messiah; and mass is a religious ceremony or celebration.

The words Christmas and Xmas are both shortened versions of the phrase Christ's Mass.

Christmas is a simple contraction of the two words and it is easy to see how Christ's Mass became Christmas.

The first letter of the word Xmas was not originally an X as we use it in the English language; what looks like an X is actually the English representation of the Greek letter Chi, χ, the first letter of the word Χριστός, meaning Christ.

The letter Chi "χ" can also stand alone to represent the word Christ, so Xmas therefore literally translates as Christ-mas and that is how it should be pronounced, never as ex-mass.

A more detailed explanation.

The word Xmas was used long before cell-phone text messaging although texting may have greatly increased the usage of that particular word over Christmas.

Centuries ago, Greek was the language of Christianity. The New Testament was written in Greek and we can still see traces of this in symbols and phrases that we still use today, such as calling God 'the alpha and the omega', meaning 'the beginning and the end', because alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and omega is the last. It is like calling Him the A to Z.

Similarly, the 'Chi-Rho' symbol that looks like an 'X' superimposed over a 'P' is actually the Greek letters Chi (X) and Rho (P) which are the first letters in Christ's name. This symbol, like the fish, is almost as old as the Cross symbol of Christianity and can be found even in the early Christian Church catacombs in Rome, scratched on the walls. The co-incidence that the 'X' Chi letter also looks like a cross helped it being adopted to replace 'Christ'.

So, from very early times Christians have used the Greek letter that looks like an X as an abbreviation of Christ. More recently, people have used an actual X instead, particularly if they don't know Greek.

Some people object to the use of Xmas because they see it as 'crossing Christ out of Christmas' as though this is a modern practice attempting to appease other religious groups, but the use of Xmas seems to have became more widesrpead long ago, in the Middle Ages, when European religious clerics used it as a form of shorthand in their writings.

Christmas Beginnings

Christmas or "Christ's Mass," the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth, began in European and Middle Eastern Christendom in the 3rd Century. These early celebrations, feasts, or "Masses" were not standardized or widely held. It is thought that the early Christians did not widely celebrate the birth of Jesus. This is most likely true since the primary focus was on His life, crucifixion, and particularly His resurrection (Easter).

There certainly were some early celebrations. Early writings including a "feast calendar" written in 243AD indicate that there were some celebrations in the third century and perhaps in the second century. Christmas celebrations did not gain widespread prominence however until the Middle Ages or starting from around 400AD.

These celebrations began and occurred in the areas where Christianity started and spread, the areas around the Mediterranean, including the Middle East, North Africa, southern Europe.

Christmas day, December 25, is not necessarily the actual date of Christ's birth. The true date may not be known because we lack enough information to pinpoint it precisely. (Beware that there are many who claim to have calculated the actual date and are most likely no more accurate than December 25.) Other dates including December 25 were used for this feast.

December 25 was settled on by the early church for reasons that are not absolutely clear (but there are some logical reasons for that date). There were pagan celebrations on and around December 25th. There were pagan holidays year round.

No one can be absolutely certain of the exact day of Christ's birth. An early winter date is as reasonable a guess as any and December 25th has been the frontrunner for eighteen centuries.

There are many theories surrounding Christmas, such as the belief that it was created simply to convert pagans and/or replace the pagan celebrations around the winter solstice. The problem with these theories is two-fold. First, there is a lack of evidence. There was no big push in early church to create a birthday celebration for Christ. Of course, the church was and is "in the business" of spreading Christianity so there is no doubt that the early church fathers wanted pagans to convert and wanted celebrations to honor God.

Second, pagan worship practices were seasonal and on-going. That is, almost any date or time frame could be said to be a pagan "Holy" day. That Christian Holy Days would clash with and even replace pagan days was inevitable.

In short, Christmas began in the early areas of Christendom in the 2nd or 3rd Centuries.

It is also Jesus Christ's Birthday

Actually it is possible to approximately determine when Jesus' birth was. First of all the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus' birth occurred before the death of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:15), which occurred in the spring of 4 BC (or BCE) so Jesus's birth most likely occurred in 5 BCE. secondly the Gospel of Luke records that Zachariah, John the Baptist's father, was serving in the Temple as a priest of the Division of Abijah, which was the 8th of 24 priestly divisions. This service would have ended around May 20th 6 BC. This would have resulted in a likely birth of John the Baptist around the end of February 5 BC, and Jesus birth would have likely occurred near the end of August or the first week of September 5 BC. In any case Jesus was not born on Dec. 25. That date was chosen for Christmas because it was the date when the Winter Solstice occurred. THis date was widely celebrated as the birth date of the Persian sun god Mithras, who was widely worshipped in the Roman Empire, particularly among soldiers. The Emperor Constantine was among those who worshiped Mithras. When the chucrch became flooded with pagan converts, a huge problem arose. The converted pagans did not want to give up the Winter Solstice festival as it was a time of much celebrating. The church basically followed the old saying "If you can't beat them, join them" and decreed that December 25 should not be celebrated as the birth date of the sun god, but rather as the birth date of the Son of God. Christmas is a pagan holiday and the fact that virtually all of the popular customs observed on this date are of pagan origin confirms that fact.